Meet Michi | Fine Art Portrait Photographer & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michi, why did you pursue a creative career?
Like deja vu dressed up in strange colors, portrait photography crept up on me – feeling both completely unreal and eerily familiar. It’s become a playground where I visit old emotions that embody ghosts of a character I met in a book or an old 1940s film. Flickers of nostalgia that feel tangled with something a little off-kilter has become a moment in time I want to linger in.

I’m still in the “First Act” of pursuing photography – even if I’ve been going at it for almost 6 years now. Much like these characters that greet me and my audience of “followers and online supporters or clientele” – the journey has been an epitome of world building and character development for everyone involved.

From sports to street to the mundane – I have finally turned to a new scene of photography that actually makes me appreciate it in an almost child-like bliss.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think in another life — or maybe later down in this one — I would’ve been a film-maker. So much of my work is heavily influenced by scenes where Wes Anderson meets some indie A24 film (at least that’s what I’ve been told). I just like cinema that feels grained, raw and nostalgic. It’s on the borderline of ethereal and otherworldliness.

This is what I like to tell the people I work with anyways; “just play a character — right now in this moment embody this role”. I think it’s how I satisfy my younger aspirations who wanted to become some great writer or cinematographer but at this moment I’m overwhelmed with the joy of combining both in still motion. These are frames and shots that make you think “I wonder what the next action or line was” as though it were actual scene stills.

Along the way, I’ve learned my work isn’t necessarily “neat” and it’s most definitely not for the ones who like “clean, simplistic” images. I enjoy rough shadows that swallow you into the screen, and highlights that are brightened to light up the room your in. As dramatic as that sentence was, that’s how I want my photography to feel! An experience that just jumps out at you and makes you think back on it once you’ve looked away.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If we’re hanging out, hotpot in Duluth is a must – there’s no escaping it when you’re with me. Like what do you mean you don’t want an endless buffet of all you can eat noodles? After that, karaoke will help burn off some of the calories we just gained from said hotpot – it’s called balance baby.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I consider myself very blessed to have family and friends that have cheered for me since day one. Creative pursuits are hard paths and most of the time the closest people to you will be the ones to discourage you but at the end of the day you gotta ask yourself; “In my book of life, would I have lived it following the path God hoped for me? Or would I have walked past it, afraid of the unclear bend in the road and people telling me I’m not strong enough to go down it?”

My parents have been one of my biggest supporters ever since I can remember. Being immigrants that have built the little corner of our world from the ground up – I am beyond grateful for the two people that have dared me to dream and to work just as hard to achieve it. I don’t try to take it for granted, as many times as I may forget.

Website: https://www.michishotyou.com

Instagram: @michishotyou

Other: Tiktok: @michishotyou
Email: conact@michishotyou.com