Meet Mattie ONeill | Photographer & Videographer

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

Hi Mattie, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
As a child and teenager, I was always pulled to photography as an emotional and artistic outlet. It was my way of communicating with myself and the world. As time went on and priorities shifted, I didn’t realize that photography was going to be the ultimate way for me to express my passion and desire for connection with other people. I pursued a career in hospitality fields for almost a decade before I found my way back into the creative field and it just all makes sense when creativity is the main focus. When photography and videography are my main output and goals, it makes my life, art, communication and relationships all make complete sense. All the puzzle pieces come together for me. When you know, you know.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I can’t remember a time in my life where I didn’t have a camera in my hand. I loved taking photos from a young age and would steal my mom’s fancier cameras as a child to take photos of flowers, grass, the neighborhood, scenery, anything that caught my eye. From there, it evolved into self-portraiture, portraits of friends and family and eventually moved into weddings and senior portraits starting into my teen years. I was destined for art school! When I couldn’t afford the art school I wanted to attend, I chose to pursue photography at a local community college instead. When I got ahead on assignments and got a little too creative, I decided I wanted to keep it as a hobby. I completely abandoned the hope of art as a career and got into restaurant management. About 6 years down the line, after the world shut down and started to come alive again, I invested in a new camera and I started to feel alive again. I felt like a piece of me had been missing. I started my photography business and became passionate about photography and videography again and gratefully, business started booming. I am lucky enough to live near a very popular national park and while it has been far from easy, I am grateful for every opportunity that comes my way. I run two separate businesses in a way — a portrait and wedding business and a vacation rental photography/videography business. There have been so many challenges for both sides of each business and I have struggled on balancing which I want to focus more on, but I am working on growing and expanding my team to accomodate the business and abundance of amazing clients I am so grateful to have.
There are so many days where I am overwhelmed juggling priorities and responsibilities of both sides of the business as just one person and delivering top quality work, but I am also overwhelmed with gratitude each and every day that I get to follow my heart and passion and be lucky enough to feel so fulfilled in my every day life. I get to capture every day moments with my couple’s and weddings and turn them into magic. To capture the most genuine, emotional moments and preserve them for eternity in photos for generations to feel. On the vacation rental side, I get to capture and show guests what a property has to offer in one of the most beautiful areas on this earth. I’m an extremely lucky gal!

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?
In Joshua Tree – the possibilities are endless! I would start by giving a sunrise tour of Joshua Tree National Park. Driving through the West Entrance and going through Hidden Valley, a hike through Barker Dam, seeing Arch Rock and Cholla Cactus Garden are always a first day must! Lunch at the Joshua Tree saloon is something everyone must do in their lifetime. Relaxing at a super cool airbnb with a nice hot tub before one of the most epic sunsets in the park and stagazing…have to have it. A few day trip ideas: Pioneertown with Pappy & Harriet’s as a food stop; Palm Springs and shopping!; Big Morongo Canyon Preserve with Deer Watching; Big Bear Lake and a good mountain hike. If you want a good challenging hike in Joshua Tree, Ryan Mountain is my favorite!

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’d love to dedicate my shoutout to my mom. My mom is and always has bee my biggest cheerleader. My supporter, my encourager and the one person who has always lifted me up and pushed me to pursue whatever my dream and passion is. If I wanted to be a pilot, she’d be my first passenger and would insist upon it. There are so many amazing women and people in my life who have supported me along the way but hands down, my mom has been my rock to lean on in every moment.

Website: mattieoneill.com

Instagram: @mattieoneillphotos

Image Credits
Photo of me: Krista Lax, Photographer Portfolio photos: me, Mattie ONeill Photography