Meet Mio (Artemio) Sison III | Photographer & Former Scientist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mio (Artemio) Sison III and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mio (Artemio), what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think of risk as a necessary evil. In order to succeed as a small business, owners need to constantly be taking risk. Is it worth hiring this person? Will this person really take more off my plate? Should I have even launched this business on my own in the first place? I’ve taken so many risks throughout my career, starting even as early as my academic career in college. As the oldest child of first generation parents who were both born in the Philippines, almost everything I did was risky. There was no prior knowledge or my experience my parents could draw from when guiding me through the college recruitment process, let alone college athletics. Starting my Master’s degree in Bioinformatics, was also a huge bet on myself.

Starting this photography business was the biggest risk I’ve taken thus far. After finally getting my dream job in Bioinformatics following nearly 3 years of working in a lab (not using my Master’s) and working for biopharmaceutical startups (who are risky commitments themselves), I was laid off and could not find a job here in Colorado. There were jobs available, but located in the biotech hubs of the US: Seattle, San Francisco, Boston. I could not find a remote job for my very specific expertise gained from my Master’s. I just moved here, and I really didn’t see myself living anywhere else for at least the foreseeable future

I started my wedding photography side hustle when I moved to Colorado in October of 2022, and after being unsuccessful in finding a remote job, I decided to pursue photography full time on February 3rd, 2024. Since then, I’ve become not just a successful wedding photographer, but also a fashion, brand, and sports photographer. I’ve been published in WestWord, photographed world class models, shot a ski wedding and backcountry skiing engagement shoot, and even partnered with the Philippines Lacrosse Association, documenting the National Team tryouts. At the time of this submission, it’s been only 4 short months and these are the beautiful things I’ve experienced.

That all being said, if I had one foot out the door in any other direction outside of photography, or had not been willing to take this risk, I’d have not lived the most colorful life I could’ve ever imagined. Betting on myself has paid off yet again, and I’m super excited to see what the rest of the year and my life has in store.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My journey into photography and art in general is quite unconventional. I am not by any means a classically trained photographer, or creative in general. Growing up as the first-born child of first-generation Filipino parents, I was conditioned to not pursue anything in the arts or pursue many creative endeavors. As most Filipinos, my family raised me to put family first, and be a nurse. Or at least pursue something in the medical field. My maternal grandmother (and countless other relatives) were a nurses after all! At an early age, I decided I wanted to be a nurse, with the overall goal of helping others. Relatives began to age, and eventually developed various forms of cancer. My maternal grandmother got breast cancer, and beat it. My paternal grandfather had some undiagnosable late-stage cancer; he passed away when my Dad was only 10. With this family history, I felt called to pursue a career in the medical field.

I pursued this career in college, where I was also recruited to play lacrosse in Massachusetts, a long way from my home in Michigan. Attending Catholic school for elementary and high school, I thought playing for and attending a “Christian” college was something very similar. Turns out, it’s totally not. I was almost ineligible for playing college sports, earning a whopping 1.73 GPA my first semester of college. Old Testament was not for me. The school was not for me. I just wanted to play lacrosse. I decided to transfer to a rival school down the road. Turns out, my Old and New Testament credits didn’t transfer. I couldn’t even get into the Nursing program. I decided to switch majors to Biotechnology, because it seemed like I could still achieve my career goal of helping others. It was the first major career change I made. This forced me to take a fifth year of college. I truly fell in love with Biotechnology, and made me desire to pursue a career working in a lab. After failing to get accepted into a PhD program after undergrad, I decided to get my Master’s in Bioinformatics. It made the most money, after all. If you don’t know what Bioinformatics is, it’s basically data science for biology (think DNA-sequence analysis, clinical trial design, and lots of coding).

I moved to Philadelphia in 2016 and began my Master’s in Bioinformatics program at Temple University. Classes would be at night, so I needed to find a day job that would blend my love for the lab with bioinformatics. I found a job at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, working in the Proteomics Core Facility. I’d be extracting amino acid sequences in the lab and analyzing the data to make inferences about the characteristics of childhood cancer. It was perfect! After 3 months, I was fired. Turns out I couldn’t handle the demands of a PhD level full time job, combined with a full time night school Masters education. I ended up finding a job as a Manufacturing Associate for a Cell Therapy Manufacturing bio-pharmaceutical company. I worked there for 3 years, got promotions, and eventually became a Trainer. I was making great money with much less effort, while finishing my Master’s. Keep in mind, this manufacturing job had NOTHING to do with coding or bioinformatics. It was robotic. I eventually graduated with my Master’s, with hardly any formal experience in bioinformatics like the rest of my cohort. In order to get more experience in bioinformatics, I worked part-time for a variety of startups, and took on a bunch of side projects while still working full-time in the lab. I should also add that I tried out and made the Philippines Lacrosse National Team, playing in the World Lacrosse Games (basically the World Cup of lacrosse) while this was all going on.

3 years after I moving to Philly and working in a lab, I eventually found a contract job in Pharmacometrics. This was the second drastic professional change of my life to date. The career trajectory for this role was to become a Pharmacometrician; basically modeling the effects of a drug through coding. Remember that this is NOT a job in bioinformatics. But hey, it’s a step in the right direction, right? Right? A contract job meant a significant pay cut from my Trainer job, sub-standard insurance coverage, and an hour commute without traffic. I was willing to do whatever it took to get out of the lab and get my coding/bioinformatics experience and FINALLY use my Master’s. COVID hit, and in April 2020 I got word that the team I was hired for was going to be dissolving… In this same month, I found out that I was going to lose my job, my maternal grandmother (who beat cancer) passed away due to COVID, and my girlfriend at the time broke up with me. To add insult to injury, I tore my achilles training for a marathon. One of the darkest times of my life.

August 2020, I found my dream job in bioinformatics. I’d be back to the salary I was at as a Trainer, only this time I’d be using my Master’s! Finally. I got promoted, and eventually managed to earn a six-figure salary. Life was good. I could pay off my student loans, have a healthy work-life balance, and just get ready to settle down. Following the breakup, I visited my best friend from high school who lives in Ohio to really get away. I ended up attending his engagement session, where I realized that I really liked the idea of documenting love. I just didn’t have a camera. Eventually, I got a camera as a gift from a new relationship at the time.

I thought it would be wise to pursue sports photography given my lifelong love for lacrosse. I didn’t know how hard it would be to get into this with hardly any lacrosse network in Philadelphia. I decided to tap into my previous experience as a wedding venue caterer job as a Server throughout college in Massachusetts. I was fascinated by the work the photographer would do, along with how cool they got to dress for their job! I decided to pursue Wedding Photography. I got my first client by reaching out to a Wedding Videographer on Facebook. I had no luck with reaching out to Wedding Photographers in Philadelphia. We instantly became friends, and I was fortunate enough to be trusted to photograph his Engagement! I was floored. I never thought that such a seasoned, experienced wedding videographer and his fiance would trust me with their Engagement photos. Working as an assistant videographer for almost a year, this is where I would encounter the next challenge in my professional career. Even though I photographed weddings as a wedding videographer’s assistant, I didn’t really work with a photographer yet.

My girlfriend at the time eventually got a remote job, and in 2021 we decided to move to Colorado because of our love for the mountains and skiing/snowboarding. Amidst the move, she decided to pursue a career in Bodybuilding, in the Bikini category. We lived in the gym. I wanted to support her by photographing her competitions and her prep; the stuff that no one else get to see. I fell in love with documenting the process, the untold story that hardly anyone gets to see. Yes, the judges at these bodybuilding shows score the competitors on the physique that they worked so hard to earn, and photographers aim to capture this same final product. After supporting my girlfriend through this new, challenging process, and attending every show she competed in, I had the realization that I was drawn to the PROCESS.

Looking back, I loved photographing my wedding videographer friend and his process when preparing for weddings. The vendors who make weddings beautiful. The unsung heroes who hardly get the spotlight. Was this because I’ve never been exposed to careers and experiences outside of the sciences?

THIS is what sets my art apart from others. I’m fascinated by what people DO. After changing careers and industries most of my adult life, and being successful with every single one of them, I discovered that I have a love for highlighting the story of the people behind the scenes. I have a passion for making what people may seem like a boring, monotonous task, into ART. A knack for seeing the beauty of one’s workspace, where they spend the majority of their day!

My approach applies to the couples I work with as well. There’s so much beauty to be captured in the love that two people share. The things that make up why they fell in love with the first place. The stuff that no one gets to see. I LOVE documenting LOVE. I’ve made it my responsibility to capture the quirks that they may not notice about themselves when they’re with each other.

As I’ve made these massive discoveries about my love for photography, my relationship ended in July of 2022. The same week, I was laid off from my dream job. The second darkest period of my life. I had everything; the dog, the girl, the fulfilling and high-paying job, a new city. There were plenty of jobs to be had in bioinformatics, all in Seattle, Boston, and San Francisco. I just moved to Denver! I wasn’t giving this up and moving! After 6 months of looking for remote bioinformatics jobs with no success (and not even any success with the lab jobs here either!) I made the decision to pursue photography full time in February 2024.

I met Brandi McMichael (formerly Shigley) during the week of my breakup and layoff when one of my best friends forced me to get out of the house and get drunk. “Are you Filipino?!” She asked, little did I know how much my life would be changed forever. She asked me if I would be interested in photographing the 10th anniversary Gala for the Lion Project, a media-based non-profit that uses visual storytelling to promote other non-profits and those in need around Denver. I didn’t know that she’s pretty much a celebrity around Denver.

She brought me into her world of fashion, allowing me to be the resident photographer for her 20-year blog called Fashion Denver. Eventually, she would ask me to photograph Denver Fashion Week. I was fascinated by the work the Hair & Makeup Artists, the Designers, Models, and Organizers put into this show. After finding out I was able to head backstage on the second day of the event, I found myself not even having any photos of the runway. I was more interested in the beauty of the stories unfolding backstage.

I received my first camera in December 2021; I get imposter syndrome so often it feels normal. I didn’t study business. I’m a successful scientist with a Master’s degree, with 4 published peer-reviewed articles! I didn’t go to school for photography, or study anything in the Arts. I took one art class, a three-dimensional design course in college. My parents, who guided me to the medical field from such a young age advised me to go back to my previous career.

This is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. The breakup left me to pay for an apartment that I couldn’t afford on my own. My severance package was used up to pay the remaining months of rent. I’ve maxed out my credit cards to keep my business going. I moved in with a friend who was willing to forgo my rent payments for six months. This allowed me to grow my business at an unheard of rate.

Since deciding to work on my business full-time in February 2024 (and thus not going back to my six-figure salary), I’ve hired a Fractional Corporate Operations Officer (COO) in Kyle Avrett from UpSurge Consulting, a Virtual Assistant named Jen, a Social Media Manager named Cat, and a Bookkeeper named Jen. I’m putting together a team of talented photographers who think the same way as me. I’ve had photos published in Denver WestWord. I’ve directed a 3-day, 5 location shoot, with photos that ended up on the Muscle & Fitness website, with my client making it to the Semi-Finals. I executed my vision of a Styled Wedding shoot. I photographed a ski wedding at Breckenridge. I even photographed a backcountry ski touring engagement session, and shot the couples’ wedding in Breckenridge. I earned a scholarship to earn my Avalanche 1 certification by leveraging my photography skills to benefit promoting diversity in the backcountry. I’ve been paid to fly out and photograph a company’s work trip in San Francisco. I photographed the Philippines Women’s Lacrosse National Team tryout, with plans to photograph them and the Men’s team in the 2028 Olympics. I’m getting interviewed for my PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS for being an inspiring entrepreneur? In the next two months, I’m showcasing MY PHOTOGRAPHS in an art show collaboration with a famous Chicago painter?! It truly is hard to believe that I picked up a camera for the very first time just over two short years ago, let alone running a team consisting of multiple employees.

What do I want people to know about my brand and my business? My family lost our house in the Recession of 2008. We moved into my grandparents’ house, and were forced to move most of our items, into storage units. Many of those things were frames and photographs of us growing up. There just wasn’t any room to fit another family’s photos in my grandparent’s house; they had three girls grow up there and have children. To sum it up, I don’t know where my family’s photographs are. I’ve made it my mission to serve as my family’s documentarian, to preserve memories for us when we are together, since most of our photos are buried somewhere deep in a storage unit. I want to be my clients’ documentarian. I don’t want others to go through life without their printed photographs, nor do I want them to show their memories by scrolling through their Photos library on their smart phone. I want to work with people that prioritize preserving memories. I genuinely care about capturing these moments and crystallizing them with high-quality printing and custom framework handmade by me. I want people to know that they’re getting a photographer who’s genuinely interested in YOU and WHAT YOU DO. I treat people with the professionalism that I’ve gained from years in the pharmaceutical industry, and I can guarantee that I can capture beauty in any setting or scenario no matter how boring you may think it is.

I’ve learned that the best things come from the darkest of times, and being comfortable with the uncomfortable is what makes one successful. I also learned that working hard isn’t always what gets you the best results. As a photographer, the best thing I’ve learned is to ALWAYS have a camera on you, especially outside of an actual shoot. I’ve also learned that you can truly draw from any experience in your life to support your next goal, no matter how far you may think the experience is removed.

Don’t let your photos sit in the cloud or on your device. Print them, hang them, show them off. Bring them with you as you move through life. Do you care about preserving your memories? Hit me up.

Website: www.photomaki.xyz
Instagram: @_photomaki

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?
I would take them through downtown LoDo, show them Thrive Workplace, where the Lion Project is. This is where I plan to build out a photography studio in collaboration with the Chicago painter Franklin Riley, of Fulton Market Gallery. I would introduce my friends to Franklin, and smoke a cigarette with him on the roof deck of Brandi McMichael’s husband Patrick McMichael’s architecture firm Track Architecture, on the corner of Lawrence & Larimer. If there’s a Rockies game, I’d take them to that as well. To me, LoDo has a special place in my heart, because it is where I first lived when I moved here, and it’s also where I’ve meet such wonderful people. We’d have dinner at La Diabla, a place that not only has incredible weekday specials, but it also has a special place in my heart after I was able to photograph Chef Jose Avila during a Creative Mornings event. I’d also try to take my friend to one of these events as well, since it has done so much for my career.

If they visit during the winter, we are skiing every mountain on the front range. Hopefully they have both ski passes. I invested in having both passes to photograph couples on the mountains without any hindrance this past season, but ended up using it to network. Having a photography business allowed me to ski 60 days this 2023/2024 season, so I hope to make sure my friends visiting from out of town get the most out of their time here in the mountains.

Before heading out for the night, I’d totally hit up Glenn Joseph Styling to make sure we get a dope affordable, sustainable outfit at CrossRoads on Broadway. After, I’m definitely taking them to Desert Social on South Broadway to have them try my favorite drink, the Agua de Casa, before heading to Milk Bar. After spending some time dancing, I would make sure to grab pizza from outside Beacon late night, specifically the honey pepperoni pizza. The following morning we’d grab breakfast and coffee at Crema in RiNo. This is my favorite place to have meetings with clients, and meeting with new connections for the first time.

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?
Brandi McMichael (formerly Shigley) is one of the cornerstones who have allowed my career to really skyrocket in the way that it has. Her network built over two decades, starting from her roots in fashion and entrepreneurship has really introduced me to people and organizations that myself or others would truly take years to find and build relationships with on one’s own.

Brandi is part of the Lion Project, a media-based non-profit in Denver, who has also contributed to my success. Zak Ferry, the Founder and Executive Director has provided numerous opportunities and support in my growth as a business. The Lion Project and its network has been shared with me, and we work together on so many fun and rewarding creative projects serving the Denver community.

Another important support figure is Glenn Joseph, of Glenn Joseph Styling. We only met in December 2023. Since meeting, my success started to become exceptionally noticeable ever since. As one of the few male stylists in Denver, he’s truly inspired me to not only elevate my own style game, but also elevate the way I approach business. We’ve collaborated on a number of creative projects, and am excited to see what the future has in store for all of us.

Website: https://www.photomaki.xyz

Instagram: @_photomaki

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artemiosisoniii/

Other: My entire collection of galleries: https://photomaki.pixieset.com

Image Credits
Profile Image: Emily Carter of E.T.C. Photography, IG: e.t.c._photography, website: https://www.emilytcarterphotography.com/
Additional Photos: Me, Mio Sison III of Photomaki Photography, IG: @_photomaki, website: https://www.photomaki.xyz/