Meet Meg Smith | Photographer/Filmmaker

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

Hi Meg, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?

Determination (otherwise known as stubbornness maybe!).

I knew I wanted to be a photographer even in high school, and while I had the fantasy of attending photography school, that idea wasn’t supported by my parents. I took photography classes at the local community college while in high school, and then majored in art history at UC Berkeley. I was petitioning to take any classes I could that involved photography, so I spent a lot of my time in the Graduate School of Journalism’s photo department. But my favorite class ended up being a seminar on the relationship between Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O’Keefe. I credit the study of art history for informing my work tremendously.

After that, well – years of hard work. It really comes down to taking action, almost every day really, to not just stay on track, but to keep things moving forward. The goal is constantly moving.

I remember at one point in my career thinking that if I could just have a photo published in one of Martha Stewart’s magazines, I would feel like I’d made it. Well, by the time her magazines stopped being printed, I’d had over one-hundred of my images run in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. I try to acknowledge little victories, but I’m off and running to the next thing before the dust settles.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I’m primarily based in Napa Valley (a wine region of Northern California) and part-time in Los Angeles. I’ve been a professional photographer running my own business for 25 years. I’ve done that as a single, proud mom of a son who started working at a 3-Michelin star restaurant last year while still in high school.

Food and wine play an integral part of life in Napa Valley. The world surrounding that could be described as a celebration of the good life, which is what I’ve been photographing most of my career.

My work embraces authentic moments of natural beauty and I have an organic, instinctual approach. I’ve always been inspired by light and color and a sense of place. Aside from the honor of raising my son, photography has been my life’s work.

My career as a photographer mainly centered around weddings, and I’m honored that it helped to re-shape the view of what “wedding photography” could be. I was able to travel to some of the most beautiful destinations in the world, work with the most talented planners and designers, and photograph the weddings of some of our most beloved celebrities. (I photographed Anne Hathaway, Jimmy Kimmel, LeAnn Rimes, and the late Robin Williams’ wedding among many others.)

When my son graduated from high school last year, I realized it was an opportunity for change for me as well. Even with a very full career in weddings, I had always photographed lots of other things…portraits, food, wine, travel – and I decided to put more energy into that. Stepping back from weddings, stepping more fully into my “second career” as a commercial photographer shooting both stills and motion has been exciting. I’m loving working with art directors, prop stylists, lighting directors, digital techs and agents. And interesting to me at least, a lot of the people I used to work with as a wedding photographer are also now in the commercial photography world. A photo rep, a prop stylist, and someone who’s running one of the largest stock agencies are a few examples that come to mind!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

The following spots are all within walking distance in downtown Napa.

1) Oxbow Market is a bustling industrial space with lots of different shops and restaurants. It’s a place where visitors and locals mingle and jostle for a table or barstool to drink sparkling wine and eat oysters, or bagels and lox, or tamales, or sushi…truly there’s something for everyone there. At Gott’s Roadside, the Ahi burgers and sweet potato fries are my go-tos. The Model Bakery, Lovski’s Jew-ish Deli, El Porteńo’s empanadas, C-Casa’s tacos, Hudson Market for special treats for the kitchen, Hog Island Oysters, Fatted Calf Charcuterie, Ritual Coffee, and Whole Spice (worth the visit just for this special shop) are some of my favorites.

2) The Napa Farmer’s Market can range from quiet if it’s early on a Tuesday morning, to frustratingly busy if it’s a beautiful Saturday, but there’s a fantastic assortment of prepared and fresh foods. This is where I stock up on supplies for the week; smoked salmon (the end pieces are the best deal), squid ink pasta from Chef Tango (he used to work at the French Laundry), and everything from micro greens to macaroons.

3) Across the street from the farmer’s market is Napa Bookmine, a sweet little used and new bookshop worth a visit every time.

4) Angèle Restaurant. It’s best to have a reservation and sit outside by the river in good weather, or inside the cozy restaurant if it’s cold out. A glass of champagne and a tomato tart, or onion soup, or salad niçoise is the perfect lunch.

5) Cadet Wine bar is hidden down a little alley on First Street and is great for a light bite and glass of wine or bubbles

6) You’d need a car for this, but it’s worth the drive up the western hills of Napa to get to Hess Winery: It has an incredible art collection, including modern sculptures and paintings housed on several floors in an elegant stone building.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
When I became a photographer as a young woman in the late 90’s, I only knew one female professional photographer personally. Now I must know a hundred, maybe hundreds of women who are professional photographers. But back then it wasn’t considered a career path, and it was a male-dominated industry. I was lucky to study or work with some exceptional men who were very supportive; my high school art teacher Greg Marvin, my Napa College photography instructor Ron Zak, UC Berkeley teacher and social justice photographer Ken Light, international photojournalist Peter Menzel, and former National Geographic photographer Charles O’Rear all helped nurture the flame I had inside me to become a photographer. 

Website: https://www.megsmithphotographs.com

Instagram: @megsmithphotographs

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

Image Credits
Meg Smith, Photographer