Sempek Photography Captures Special Moments in Events
Monica Sempek began her photography business in 2016 by exploring her genuine passion for capturing meaningful images with her camera.
Her motto – “from flowers to faces” – symbolizes both her professional journey as well as the broad scope of her expertise.
Sempek began to build her business by taking photos of a memorial garden she had built for her sister.
“I started taking photos of the flowers in all of their beauty,” Sempek said of her beginnings. “Then it was the neighbor’s flowers and my mother’s flowers.”
Over time, she realized that photos of gardens and flowers allow people to bring the springtime inside with them to enjoy year-round and remember happier times filled with sunshine.
From there, Monica began building her portfolio around the business community and started to photograph networking events at no charge. At one symposium Sempek negotiated that her fees would be the cost of attending the event itself, which represented her first professional shoot.
“It was life changing for me,” she said. “The images were amazing because I realized that what I was capturing was the emotions on peoples’ faces.”
Capturing the camaraderie among a business’ team members is her goal, such as a CEO greeting their newest employees and getting to mingle. She also wants to capture the emotion from people who are recognized for their hard work. So Sempek transformed her celebration of floral beauty into the appreciation for how expressions blossom.
Sempek decided to explore working in the nonprofit sector and immediately fell in love with using her skills to broaden awareness within her community. She realized that going to benefits and capturing the emotion associated with a given mission, “capturing their story will help build their non-profit,” she said.
Through the nonprofit sector, she knew that she could make a difference and began taking photos during organizaitons’ events.
“Capturing good images at events brought in not only new events but I would then get invited to attend the next event,” Sempek said.
The dedication and caring that is captured by her work prompted Monica Sempek Photography’s selection as the Greater Omaha Chamber’s Small Business of the Month for February.
Winning the award “was such a surprise!” beamed Sempek. “This shows me that I’m doing something right. I try to support others, but it really humbled me. I take pictures with my heart and I give it my all no matter who it’s for.”
Despite the pandemic, Sempek still treats everything in life like it is an event. Whether it is corporate headshots, starting a new business, or remodeling an old building, everything in life can and should, in her opinion, be treated as such.
Because of this mindset, the photography studio itself is a 1,500-square-foot event space that has been temporarily transformed into a creative content space.
Sempek specializes in “traditional non-traditional” headshots, which are meant to be candid with intention, she said.
“I enjoy capturing your personality in your images,” she said.
The images help potential clients envision what it will be like to attend the given event or potentially work with a business.
“I will set up these different stages of the client working out, sitting down with a client, capturing a client walking in with a smile on their face,” she said. “I want to capture you being you.”
Find more information on Monica Sempek Photography at monicasempekphotography.com.
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