Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariah Monroe.
Hi Mariah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am the innovative and talented visionary Mariah Monroe. I am a creative director, and production assistant. I love creating concepts, putting together projects, and making sure they are executed beautifully. I feel like my love for production began as a youngin when my dad bought a small cam recorder and me and my siblings would create shows and record them on there. Me being big sister of course I just told them what to do and they followed suit but it was always fun for us. Our imagination wasn’t limited on what we could do with the camera. I also was a dancer for a few different companies and my favorite part was recital/performance day. Something about the chaos of it all on show day would really excite me because it was so many moving pieces that were collaborating together to make it a success. I stop dancing when I made the cheer team in high school and I cheered my whole 4 years. In 2019 I graduated top 3 in my class of the magnet program. I’ve always been a very smart girl. Moving to my college days at North Carolina A&T I originally went to school for computer science because I thought I wanted to be an engineer since I was so smart. I soon quickly realized that it was not for me and I started to doubt myself. Events in my life started to take place that made me feel like I was failing at life and COVID happened and made the feeling even worse. I wanted to drop out of school and went through a really deep depression that took me like 2 years to breakthrough. My faith in God is what got me through. In 2022 I decided I wanted to start a production business with my roommate at the time called Mia’Riah Productions.. She ended up moving back to Atlanta with me so we could accomplish this dream. I believed Atlanta was the perfect place to help elevate us. We started planning and began interviewing people and actually started doing what we said we would. Unfortunately, life happens and I am no longer in business or connection with her. Shortly after I got re-enrolled in school at Georgia State University. My major now is Media Entrepreneurship and I am in love with it. During this process I started working with a company called The Collection ATL. Shoutout to my homegirl Justice for putting me on with opportunities without me even having to ask. She knew what had to offer. I was hired as their brand coordinator. I worked with them for over a year and left once I decided I want to focus more on my own creative ventures. I started creative directing for UltraTrendy Photography. Shoutout to the CEO because he really pushed me and gave me the confidence to realize I am actually very skilled at what I do. I also creative directed for a brand named 3L3M3NT pieces. After working for them a little bit, I knew I could actually market myself as a creative director. I was also working different industry events, and doing BTS for a lot projects in between all of this. Now current time I am a freelance Creative director and my business is called Realize Through Riah’s Eyes.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road but it is worth the hard work and labor I have been putting into my creative ventures. I’ve learned a lot of lessons and applying each one when necessary. One of my main struggles is learning my worth value and standing firm on it. The thing is people will pay your prices that you’re worth, and if not…then you just won’t work! It’s that simple. Making that transition for getting my foot in the door to actually having my whole existence on the scene was very eye opening. Another struggle are the relationships you gain from networking because sometimes people will take advantage of the hunger you have. I truly value the connection I do make but once someone wants to go their separate ways, I can’t take it personal. People come in your life for different reasons and seasons, which means it might not always be permanent. Having strong discernment has brought me very far. I can tell when someone is just using me to help them get ahead versus someone actually believing in me! A major lesson I also learned is never ever mix business with pleasure. It won’t end well my friends, stay disciplined and be focused on what you were called to accomplish. Lastly be strategic when it comes to sharing your creative ideas because it is a dog eat dog industry out here sometimes.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think I answered a little bit in the first section. I specialize in being a visionary.I have a special eye and I consider myself a dreamer. I can call out someone’s potential years before they even see it. I see things that most people don’t and I pay attention to details that a lot wouldn’t even think about. I create concepts for my clients brands, whether that be personas or products and services. Everyone loves the finishing touches and results but my favorite part is the process of creating a project. I love seeing how all the different puzzles pieces come together to fit so well and create a masterpiece. I also like to do interviews especially listening to creatives and artist processes, even though I haven’t been focusing on that aspect. I also make custom bouquets as well. It’s so therapeutic, fun, and cutesy. I personally enjoy making mood-boards or people might call them visions boards. For example for a photoshoot, I’ll start off by doing research on my subject. Then I think of ways of how I want to them be depicted that goes along with their personality and vibe. After that I come up with a concept that includes theme, camera angles, poses, color schemes, sense of style, makeup, lighting, and editing style. I find that the more I do this the more I realize I like to tell stories whether it is through stills or motion. Then I make sure the vision is executed properly and we aren’t missing any key elements. I love what I do. I am most proud of this short film project I am actually working on for myself that will be released on my birthday October 6. So libra gang stay tuned cause I’m showing out for us <3. Website coming soon!!!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Have faith in God with everything you do and believe in yourself. I know it’s cliche but keep going. You shouldn’t be doing this for the money , you do it cause you genuinely enjoy. Your craft genuinely making you happy is more than enough reason to go hard with it. Trust the money will follow. Manifestation is real but without working diligently and intentional you are wasting your time ! Also know that your talents are closer to home than you probably think. I’ve known this my whole but I didn’t realize how alike I am to both of my parents until I got older. My dad use to be a photographer and my mom is a mega entrepreneur and writer. My love for media and entrepreneurship has always been in my blood and I’m honoring it. Think about the bigger picture and never limit yourself.
Pricing:
- Mood Board Concepts- $65 flat rate
- On Set Creative Direction – $75 / per hour
- Art Direction- $75 / per hour
- BTS Edits – $ 25 / per half minute
- PA – $60/ per hour
Contact Info:
- Instagram: RiahLeilani/Realizethroughriahseyes
- Facebook: Mariah Monroe
- Youtube: Realize Through Riah’s Eye
- Other: RiahLeilani on Pinterest
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Image Credits
@realizethroughriahseyes on IG creative directed all the photoshoots and my cover photo. **Photographers** Cover photo: @itsgroovy_ on IG Telephone & Halloween photos: @ultratrendyphotography on IG Black lace dress photo: @jaazzzc on IG Red dress & BTS photos: @_philpot on IG Interview videographer: @thr3now on IG **Models** Cover photo: Telephone photo: @akaylanatalie on IG Halloween photo: @myalanii on IG Black lace dress photo: @kaylinmartinn on IG Red dress photo: @xo.tiii on IG Interview brands: @badgirlnextdoorxx & @visionary.atl on IG
