Meet Marsais Urban | Texas Photographer & Fashion-Lifestyle Blogger

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

Hi Marsais, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
I think one of the most important decisions I’ve made that I feel has contributed to my success has been deciding to go for something and pursuing it as fervently as possible while simultaneously trusting my own self above any outsider opinion. I worked really hard to create the business I knew I wanted. You will always have a slew of varying opinions on what can/will work for your business (and life), and until you decide for yourself what you want- it’s easy to sway back and forth to do what you “think” you should be doing or are told is the way to succeed. Pursuing something with your whole heart and trusting your own self intuition feels like by far my biggest success and lesson overall.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have a joint title at the moment and one I am still growing into! 😉 I’m a fine art photographer who loves to shoot film and digital mediums and most importantly, capture people’s love story. I love the little quirks that make you, YOU and the things that set you apart in your life story are what I want to capture. I believe in making the process as fun and easy as possible and giving my clients the gifts of little memories of your life that you will have for a lifetime (and more). I’m newer to the blogging world but I wanted to feed my soul and this little desire of wanting to do for so long- has turned into something I am doing. I obtained my degree in Fashion Merchanding and always knew somehow, I wanted to incorporate the things I loved into one business. I truly love sharing little shopping tidbits and travel loves, and my hope is that I really grow more into the photographer/blogger realm I am wanting to be through this blog of mine. I’ll never want to stop photography but using the past 9 years of starting and then being in business with photography has fueled even more the things I want to capture and share with a different audience. One who relates to being a busy mom, who loves to travel and share amazing fashion finds, and who wants to share the joy we can find in life, with others. It took me years of sacrifice in a multitude of ways to settle into my photography business. Time away from family and friends missed opportunities, financial costs, etc, but I felt like in order to get where I wanted to be, I needed to put in that work. Blogging is kinda like completely starting over in a new world but I love the challenge. I have a lot to learn and a long way to go but that’s ok too. I’ve lived through some “unique” stuff, and I don’t think you live that kind of story in life and not feel like you are meant to share with the world. There’s a lot of great genuine community we can build together in our life story if we are vulnerable and brave enough to share, something I am probably still working through as my business is also myself. I believe so deeply in being a positive light and someone who displays honesty and integrity above all and does it while hopefully, being a good example along the way. I am just a girl with lots of dreams pivoting plans and always striving to be that best version I can be, for myself, and most importantly as an example to my family. I am also clearly a huge fan of the run-on sentence! 😉

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many great amazing places in Houston so, if someone had never ever been to Houston, here is what I would say. We have some of the greatest food around and I don’t think in a week we’d have enough time to eat hahaha, but here are some favorites of mine I’d for sure want to hit up: Le Colonial for French Vietnamese food. Lees Chicken and Donuts Millers Cafe for an outstanding hole in wall burger goodness. Brennan’s for some fine dining, kind of a Houston staple. Tris in The Woodlands for some incredible, inspired creations. Steak48 if you want one of the best steaks you’ve ever had. Niko Nikos for some greek food. Tiny Boxwoods for sure and definitely another stop for milk and cookies. Hugo’s for brunch for sure! Chick ‘N Cone in The Heights for some spicy chicken in a waffle cone. It’s dang good. Oh my gosh this question isn’t fair I can list forever and ever! I’d definitely be popping into Minute Maid Park to see an Astros game and devouring a ballpark hot-dog. And let’s be honest, probably some cotton candy as well. You can’t not go to an Astros game while in Houston. Galveston for a great day trip to the Pier, the local candy shoppe on the strand and an icecream cone before leaving. There’s a great little airport in Tomball called Hooks Airport I used to take my kids to eat a simple American breakfast and watch the planes fly overhead and it’s a humbling experience. I’d probably convince you to get a tattoo as well, cause why not?! 😉 AND SHOPPING! Galleria for sure. If it’s holiday time you’d have to ice-skate because it’s a need not a want. River Oaks District for high-end retail and Highland Village around the corner for a Sprinkles cupcake and to hit up Anthropologie. We’d for sure drive down Rice Village to see the beautiful streets lined with trees and then back to Discovery Green area for a little walking around downtown or seeing some live music. We have a great city with so many things to see/eat/do so hopefully this is just a snippet to show you of the vast fun we have around town!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh my gosh, this is a loaded question because I feel like so many deserve credit here. When I decided I wanted to pursue photography full-time I remember I didn’t even own a camera or know how to shoot, let alone everything else. My Dad actually thought it was a really great idea and told me that he would loan me the money for a camera and computer and I spent the next 6 months photographing everyone and everything. My husband and I had just moved from a different city and he was going to back to school full-time and working a full-time internship and we had a newborn baby at home so it was ALOT. While the baby slept, I learned to edit. I quit my job naively, in total pursuit of photography about 3 weeks after he was born so overall, the biggest contributor would be my husband Kenny for allowing me to go after this venture full-force and while I’m sure he had his doubts, was smart enough not to convince me otherwise! 😉 Hehehe Through the years I have received encouragement from friends and family and really, as a creative person, those words are like little sparks of fire to not give up.

Website: www.marsais.com
Instagram: instagram.com/marsais
Twitter: marsaisitaintso
Facebook: facebook.com/marsaisurban
Other: My main website is www.marsais.com My photography is www.marsais.com/photography Blog is found at www.marsaisblog.com

Image Credits
Main photo is taken by Banavenue Photography
All Images shot by me: Marsais Urban for Marsais Photographie