Mayra Bojorquez opens a photography wonderland in San Juan Bautista

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San Juan Bautista has become just a little more picturesque, thanks to the 15 selfie stations at Mayra Bojorquez’s new MB Photography Studio at the corner of Third and Mariposa Streets. The studio’s themed backdrops and setups can be incorporated into one of Bojorquez’s award-winning portrait shoots, or customers can choose to have the run of the place, using their cell phones or optional Polaroid cameras to create truly unique selfies.

“We have four themed rooms, and all the walls have backdrops,” Bojorquez said. “People tend to have a great old time, playing with props and costumes, laughing and making memories.”  

After she began shooting portraits in 2018 in a studio in her garage in Hollister, she had the idea for multiple sets to facilitate moving from one theme to another without having to tear anything down during a shoot. 

“Shoots were dragging on for hours because of that,” Bojorquez said. “Here, I can just bounce from one theme to another, which offers more options for my clients.”

Bojorquez opened the new studio last month.

The four stations include a floral theme with a swing, a romantic theme with roses, a chair shaped like a high-heel, an urban theme with a clear inflatable couch, and a “Friends” theme with a brick wall and orange couch. Bojorquez is also converting the building’s old bank vault into a station filled with fake money.

Various backdrops cover most of the studio’s walls, such as angel wings, crumpled silver vinyl, small iridescent squares, a set-up for mugshots and more. 

“I plan to swap them out every few months,” she said. “I want there to always be something fresh and exciting here for people.”

Individuals or groups can rent the space by the hour. A package deal for a party room for celebrations includes renting a Polaroid camera and film packs. For an additional fee,  Bojorquez herself will join in shooting the photographs. The space can accommodate up to 50 guests.

“My goal is to have a place for the community to come and do something special,” she said. “There is nothing like this in San Benito County, and I think people will enjoy everything we have to offer.”

The selfie stations are fun and games, but portrait photography, particularly of newborns and children, is Bojorquez’s bread and butter, winning her an award in 2023 from LuxLife magazine Parent & Baby awards as Best Maternity & Newborn Photographer.

“They are much more than photographs,” she said. “They are memories and things that people are going to cherish forever. I can give that to people, and I love it.”

She decided to specialize in portraits of newborns and was extensively trained on the unique issues of photographing the very young.

“Newborns are not going to come in magically sleepy and poseable,” she said. “You have to understand their cues. There’s more than just laying them down and taking the photo. You cater to their individual needs, and once you figure that out, you’re golden.”

Bojorquez consults with customers before conventional shoots, having them fill out a brief questionnaire and discussing what style, costuming and setting they prefer.

“I want to get to know my customers better,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll pull things out of our conversation, thinking, ‘This will be important to them.’ I’ve had people in tears, saying, ‘You have no idea what that detail meant.”

While people may be satisfied with the snapshots they take with their cell phones, Bojorquez believes that they can’t compare the quality of images taken with studio lights and high-end cameras. 

“Investing in photographs will have value as you grow older,” Bojorquez said. “Being a mother and being able to reflect on my own kids’ photographs or special times in our lives—those are the things that I keep close to my heart.”

Millie Rodriguez has been a customer since 2018 when Bojorquez gave her a photo shoot after finding out that her four-year-old son, Roman, had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

“She brought us to the mission and gave us this beautiful family photo shoot,” Rodriquez said. “It was near my son’s birthday, so she brought him balloons and a cupcake with a huge candle. He just felt just super special.”

After Roman’s passing, Rodriquez gave birth to a daughter, and Bojorquez again gifted her with a photo shoot.

“I told her to just run with it, whatever she wanted to do,” Rodriquez said. “She added a Spider-Man doll to symbolize Roman because he had loved Spider-Man so much.”

Rodriguez said that Bojorquez’s work is part empathy, part creativity and part intuition, but she treasures the results.

Bojorquez is “telling us her ideas and we’re looking at her, nodding our heads and thinking  ‘Hmmmmm,’ and then she’s pulling stuff out of her magician’s hat,” Rodriguez said. “And it is always amazing in the end.”

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