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I’m a cinematographer with a documentary eye and a commercial sensibility.

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Self-portrait during my cross country move from Portland to Brooklyn.

FILMS

Before a Breath | Feature documentary about three mothers who lost children to stillbirth and are striving to make pregnancy safer. For ProPublica.

With Every Breath | An intimate look into what happens when people learn that a CPAP machine may be causing harm. For ProPublica.

Cookie & Zo’e | A Georgia family wrestles with school choice 60 years after desegregation. For ProPublica.

Losing Kyle | One man remembers his brother who jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge. For the San Francisco Chronicle.

YouthMappers | Sierra Leone students map their communities for the first time in order to expand the power grid. For Youthmappers; premiered in Italy at State of the Map and FOSS4G.

Postcard | 60 seconds of my quarantine and Type 1 Diabetic experience. For Blue Chalk Media.

TYPE 1 DIABETES SELF-PORTRAITS

“Repeat after me, ‘I am a diabetic,’” the nurse said. “It’s part of the coping process.”
“You were a few days away from slipping into a diabetic coma...and you would not have survived past 24 hours.” My sister told me on my 23rd birthday, September 28, 2019. I was discharged from the ICU where I had spent the previous two days with diab
I chalked up the fatigue and 20-pound weight loss to the marathon I was training for. I attributed my dry mouth to the California heat, even though I gagged every morning when I took a drink of water. My cycle stopped for three months and I was unab
For the first two months before getting my durable medical equipment, I pricked my fingers about 8 times a day to check my blood sugar and gave myself about 4 insulin shots a day when eating.
I moved back into my childhood bedroom for a couple months where my only responsibility was to take care of my body.
“I just wish I could turn this off for a day. I can’t eat anything without thinking about it. I can’t workout without thinking about it. I can’t sit for too long without thinking about it. Literally every hour I expend energy thinking about blood su
If I don’t give enough insulin to cover carbs, my blood sugar jumps high. Longterm, this leads to blindness or neuropathy, which is nerve damage that can require amputation.
If I give too much insulin, then my blood sugar drops. I become light-headed and risk passing out, and eventually this leads to brain damage or death. But if I habitually eat carbs to correct my blood sugar even when I’m not hungry, then I risk weig
The target blood sugar range is 80-130, color-coded grey.
My dad-doctor wrote this reference sheet with target blood sugar numbers and symptoms.
Dad wrote me: “I know that God doesn’t make mistakes and am confident that your life will glorify Him more as a diabetic than it would otherwise.”
Without insulin, the body feeds on fat and eventually muscle to survive, and this releases ketones, which are acids that become toxic if too many build up at once. Prior to the diagnosis, my body was burning fat to survive, which explained the extre
My hair had fallen out in chunks because my body had shut down all non-essential tasks during survival mode. It took ten months to fully grow back.
Ironically, it took almost dying to feel content in my own skin. My body was leaner; my curves were gone. For the first time, I was completely satisfied with my reflection. But once I healed, my insecurities returned.
It feels like my health is constantly tested, analyzed and graded.
Carbs are the gas in the tank for our bodies. Carbs give our bodies energy while protein and fat serve other purposes. I can still eat my favorite high-carb foods as a diabetic, but I’m more intentional about when.
Sitting down for hours or going on a long run vastly alters how much insulin my body needs. A half-cup of oatmeal with banana requires seven units of insulin, or a 6-mile run, or four units of insulin followed by a 1-mile walk.
I woke up in the middle of the night with high blood sugar, so I dragged myself out of bed to do 300 squats, 30 pushups and two 2-minute planks, which brought my blood sugar down by 150 units.
A pandemic induced virtual doctor appointment with my endocrinologist and roommate’s cat, Rob. Since getting diabetes, my A1C has fluctuated between 5.6 and 6.6. (A1C measures average blood sugar from the past three months. Below 5.7 is the standard
The first time I wore a bikini since getting the blood sugar monitor. (photographed with assistance from Emilie Faiella)
“Is that your pager?” … “Do you use an old-school cellphone?” People ask about this PDM, my personal diabetes manager that connects wirelessly to the insulin pump on my body. It is pictured here, cracked, after learning how to skateboard.
My goal is 100%.
I am now immunocompromised and will always have a pre-existing health condition. I accept that. Mostly, I am grateful that this condition is manageable.
If I could change something about my appearance, it would be my scars, mostly from the insulin pumps. But I also know that scars are a mark of healing, and one day I hope to see my scars as small miracles.

Hello! I’m a cinematographer endlessly in pursuit of creating that feeling that connects but is indescribable.

Previously at ProPublica, I worked as director of photography on Before a Breath, their first in-house feature documentary, as well as Cookie & Zo’e, (Vimeo Staff Pick) and With Every Breath, which garnered half a million views.

Outside of work, I’m the youngest of eight kids, which probably explains my adaptability and calm under pressure. I love weightlifting, roller skating and long runs, and I’ve driven across the country six times in my manual Honda. I’m currently building a production company with my partner, and our first project together premieres in spring 2026.

I’m open to new collaborations that invite a touch of documentary style. If you’re looking for a cinematographer who finds beauty everywhere and is genuinely invested in the people behind the camera as much as the images in front of it, I’d love to connect.

Let’s meet.

lizmoughon@gmail.com

423.388.1669

@lizmoughon