How did I get here? What is my thinking process? What gear do I use? Well, to explain how I became a photographer, let’s go back to 1998.
When I was in second grade, my dad was kicked out of our home because of domestic violence, and my mom worked all day to provide for a family of four. Growing up in a violent home, taught me to live in survival mode. I learned to stay quiet and observe everything. With my mom away working full time, I quickly became independent and mature for my age.
Through observing, I learned how to read people’s emotions, and I just wanted to capture that.
We had a wooden picnic table with benches. I would sit and observe birds, people and bugs.
One day, I begged my mom for a disposable camera, so she got it for me, and I started taking photos. The feeling of capturing moments in real time was cool to me, and I felt safe behind the camera.
We had stacks of National Geographic magazines. I loved looking through the photos of wildlife, cars, people and lightning.
Fast-forward to 2013. Two years after graduating high school, I was very involved in car shows through my membership in a car club. I always took photos with my phone, which at the time was a Samsung Galaxy S III.
My brother gave me my first camera as a Christmas gift, a Nikon D3300. I didn’t waste a second and started shooting anything I could with the kit lens. The camera came with an 18-55 mm f/4.5 lens.
I started with candid street photography in downtown McAllen, at car shows and of birds. I had Frankensteined a car battery jumper to an adapter that would connect to a lamp as a light source because I was so fascinated by the outdoor flash portraits created by other local photographers. I kept practicing on my own until people began asking me if I did photography as a business. My first client was a 3-year-old girl celebrating her birthday.
From there, the rest was history. I slowly started perfecting my craft, learned to value my art, time and worth.
I quit jobs that didn’t value my work or that treated me as an outsider. I left those jobs to learn video production and eventually pursue a career in a field I wanted to work in.
I saved money and bought lenses, snuck into concerts and had opportunities come to me, for which I am grateful. Everywhere I went, I stepped out of my comfort zone and spoke with a lot of people.
At times, I met people who didn’t know me but liked my work on social media and laughed after finding out it was me.
I didn’t want the fame others sought; I just loved what I did, and I was able to make a living from it. I struggled a lot more than I was successful. I broke things, but I never gave up.
I always tried to challenge myself to do more and avoid limiting myself to one type of photography.
I learned how to manage a business, operate a drone and get licensed. With 360 cameras, I wanted to learn how to make 3D maps of homes as it was another service I saw that photographers could provide.
So, to those looking into photography or chasing equipment instead of gaining experience, I say this: Get an old camera that you won’t be afraid to get dirty. Don’t ask for shortcuts; practice and do it because you enjoy it, not because you think it’s an easy way to make a dollar.
Be inspired, make that your goal and keep going. I’m still learning, and I’ll keep doing it because photography is my escape, and I enjoy capturing stories. I hope my work reflects that.
