just launch it

Embracing Your Individuality and Putting Yourself Out There

When pursuing something new, it's common to get weighed down by self-doubt and fear of failure. We may hesitate to take action, waiting for the "perfect" moment or for everything to fall into place before making a move. However, the truth is that there is no perfect time, and the only way to succeed is by taking the leap.

In January 2022, I made a New Year's resolution to worry less and create more. To post more. Record more. Photograph more. At the time, I was working at a marketing agency and had just bought MYSELF A camera. I found myself learning from observing other creatives online. While at work I didn’t veer off into experimental approaches, my favorite season of photography actually came when I left THE agency AND BEGAN focusing on building my portfolio. I spent two months learning about the craft and studying artists' work that inspired me. Their stories, their gear, their approaches, their tips, the way their mind worked on creative levels pre-shoot, during, and in post. After 2 months, I offered PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY SESSIONS TO MY SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWING and EAGERLY scheduled 12 photoshoots for a single week. ( LOL I KNOW ) During this time, I began finding my own unique VOICE THROUGH photography. Every INDIVIDUAL has something unique to offer, and it's important to embrace that individuality AS A PHOTOGRAPHER AND CAPTURE THAT UNIQUENESS OF THE SUBJECT. I veered away from what I learned about "right and wrong" in photography and explored different techniques.

it’s fun to think that this is only a part of your development as a person and a creator. TO LOOK BACK ONE day and see your progress and how you refined your style with each passing shoot. The magic of the experience is IN THE NOW - embrace where you are at this moment - that includeS your short listed resumes, your limited website, and maybe even your out of focus images. hahaha.

Whether it's starting a business, publishing a website, submitting an application, or creating a portfolio...

just launch it!

el coco - the mind

Growing up, I spenT A LOT OF time in nursing homes where my father worked. While he attended to their medical needs, I would sit in the common room and keep the elderly residents company. As we conversed, they shared with me lessons of life, stories of their youth, and their hopes for the future. These conversations deeply touched me, and I grew a profound admiration for conversation and genuine human connection. I became fascinated with the way they expressed themselves, and how their experiences made them who they were.

As I delved deeper into life, my appreciation for conversation grew even more and my fascination for the intricacies of the human body and mind grew with it. I knew that the human experience was not just about physiology, but about emotions, connections, conversations and everything in-between. There was beauty in the human experience and I wanted to capture it and evoke emotion through different mediums. As a creative, I strive to capture those raw, unguarded moments that make us all human and embrace the uniqueness that all of us have to offer through our bodies, thoughts, words, and experiences.

the seed

Growing up, photography was a BIG part of my family. Not that I come from a streamline of professional photographers, but better yet, a trigger-happy mom who LOVED scrapbooking. Seriously an emphasis on LOVED. (hahaha)

At the moment, I never thought much of it. Still, I remember using disposable cameras to capture everything from our birthdays, dance recitals, holidays, vacations, and Mondays... Tuesdays... Wednesdays.. and almost any day that ended in Y. We say my brother and I were my mother's "favorite" photo subjects… or most available, haha. I vaguely remember her transition to a film camera but clearly remember fidgeting with the containers that the rolls of film came in and our trips to the local stores to get the photos developed. She was a hardcore scrapbooker and had scissors with every perforated edge you could think of, glitter pens of all colors, craft paper, and hole punchers of all different shapes, and would even make her own scrapbooks by using a 3-ring binder and covering the outside with fabric from our local art supply store.

When I was ~12 years old, I started grabbing the camera occasionally and would snap away for fun. I remember starting to take photos of my family and cousins with little to no care about what the images looked like until my mom would review the pictures and have me redo them after telling me that I needed to pay attention to the framing of my photos and be mindful of the items captured in them, to center the subject, to pay attention to lighting and shadows, and to make sure at all costs — the subjects were SMILING!! (this is more of an inside joke bc getting my brother and me to smile for photos as a kid was like pulling teeth; where we would respond by doing the most prominent and most complex smile you could think of that honestly wasn't very appealing, but hey— we smiled!! hahaha.)

In 8th grade, I took a class with a teacher who happened to be in charge of the yearbook club, and I would watch him put together the yearbook when I finished my classwork. I joined and became club president & represented us for homecoming that year. Yearbook club reminded me of my mom's scrapbooking but on a digital platform. I had an eye for design nurtured by watching my mom scrapbook. I learned the do's and don'ts of cramming items, spacing items, learning to be mindful of the colors in the photos to those in the backgrounds, and choosing fonts that were legible & stood out.

When I started high school, I joined the softball team and put my interest in media on the back burner. Thankfully, social media was in full swing, so I was able express myself creatively through our mobile cameras and began downloading apps to test out their editing software and find ways to "photoshop" without having access to the actual program itself. I found ways to execute the ideas I had in mind by using multiple secondary applications to create my desired image styles. When I was 14, I started doing my friend's hair and makeup for their quinceaneras (a traditional Mexican 15th birthday celebration). I remember my mom told me to take pictures of the makeup and hairstyles so I could use them as a reference for the future. The camera was back in my hands, and not only did my friends like getting made up, but I learned they loved having camera-quality photos taken of them too! I then began taking pictures of my friends where we would create the most elaborate scenarios and photograph them as if they were "on a runway" or "in a wedding magazine" haha.