ABOUT
Visual Storyteller First, Photographer Second.
Based Out of East Los Angeles, CA and servicing all of Los Angeles County.
MY STORY
I am a Visual Storyteller.
My career began in Graphic Design before transitioning into Web Design & User Experience Design. I found myself focused less on the design and verbiage and more on the visuals to use to help tell a story. Whether it was me finding the right stock photos to use or personally taking the photos myself and editing them, the image had to help support the narrative, product or service the client sought to promote. When I photograph people, places or products, it is my intention to tell a story from a specific point of view.
While I have been criticized for not focusing on one area of expertise, I refuse to get pigeon-holed. When one industry is slow or dries up, I can shift into others and even criss-cross back and forth as needed. Today, we are seeing many people who have specialized in the same thing for many years now forced to change careers due to certain fields drying up or getting replaced by AI and these people are lost because they did not specialize or obtain skills in other areas of the industry. Being able to shift between Real Estate, Events, and Products has saved me financially in the long run and provided for a diverse and eclectic portfolio.
In 2016, I left my career in the Design to create my own Video & Photography Production Service Company - The Creative Cortex. The photography assignments ranged from Real Estate, Events & Products. My focus started to lean more and more into Real Estate Photography but I did not want to limit myself to strictly Real Estate.
When Covid hit in 2020, the lockdowns completely destroyed my business due to my informed decision to refuse taking an experimental vaccine and a refusal to wear a suffocating mask at all times. My career pursuit to have an income doing a wide variety of photography and videography work literally came to a crashing end.
One of my clients, a property management company, ended up hiring me to work in the office where I learned alot about the inner workings of property management. I have since left that company to return to photography and videography as an independent freelancer.
WHY HIRE ME?
I am a problem solver, I show up on time for each assignment, maintain a professional demeanor while being personable and easy to work with. Something many others don’t do is scout the intended location days to weeks out before a project start date to help address and minimize any potential challenges and issues that might affect a successful shoot.
While I am experienced in my craft, there is still always something to learn. If there is something I am lacking, whether it is a trend, specific knowledge, specific resources and/or a skill sets, I will research it immediately and try to implement on the current project.
Also, unlike many other photographers, I do not make the photos about me or my brand. I make them about you, the client. However, not every client is able to convey their story and that is where I bring in my story telling skills to assist. I gain an understanding of what you are trying to do and then offer up options to help guide you to refining your story that want to tell through the photos. It is also my goal to help inform you if certain directions taken in the photos (clothing style, locations, activities being depicted) are in line with what you are trying to convey to your audience. I am open to pretty much any topic or activity being depicted as long as it is not endorsing physical harm, rape, abuse, illegal drug use, or murder. Everything else I am cool with.
It is my intention to take over your project and come at it as if it was my own. I have my own projects for that.
My role is interpret the end goal of the project you are trying to achieve and convey it through photography and/or videography. I can consult and advise on what the final look and feel of a photograph or video could be and provide several solutions, but ultimately, it’s still your decision and I will do everything to accommodate that decision. The final product will look like you spent more money on it than you actually did and is tailored to be your vision, not mine.