Today we’d like to introduce you to Elissa Title.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Elissa. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As an avid traveler who has a passion for learning about other cultures, my photography and graphic design work is heavily focused on global awareness. Growing up, I translated my love for wildlife into my art studies (I attended art camps every summer and pursued art in college). I always used to steal my mom’s camera when we traveled, and eventually, I became the designated trip photographer between the two of us.
When I graduated from high school, she gave me a Canon DSLR and that’s when I began to pursue photography as a profession. I moved to the east coast for college where I was one of twenty incoming freshmen accepted to a summer study abroad program in Rome. After returning to university in Washington DC, my love for Italy brought me back for a semester abroad in Florence.
There, I furthered my love for Italian cuisine, Italian language and culture, and pursued interests in different art mediums like sculpture and ceramics. Eventually, I came back to California where I received a BFA in Graphic Design from Chapman University. I was entirely self-taught in photography until I took a course in 2016. Since then, my photography has blossomed into something even bigger.
The Los Angeles Times published two of my photographs promoting lion and elephant conservation. I had several photographs displayed in a gallery exhibition, have been featured several times in the National Geographic Your Shot community, was published in Landscape Photography Magazine and just recently won first place in an international photography and essay competition with my photograph of a minke whale that I took in Antarctica.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I was recently given a book that states, “A well-designed life is generative… it is constantly creative, productive, changing, evolving, and there is always the possibility of surprise”. While I majored in graphic design (where I focused on social awareness advertising mainly pertaining to wildlife and ecotourism), I realized my true passion is photography. I’ve always admired the medium and I’ve been taking photographs for as long as I can remember.
Volunteering as a conservation photographer in Zimbabwe solidified my desire to pursue photography as a profession, and I’ve been promoting my work through contests and social media ever since. It’s hard because you’ll spend hundreds of hours – literally – researching and submitting to photography competitions and quite often never place.
Many people are afraid of failure but if we get out of our own heads, we can put ourselves out there as much as possible. We can be a voice for the voiceless. As in my case, hard work and determination definitely pay off and it’s all worth it in the end.
Elissa Title Design + Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Having traveled to all seven continents and nearly fifty countries, I have seen poverty, declining animal populations, the evolution of new technologies, and consequences of human development on nature. My influences in my work are first and foremost everything I see, feel, and experience. I have interacted with hundreds of people from different religious, political, geographical, and cultural backgrounds.
As I’ve traveled, I’ve become more socially aware of the global community and as I’ve become more aware, I’ve become more interested in raising much-needed awareness on a variety of issues. When dealing with these topics, photography plays a crucial role and my greatest motivation is that photographs do have the power to spark change. People see a photograph and it’s hard to reject it as being deceptive of the truth. They spark emotion, and when we sympathize with the world around us, we tend to fight for a better planet.
While I volunteer with numerous organizations across the globe, I’ve found that the greatest weapon is the power of an image. Right now, I’m taking a year to travel and further build up my photography portfolio. I’m hoping to work as a wildlife photographer for a travel company, a magazine like National Geographic, or nonprofits with social awareness causes… But moving forward, I’m open to anything.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
As long as I am making others feel emotional about a photograph, making them think about their actions or inspiring people to spark change within their communities and globally — whether it’s by recycling, traveling and experiencing these cultures in person, donating to nonprofits, signing petitions, whatever—then I’m doing something right.
Maybe I’ll inspire someone else to pursue a career in wildlife photography. We need more voices to keep the momentum up. Individually, we can be great artists. But it takes a village to create long-lasting change and together, we can accomplish this.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elissatitle.myportfolio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elissatitle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elissatitledesign/
- Other: Travel blog: http://globetrotting-elissa.blogspot.com/
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
