Today we’d like to introduce you to Luis Rodriguez.
Luis, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always been into photography I started out with just taking pictures with my phone then just editing them on my Instagram and I would upload it one day I was walking through Costco with my wife and I saw a camera bundle so I went ahead and purchased right away the next day I started taking pictures I remember I went to the beach in Oceanside and I started snapping away a few months later I was driving around vista and I had an idea I was thinking about for days but I kept putting it off till I decided to go I remember I stood in the middle of the intersection and I snapped a picture of the “paseo santa fe” sign in downtown vista I posted the picture on Instagram I tagged the city of vista a few hours later I was contacted by the city of vista I was asked if they could repost the picture on the city of vista’s Instagram page they reposted it then I was contacted again if I would like to meet with them they were interested in my work I met with them as soon as I knew it I had my business license and I became the official photographer for the city of vista I work all there events I do special projects for them I started going around San Diego taking more and more pictures I was hired to do a photo shoot for a new cat café in which I took food pictures and pictures of the new set up before opening day I was featured in the eater magazine and on San Diego’s NBC7 and Fox6 San Diego I also started doing drone photography I got good feed back for my aerial photography each day I’m looking to better my self in this business to get more knowledge. 🙂
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Its been pretty tough especially in the beginning people assumed cause I was doing photography for the city of vista I would automatically start getting jobs which weren’t the case I remember to get my name out there I would offer free photoshoots for people I was taking any gig I could get I remember I started doing 50$ dollar photo sessions even after that I still wouldn’t get that many jobs one thing I’ve learned is that strangers support you more than your friends. one of the biggest struggles is prices people always hit me with the line “well I can get it cheaper from this photographer” at first I would give in and give a lower price it came to a point to where I had to put my foot down and not budge when it came to prices. Those are some of the obstacles I’ve faced and I still face them once in a while.
Please tell us about your company.
My company is pretty much freelancing ill take any type of job I like to learn different types of photography that way I won’t get bored lol. now I’m more known for my aerial photography I haven’t picked up my camera to just go out and take pictures I find my self using my drone more I find it a bit more challenging. I’m proud of everything I’ve learned and how far I’ve come since day one with everything that has come my way. I want to get into wedding photography I’ve done a few weddings I wanna get into that field of photography.
What sets me apart from everyone else is I got my style I like to find new places that aren’t that popular and just go a take some shots.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would change my editing style and watermark all my work lol other than that nothing everything has been a learning experience and I wouldn’t change that.
Contact Info:
- Email: a.lrphotography760@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/a_lrphotography
Image Credit:
a_lrphotography
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