Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabby Perez.
Gabby, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story with photography starts early on in life, I just did not know then to what extent the things I did as a kid would reflect in my career path as an adult. It’s interesting to look back now and watch all those little clues, it’s fascinating. I’ve always had a love for beautiful imagery, anything visual, thought-provoking, mysterious. I think these things drove me from a very young age and while it took a long time to actually pursue this dream, it was always present in my daily life. I was always the girl with the camera, the person directing behind the lens in order to get the best photo, printing albums throughout high school, a deep love for polaroids and so forth, I just never dreamed that I could ever make a career out of this.
In 2009, I decided to go to school for photography, at the time, it wasn’t an easy career to get into, my father questioned my decision many times but my mind was made up and I embarked on this new adventure. School was amazing, I dove headfirst into every single class, enjoyed being surrounded by people like myself. I started assisting photographers while in school, all the while working on my craft and learning the ropes. It was such a wonderful time, I am forever grateful that I made that decision because it gave me the foundation upon what I have built my career on. While I am very thankful for my experience then, I believe things to be different now, I don’t believe it necessary for someone to go to photography school to learn what they need to know to start a business, this was just the path I took. I started working on the consumer market shortly after my training ended, I developed relationships with some of the top wedding photographers in Miami, I was able to assist and shadow and learn the business from within rather quickly.
I then moved onto photographing my own weddings and did consumer work for about three years but I wasn’t fully satisfied with the direction in which my career was going. I had a deep passion for commercial photography, I wanted to do more with my work, I wanted my images to be published in magazines, I wanted to travel the world and work with brands so I developed a different mindset on what was possible. I made the decision to pursue commercial and lifestyle photography in order to achieve these dreams, it was one of the best decisions of my life. After a ton of hard work, continuing to evolve as an artist, lots of failures and more hard work, preparedness began to meet opportunity and I started to work with my dream clients. I am now an internationally published photographer, I work with clients in NYC, LA and South Florida and I get to pinch myself every day because I have my dream career. I don’t get complacent however, I continue to want to learn, evolve, seek new heights, make connections and what I think is one of the most important things, to have a blast while doing it!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t been a smooth road for me, I think people have a huge misconception about photography and how easy it can be to purchase a camera and start shooting. It isn’t always that way, I believe this career takes guts, tons and tons of hard work and courage to not give up. It takes a lot of nerve to go after what you want and to keep going after feeling like you’ve failed. It has taken me about ten years to get to where I am today and I honestly feel like I am nowhere near where I will be next year! I think it’s important to enjoy the journey and not get too caught up in the leveling up. One of the obstacles for me was making the career change from Consumer to Commercial photography, they are two completely different games in photography and I was already very deep into my work, so that was definitely a challenge. It was a pivotal moment though, it needed to happen because it was 100% where my heart was at in regards to the type of work I wanted to produce.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Emagen Photostory. Tell us more about it.
I photograph the commercial side of people. I help bring my client’s vision, ideas, and emotions to life through gorgeous imagery and storytelling. We live in a digital, visually driven world, a place where beautiful content is king. That’s where I come in, I create top-notch images that elevate your brand and presence on the web. I am proud to be able to work on this full time and to develop connections with people around the world through my work. I love the spark I am able to ignite in someone during our sessions and seeing the happiness and excitement when we create beautiful content. I love making people feel confident and like they can do anything. I think what I’m most proud of is the reputation I’ve built surrounding the experience of shooting with me which is that I have an ability to bring out the best in you while having loads of fun and making you feel on top of the world, everyone deserves that!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I am a firm believer in hard work and what comes after tons of dedication and experience. I don’t think luck has played a major role in my life and business, I believe in manifesting your reality and creating positivity in your life through your day to day actions and also in building the right mindset. So, while I don’t believe in luck a lot, I do believe that we are powerful and can 100% manifest our greatest dreams into reality. I’m convinced that is what I have done, I have worked very hard both in my career and within myself to create the life I am living now. I am one of those people that believes in energy and that having an abundance mindset creates more of that. Some may call it luck, I call it being in tune with the universe, asking for what you want and making it a reality.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emagenphoto.com
- Phone: 954-303-6235
- Email: info@emagenphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emagenphoto/
Image Credit:
Photo of Gabby by Lili Sucel
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