Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheila Veliz.
Hi Sheila, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always loved to capture moments with a camera since I was little. I moved from Cuba, the beautiful island where I was born and raised, to Cancun Mexico where I studied my career in communications. During one of my semesters, we had a photography class, and that was the first time I encountered the professional part of photography and fell even more in love with it. I started doing my own projects for fun until one day one of my friends had her wedding and the photographer canceled last minute, so I offered to go with my camera and try to help her capture her wedding memories. In that moment, I realized that I wanted to do this, capture people’s stories, their love, their families, their smiles, and give them something they could keep forever. When I graduated college, I moved to Miami where I continued to pursue my dream of photography. Right now in Miami, I work as a full-time photographer. I love capturing weddings, engagements, surprise proposals, pets and families. I also love doing creative projects and work with people from different backgrounds and stories. While Miami has a lot to offer, I do love to travel and take pictures in different states, my dream is to be a traveling photographer who captures people’s love stories all around the world.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The photography scene is a very busy one, specially in touristic places like Miami and Cancun, where I have done most of my photography. Here you find so many people in your area who are also amazing photographers and offer different budgets/aesthetic. Although you would normally see this as a lot of “competition”, I try to see it more as a challenge to really search for the clients that fit my aesthetic and my ideas and people who share my vision and want to create amazing things together. At the end of the day is all about creativity and chemistry with the clients, and I think that there is enough work for everybody.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a creative photographer, I love working with people who I can connect with and develop incredible ideas together. One of my favorite things to capture in the world are weddings. There is something about that magical day and being able to capture every single detail of one of the most incredible days of our lives (not including honeymoon days of course lol). From engagements, proposals, elopements and romantic dates, I’m here for all your love ideas! And besides working with amazing people, I love photographing animals. I will be opening a pet photography side of my business very soon. One of my good friends just opened her female Latina-owned studio in Hialeah called “The Studi.O” and this has given me the opportunity to connect with new people and open a whole new world of possibilities. I’m proud to be able to work like-minded individuals and support other Latino/ & women in business. I would say that my aesthetic falls into the “dark & moody” vibe, which is hard to develop in a sunny place like Miami, however this is also a good challenge for me as a photographer to keep true to my own vision and continue to build my dream portafolio.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I believe luck is subjective. I think everything is possible when you are doing something that you truly love and enjoy, and while this should be enough, unfortunately there is a lot of things that can get in the way of your dreams. We live in a world that is slowly decaying and society crumbling, and it can be very challenging to step out of your comfort zone into a world where success is not guaranteed and can be based on your economic status, family relations, and so many other factors. I consider myself lucky to have been able to come from Cuba where I probably would not have the same opportunities, and at the same time I believe that my hard work and perseverance also plays a very important role in my success. Is a combination of hard work, love for what you do and trust in the universe.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bahariphotography/
Image Credits
Bahari Photography
