Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Toro, Leonard Flores & Anis Maradey – Toro Shoots .
Hi Carlos Toro, Leonard Flores & Anis Maradey – Toro Shoots, 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?
Toro Shoots was founded by Carlos Toro, Leonard Flores, and Anis Maradey. We are three Venezuelan immigrants who met in Miami in 2020. We worked together at a fast-food restaurant and have been great friends ever since.
Toro Shoots began in mid-2022 when Carlos Toro, one of the company’s partners, started a film-style photography blog on Instagram. Initially, the Instagram page served as a space to practice photography, particularly with analog-style images.
Towards the end of 2023, Leonard planned his marriage proposal, so he asked Carlos and Anis to help him with the photos and videos. After the session, we realized that the results had far exceeded our expectations.
At that time, Carlos was the only one with experience in photography, as he worked for an events company capturing photos and videos at gender reveals and baby showers. Leonard had always been interested in photography but had never formally studied it, so he had only a basic understanding of its complexity. Anis leaned more towards videography, enjoying making travel videos and adding his personal touch.
We often meet for outings at restaurants or just to hang out, but during one of these gatherings, we decided to make our time more productive by creating something that could benefit us all. Considering that we had always worked in restaurants and sometimes even held two jobs at once, we wanted a way out of that lifestyle and to build something for ourselves. That led us to start discussing potential ventures.
In mid-2024, we had a meeting to finalize our plans. After debating our strengths, passions, and what we believed could be the most profitable, we decided to pursue photography and videography for events. We were motivated by Carlos’s experience and felt that with dedication and consistency, we could make it successful. We transformed Carlos’s original photography blog into a profile more oriented towards events of all types, maintaining our original film-style aesthetic.
Since then, we’ve had several weekend sessions, covering everything from personal and sports shoots to brand work, proposals, and graduations. We continue striving to improve and grow, aiming to have sessions more frequently and to establish our presence throughout Miami. We understand the culture of the people here, especially given the large Latin community, and we believe we can offer them a quality service to help them grow on social media.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Individually, since moving to Miami, we have faced numerous challenges. As immigrants with limited proficiency in the language, many things have been an uphill battle—it can be difficult to find work, maintain a proper immigration status, and adapt to a culture so different from where we come from. On top of that, not knowing anyone and being far from family makes everything even harder.
Considering the highly competitive U.S. market and, specifically in Miami, the abundance of people and companies offering photography and videography services, it has been a significant challenge not only to decide to start this project but also to stay consistent, working tirelessly to stand out. We continue to hold down our full-time jobs during the week, which means focusing on this venture in the evenings and on weekends.
Toro Shoots emerged as our own alternative, where we invest our free time doing what we love most—helping individuals and businesses grow their social media presence.
As we have undertaken different sessions, we have encountered situations we hadn’t anticipated, which are quite common in the industry. However, as a group that adapts well to unpredictable changes, we’ve been able to learn and adjust when needed, whether it’s addressing unforeseen client needs or dealing with unexpected details during a session.
Despite the challenges that could have discouraged us or made us give up, recognizing these obstacles has instead made us realize how much there is still to learn and grow. It has motivated us to keep working hard towards making a living from what we are truly passionate about.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Leonard Flores, an economist graduated from the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, currently holds the position of Billing Coordinator at JM Insurance Agency Partners, a jewelry insurance company. He is also well-known as an amateur soccer player, which is his true passion. Leonard takes great pride in the fact that, no matter where life has taken him or the challenges he’s faced, he has always worked hard, with honesty, and achieved everything he has set out to do. Now, after nearly four years living in the U.S., in a fast-paced and competitive city like Miami, he reflects on how far he has come, and he thinks that the best is yet to come.
What truly sets Leonard apart from others is his unwavering loyalty—to his values, his beliefs, and his friends—and his relentless determination to achieve his ultimate life goals.
On the other hand, Carlos Toro is a Bachelor in Accounting and Business Administration, who currently works as an Account Manager at a CPA firm called H&CO. Some of Carlos’ passions include photography, tennis, and notaphily. One thing Carlos can be proud of is his discipline and perseverance in achieving the goals he sets for himself, as well as his willpower to keep moving forward even in difficult times. What sets Carlos apart from many people is his ability to stay focused and understand how to prioritize his time, whether it’s for exercising, working, enjoying, personal growth, or being with family.
Finally, Anis Maradey studied medicine until the fifth semester in Venezuela, but had to interrupt his studies due to the difficult circumstances in the country at that time. In 2018, he arrived in the United States and he dedicated a year and five months to learning English. Over time, Anis has made progress toward his personal goals despite many obstacles. He has been working as a manager in a restaurant as of today and he is also currently studying to obtain a certificate as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) to achieve new aspirations. Anis believes that personal success is achieved through effort and dedication, emphasizing that consistency is essential in this process.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
First, it’s important to note that while we are part of the photography and videography industry (specifically for events), we understand that our material is primarily directed toward and consumed by people on social media. Knowing this, we believe that, although it may seem that this industry has reached its peak due to the vast number of social platforms, advanced tech equipment, and the constant stream of content creators, the recent integration of artificial intelligence, and the continuous development of platforms like Meta and TikTok, suggest that the industry will keep evolving and growing. Currently, people are seeking high-quality content delivered instantly—not just for promoting their social media presence during events or personal celebrations, but also for daily consumption. This indicates that the trend is likely to move further towards the creation of tools and mediums that allow for more seamless content creation, editing, and consumption, all while people go about their everyday lives.
As a result, we anticipate a continued shift (which is already underway) where companies increasingly look for content creators to promote their products. Furthermore, we believe that companies will gradually phase out traditional in-house advertising departments, opting instead to collaborate with a wide range of influencers who can deliver more personalized and organic promotional content.
Pricing:
- Personal Brand’s Pkgs: From $350 to $950
- Proposal’s Pkgs: From $350 to $950
- Celebretions’ Pkgs: From $300 to $800
- Brand’s Pkgs: From $250 to $700
- Grad’s Pkgs: From $150 to $500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://toroshoots.myportfolio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toroshoots
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@toroshoot
