Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Nieves.
Hi Angel, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am originally from Puerto Rico. I studied fine arts for a couple of years there, painting, printmaking and sculpting. After a couple of years, I came to the realization that I wanted to seek a career in graphic design. I enjoy problem-solving and I think that contributed to the pursue of graphic design. At the time, there were no graphic design schools or any type of curriculum in Puerto Rico for a career in that field, so I applied for college here in Atlanta. I came here with $200, some clothes, my fine art portfolio and poorly spoken English. I worked on my English first, taking a three-month-long ESL class. I graduated with the highest honor a couple of years later. My first professional job was creating Yellow Pages ads, working the graveyard shift. I then landed my first job at a design firm. I was happy to just have 9-5 working hours!
I later worked for other Ad Agencies and small design studios creating online Annual Reports and online content for Cartoon Network. That lead me to 3D graphics, it was just starting to break out to the mainstream, films like Jurassic Park were now possible to create using 3D graphics with practical effects and it was seamless, it was fascinating to me so I taught myself 3D graphics during the evenings, practicing late every night, at that time everything to learn from was inwritten form, there were no channels in YouTube, heck, when I started, YouTube wasn’t even a thing lol! 3D graphics and animation opened opportunities in VFX and games, I later found a new passion, photography. Seeing light, in a different way was refreshing and exciting. Friends and colleagues encouraged me to do photography professionally and supplement my income, that’s how I started my photography business. While this journey hasn’t been easy, it has been extremely rewarding.
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?
There have been many challenges, from moving to a new place and learning a new language to unemployment a few times, one of which lasted almost a year and having a family to provide for and not being able to was incredibly stressful in my life as you can imagine. At one point in my career, the passion faded, perhaps I was burned out or I was bored, or I was emotionally exhausted coming out from bad relationships and basically starting over, maybe a combination of everything but I was very unhappy and tired. I stopped producing personal work, which I firmly believe is essential for any creative individual, feeding that curiosity or expressing a thought that otherwise would be difficult to express, creating for the sake of creating for yourself, besides of creating work to just pay the bills. So I sold my motorcycle, bought a camera and booked a trip to London and Paris. That’s when I fell in love with photography, that creative flame just needed a little boost. Once I returned, I consumed everything photography related, the technical side and the creative side. Now there were other ways to learn, YouTube was now a thing lol. I learned to see light in a different way but what really drove me was people’s emotions. Photography captures a moment that maybe no one else sees, love, sadness, happiness or anger, it captures the emotions that make us human,
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road but that’s part of what makes it so rewarding. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you need to take a trip somewhere to help you get over any humps. All I am saying is that you should take time for yourself to re-balance whatever that means to you; take time to decompress and reconnect, clear your mind from life’s daily stress.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
With my photography business, I specialize in weddings and portraits. I love capturing people. Documenting weddings, being part of the union of two families is an honor to me. All the emotions and moments that you might not even realize had happened, captured on a photograph and being able to transport you to that moment in time every time you see the photos is special, You are documenting history for these families and it is a privilege to me. Weddings also give you the opportunity to photograph different genres in a single event; it’s all there, fashion, portraits, products, environments, etc.
My diverse background in so many different creative fields, in my humble opinion, is what sets me apart. I’m able to provide my clients a large set of skills and I take pride that I personally create everything I provide my clients. I never outsource editing or design. I design the albums my clients purchase, I edit and retouch the photos my clients purchase myself and with my VFX skills, I can fulfill special requests like adding a more sparkle to an exit or adding R2-D2 to a group photo in Star Wars themed wedding (yes, I’m totally a sci-fi and fantasy nerd lol) or swapping the head of someone that blinked for example. I’m not a volume photographer, I want to make sure that every client has the attention and service that they deserve.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Word of mouth, plain and simple. Social media has its place but for me, word of mouth has worked the best and honestly, is what I want. When you treat people well, with respect and you are genuinely excited and interested in their event and you show them that they can confidently count on you, they remember. A referral from a client that speaks well about you is everything to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: angelnievesphoto.com
- Instagram: @angelnievesphoto
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/angelnievesphoto
- Other: vertexangel.com
Image Credits
Angel Nieves
