Rising Stars: Meet Angel Parrilla of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Parrilla.

Hi Angel , 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?
Photography has honestly always been in the picture for me. I’ve still got this old album of polaroids from way back in 2013, and even on the walls at home, I have canvases of my daughter I shot when she was just one. The eye was always there, I just wasn’t calling it a career yet.

Moving from Miami to Atlanta was the real turning point. I started getting into all these fashion collabs for social media once I got here, and honestly, that’s what forced me to take the craft seriously. It pushed me to stop just “creating content” and start focusing on the actual art of it. That’s what really transitioned me into being a Creative Director and a Documentarian.

Lately, I’ve been moving toward work that feels permanent. I’ve been out on Windsor Street documenting the Wild Flower Wild Seed mural for Charity Hamidullah, which has been a dope process to capture. I’m actually about to be even busier with that side of things, documenting five murals for Living Walls throughout the month of May.

But I’m still heavy into my editorial portraits and events too, like when I shot for the Ink On All Tones Tattoo Summit. Whether I’m doing a documentary project or a stylized set, I’m just trying to keep everything cinematic, moody, and real.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. To be real, the biggest struggle is the balancing act. Juggling a regular 9-5 while being a dad to my 5 yr old daughter and 4 yr old son is a challenge on its own. Trying to build Parrilla Media on top of that, staying up late to editing, (maybe 2 hrs of sleep lol) being on set, and chasing this vision, is a lot to handle. I’m just incredibly grateful for the support I get from my fiancee and our family. I wouldn’t be able to juggle all of this without them in my corner.

The other hurdle was the mental shift from the social media fashion collabs to the more serious documentary and editorial work. It’s hard to move away from the “influencer” box and get people to see you as a Creative Director and Documentarian. You have to be willing to say no to the easy stuff so you can focus on the projects that actually have weight.

Mastering that moody, noir aesthetic was a grind too. It took a lot of trial and error to get the technical side to match the “feel” I had in my head. It’s been a process of refining my eye while managing a full house and a career, but seeing the work finally land in galleries or documenting city walls makes the late nights worth it.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Creative Director and Documentarian running Parrilla Media. I specialize in high-end editorial portraits and cinematic documentary work, but I’m really in the business of storytelling.

I’m known for that noir aesthetic. Everything I drop has a specific moody, high contrast, artistic feel. I’m not just trying to get a sharp image, I’m chasing a soul, a feel. If it doesn’t feel like a movie still, I’m not done with it. People recognize my work by that heavy, intentional lighting.

What I’m most proud of is the pivot toward work with a legacy. Documenting Charity Hamidullah’s mural on Windsor Street and having six more murals on deck in May is exactly where I want to be. It’s a shift from temporary social media likes to something that lives on the city walls. Seeing my piece “Rooted” in a gallery was also a massive moment that proved the vision is translating.

What sets me apart is that I don’t just take photos; I’m looking at the creative direction from the ground up. I bring a grit that comes from my journey, coming up from Miami, grinding through the fashion collab scene, and balancing it all as a dad. When people see my work, I want them to feel like they’re actually there. I’m trying to give them that teleportation type feeling.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have to give it up for my fiancée, Aleysha. Juggling a 9-5, being a dad to my son and daughter, and building Parrilla Media is a lot, and her support and the help from our family is the only reason I’m able to keep all this in movement.

On the professional side, my brother Roger Parrilla has been a massive influence. He’s a very well known tattoo artist and he heads the Ink On All Tones Tattoo Summit. He’s been a huge supporter of mine from the jump, and bringing me on as Head of Content for the summit was a major move for me.

I also have to shout out Charity Hamidullah. Her trusting me to document her Wild Flower Wild Seed mural really opened the door to the documentary work I’m doing now with Living Walls. Every person who has trusted me with their story or their brand has played a part in turning this from a hobby into something real.

Pricing:

• listed on my site parrillamedia.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.parrillamedia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aparrilla3000