Fashionography

All I know about you is that your photography career started in Milan. Are you born Italian? Also, what happened in Milan to make you want to start taking fashion photos?
I was born in Miami, Florida. My father is from Cuba and my mother is from Puerto Rico. The story of Milan goes like this. I had purchased a camera while living in Los Angeles in 2007 and started taking photos of my friends. I realized that I had more ambition for shooting photos than anything else I had ever done in my life. The problem was that not many people took me seriously. So overnight I made the decision to have a garage sale, sell all my material belongings, buy a plane ticket and move to Milan. I had no contracts, no jobs and no real promises of success — only my ambition and desire to be taken seriously. I sent an email to Elite Milano and arrived at their doorstep a few weeks later and started to work shooting models.

Do you hold an art degree? Why or why not?
I have no art degree and have never studied photography. The reason is because I went to college for Journalism and PR. Being a photographer was something that was born seemingly overnight.

You seem to work in all three of the biggest markets in the United States: NYC, MIA & LA. Which of these do you prefer and why?
I prefer NYC because it’s the strongest fashion market in the world and people have strong work ethic here.

What are some of your aspirations as you keep shooting?
I have short term goals that I reach every month and every once in a while I think about the big picture. I hope for great things as a photographer and so far, so good.

Up until this point, who has been your favorite model to photograph?
I don’t have favorites. At least not yet. I think each and every one of them are special in their own way. I’m blessed to have been given the position I have where I can work with strangers on such a personal level.

How important and/or relevant is nudity in fashion photography?
It’s just a piece of the pie. Taking photos in itself is sometimes seeming like a violation of one’s comfort and ego. Nudity to me is just another letter in the alphabet of photography. After all, I am talking about art here; photography not pornography.

You have ventured into film as well. How does that compare to taking photos?
There are many similar outcomes from the two art forms but the structures are very different. When I create a short film or a photo, all the lights, cameras, art and direction derive from one thing: a feeling or an idea. So, besides the technicalities, it’s just a matter of achieving that translation from within you to your audience.