Meet Elaine Torres

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elaine Torres.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Elaine. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, I went to school there and finished a BBA in Accounting. I didn’t have any interest in pursuing a career in accounting, I’ve always been the creative one in my family. Art is not considered a prominent career in Puerto Rico, so I thought Business Administration was the way to go. My mother was a single mom raising 4 girls, so naturally I wanted to help her, and thought (in my teenage mind) a career in Finance would do that.

I finally decided to pursue photography as a career and moved to LA in 2012. I finished my Masters in Art for Commerce Photography (Academy of Art University, San Francisco) I decided to jump into the freelance journey full time. I started photographing editorial portraits and lifestyle work. Eventually, I decided to focus in creative fashion and portrait photography.

A year ago I started a Youtube channel where I share photography related videos. This led me to the opportunity of filming a series of tutorials for renowned photography platforms.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It is never a smooth road when you’re pursuing a career path that requires sacrifice and risk-taking, especially in my case. Moving from Puerto Rico was a hard choice I knew I had to make if I wanted to make it in conceptual and fashion photography. I didn’t really want to get into wedding photography, advertising or landscape, which are the three types of photography that can help you earn a living in Puerto Rico. So I decided to move, leaving my family behind, and I miss them every single day.

My family wasn’t very supportive with my choice of career at the beginning, since photography isn’t believed to be a successful one in Puerto Rico, and this made the moving process and career change even harder, double thinking every step. I still continued with my goal and now my family is completely supportive and proud of what I do. I think they started to learn more about the industry and how this can be a successful path if you’re passionate about it.

In Los Angeles, I encountered other struggles. I had to start from zero here, slowly building my portfolio, confidence, client list and style. This process was filled with late nights, a ton of networking and research, failed projects, endless practice and lost friendships. There are so many opportunities here and the market is strong, but at the same time, there’s a sea of very talented professionals. They come looking for the same thing, so finding your own voice and uniqueness is another tiring process.

Even though I’m happy where I stand right now, I have new goals I want to reach, so challenges will naturally come and go. As long as you continue to treat struggles bypassing obstacles, stay persistent and remain patient, things should always fall back on track.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I currently work as an editorial and fashion photographer (https://elainetorres.la). I also shoot what I call Editorial Portraits (https://elainetorres.la/portraits/) which are cinematic or theatrical looking portraits for the professional or performer looking to get something different from the mainstream LA headshot.

Apart from photography services, I also write articles and film tutorial videos for educational photography platforms (https://elainetorres.la/vlog/). I just started my Photoshop preset shop (https://elainetorres.la/shop/) and I’m working on developing workshops for the next year.

The creation of my photography channel has lead me to work with companies like Adorama TV and feature work on platforms like ISO1200, Fstoppers, SLR Lounge, Flash Mates Magazine and Good Light Magazine. I’m also the ambassador for photographic brands like Paul C Buff, Savage Universal and Photoflex.

My work is known for the creative way I work with color and light. Color is a key element in my photographs, but I incorporated in a clean and minimalistic way. I don’t like to label my work as a commercial, because it represents more than that. I describe it as conceptual photography that can also be used for commercial purposes. My images are meant to spark curiosity and the interest to ask questions and admire the combination of beauty and oddity.

I believe that what sets me apart is the fact that my eyes see things differently and that I don’t like to follow the rules in photography. I’m proud that I get to be a Hispanic young woman working in this industry today.

What were you like growing up?
Photography appeared in my life when I was in high school, but what I had since day one, was a very strong interest in the arts.

I think I had the curse of the creative child as well. I was always curious and trying projects and experiment that would ultimately get me in trouble. I was constantly daydreaming in elementary school classes and my teachers would complain about it to my mom. I also HATED going to school, specifically in second grade, I cried most mornings because I didn’t want to get dressed.

I guess in my mind school wasn’t relevant because I believed I could do more interesting things with my toys and free time. Now in my adult years, it still happens. If I don’t feel passion or driven by a project that I’m working on, it will take A LOT for me to continue with it. And feeling that I have freedom in every aspect of my life is also a priority for me now.

When I got into college, I still felt the same way towards school, and it made me feel bad and not normal like everyone else finishing their degrees to get a job and buy a house. Now that I’m an adult I realized that I wasn’t a bad student and there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. I was just misplaced. When I got to art school I finally felt I found my place.

Other Childhood personality traits that I still carry:
– Empathy
– Excessive love for dogs
– Standing up for myself and for others who couldn’t
– I like to communicate

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elainetorres.la
• Email: info@elainetorres.la
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_elainetorres_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElaineTorresPhotography/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/_elainetorres_
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgzmllE1LRYeY34RDagTzEg?view_as=subscriber

Image Credit:
Bryce Anderson, Tatiana Arend, Natalia Nicte, Lyenna Kang, Angel Lin, Sophia Rosene, Susanna Buckley, Allison McNamara

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