Today we’d like to introduce you to Raymond Alva.
Raymond, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My love for visual media has almost always been there honestly. I remember back in elementary school; I would film little skate videos with my friends using my flip camera. Man, those were the days… I gained an interest specifically for photography later though, around my sophomore year of high school. I was at a summer camp the year before and some friends I met there had cameras. I thought it was the coolest thing and I was instantly intrigued. For my next birthday, my parents got me my first camera.
At first, it was just a hobby, but then people started asking if they could hire me. I then started doing senior photos, family photos, weddings, etc. I did this for the remainder of high school and honestly, it became a burden to me. At the end of my senior year, I was burnt out, had trouble finding inspiration, and hated everything I was making. I realized I was missing something by just treating photography as a “job”. I was missing meaning and intentionality.
Fast forward to my freshmen year of college, I began to find what I was looking for. I began to realize truly how powerful images could be if they were treated as so. From then on, I began to treat my work as a painter or musician would. Yes, there are painters and musicians that solely create for the sake of getting a paycheck, but I would say most of them create for the sake of making something that is meaningful and makes people feel something.
Now, I do a lot of personal work as well as work with musicians to create visual representations for their projects. Musicians are cool because they understand that when they hire a photographer, It’s more of a collaboration than anything. A photographer’s job is to take the album they created and translate it into something visual while keeping the same feel. One personal project I was working on earlier this year was called “Finding Beauty.” It dealt with the idea of beauty and how it’s perceived. Who decides what is beautiful? How do we know if something has beauty or not? For this, I put on a gallery show where I displayed the work in an immersive environment which helped the viewers engage themselves in the photos. I hope to do more exhibits in the future.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?Smooth?? I wish!
I think any artist would agree that it is not as easy as it seems from the outside. I am constantly doubting myself, comparing, losing my voice, becoming uninspired, and thinking everything I do is trash. It’s called “imposter syndrome” and I fall into it a lot.
I have a love/hate relationship with Instagram. On one hand, I’ve met some of my best friends there. While on the other hand, I’ve spent countless hours comparing myself and putting down my work because it’s not “up to par.” Work is being put out on that app literally every second and it’s a little hard to keep up with sometimes…
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Raymond Alva Photography – what should we know?
I always like to explain my work as experimental portraiture that deals with unique light and unusual concepts. From a visual perspective, I try to make my stuff stand out. Almost every shoot I do, I try a new technique that distorts the image in some way.
Right now, I’ve been doing a lot of album covers, press promos, and some other exciting projects. Usually, during the summer, I would be on tour documenting, but ya know… #Covidvibes
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Oh, Definitely! I would not be in the place I am at today if it wasn’t for some key people in my life who shaped me.
One of the first who really took me under their wings was Alex Casillas (alexcasillas.co). We went to the same high school, but we didn’t know each other till I was a junior in high school and he was a sophomore in college. I found his stuff on Instagram and I instantly fell in love with his work. It was dark, gritty, and different from anything I had known at the time. I asked him to shoot/let me pick his brain one day and he said yes. Now, we’ve been homies ever since. He helped me find my voice as an artist. He pushed me and was willing to give any sort of knowledge he had. He was an open book and I was a sponge. Super grateful for him and all he’s done for me.
Two other key factors in my career are my professors at my school (California Baptist University.) Both Christopher Kern (cbuphotostudio.com) and Tammy Cedre (tamaracedre.com) have opened my eyes to a world so much more meaningful than before. It wasn’t until I talked with them when my work truly started to change into what it is now. I had Tammy for a fine art photo class, and it challenged me so much. Before, I just saw Photography as a tool to make cool looking images, but she taught me to make work that was both meaningful and visually appealing. Kern has been there for me every step of the way. I go into his office about twice a week just to pick his brain about business, photo books, other photographers, and even the divide between commercial and fine art photography and how we want to bridge that gap. I truly enjoy those talks.
Contact Info:
- Website: Raymondalva.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Instgram.com/
Rapberry
Image Credit:
Image of myself courtesy of David Fouts (@df_escapades)
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