Today we’d like to introduce you to Tuyaymya Osuna.
Tuyaymya, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
There hasn’t been one eye-opening, defining moment that led me on this path. Originally from the San Diego, Tijuana border I studied at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) thinking I’d end up becoming a doctor. Towards the end of my last year at UCSD I took a part-time job as a social media manager for a local fashion boutique. It allowed me to exercise my creativity and set my own hours which soon shed light on some of my underlying desires.
The very beginnings of what is now known as White Tee Black Dress (WTBD) started on tumblr as a mood board and then became an online apparel boutique, selling graphic tees and dresses. I found I liked working with product which led me to study merchandise marketing at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM). After graduating, I became an apparel buyer for a fast fashion company and started assisting in directing and styling look books, all while attempting to blog my daily outfits. Eventually, I gained enough background knowledge and experience to opted to step behind the lens. I had just started picking up a camera when I was laid off from my full-time role. What was originally meant to be a part-time photography gig became a full-time freelance position and I found myself panicking over all of it.
I set goals for that year; some of which I would accomplish, others I’m still working on. The first became getting myself into New York Fashion Week. I bought a plane ticket to New York and decided that if I couldn’t get into any shows I would spend my time on street style photography. With the help of some friends, I managed to make it into my first CFDA runway show. It was everything I never knew I wanted. As I made my way home, I started emailing local PR agencies and fashion week production companies asking to photograph their events. The rest has organically evolved into what it is today.
Overall, remembering to flow with change has become one of my biggest learning lessons. Photography allows me to practice that at an instinctual level; conditions change, plans fall through, sometimes things don’t work out. Every new challenge has created a space for growth. It’s been rewarding and terrifying, but I have had a huge emotional support system through all of it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Only about 15% of fashion photographers are women. Representation matters and so does diversity in what strength, sensuality and beauty look like. I want to try and distort some of the fashion imagery that is currently being produced; it’s still something I’m working on.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
My focus is fashion and street style photography. Like many creatives, I tend to hyphenate my skills; directing, photography, styling. I’m still an apparel buyer and if you really need me to I can even build a set. White Tee Black Dress continues to be my personal outlet, my blank canvas, with a bit business built in nowadays.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I have plenty of mood boards, scratched up notebooks and tabbed magazines filled with inspiration, notes and goals. At this moment, if I have an idea and I am able to breathe life into it I find that to be successful. Every small accomplishment feels monumental when the path you end up on was not necessarily that path you had planned.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://whiteteeblackdress.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @whiteteeblackdress
Image Credit:
Personal Photo – Photographer : Eddie Lizarde
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