Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Focus
Hi Kevin, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I first picked up a camera all the way back in 2014 while a senior in high school. I had to find an internship or take a class for my senior exit project, and the most accessible classes to me were either an “Art of Television Production” class or some sort finance/business class. Playing around with cameras sounded a lot more fun for me than having to do more math after school, and at the same time, I was also taking some graphic design classes at my high school so they kind of went hand-in-hand. The class was run as a journalism/school news style of class, where we did news stories on various topics. Unfortunately, since I was a “new student”, I wasn’t allowed to actually use the camera yet, and instead they had me become a reporter, so I spent the semester watching the “advanced” students fiddle with cameras while I stood nervously in front of it. During this time though, I roughly learned how to video edit my own segments and that became the most interesting part of the class for me.
After graduating and entering college, I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career, so I decided to stick to journalism and finally learn how to use a camera. I had spent the summer working construction jobs with my dad and had squirreled away money specifically to use for school, so I bought the same exact camera we used in the TV class in high school and mastered it in my first semester of college, being the top student in my Intro to Photography course with, if I remember correctly, a 112% A++ grade. I knew I was onto something and kept taking the courses, but I eventually pigeonholed myself into the more boring, but profitable “career” types of photography such as quinceañeras, weddings, engagement photos, etc. I eventually found myself getting burnt out ,and lost interest in photography as a whole, to the point that I put my camera away and it sat on the shelf collecting dust for a few years.
After a few gap years with still no real plan for my future, I somehow ended up at Universal Studios on the studio tour ride, and we had passed by an active film set, with real professionals in action, and something clicked again; I should go back to school and check out the film program. So I went back to school and tried out a few classes and regained my spark. Around this time, my best friend had just joined a band, and asked me to come out to shoot his first gig. I’d grown up going to punk and metal shows and have an extreme love for music, but I somehow never once thought of shooting shows. So when I shot my friend’s band for the first time, I fell in love with it. I would follow his band everywhere, becoming their official photographer and videographer, and continued to gain skills and hone my craft at both photo and video, while also discovering more and more local bands and making friends and connections everywhere in the scene, even earning my nickname, as “Kevin the Camera Guy”, or as it is today, “Kamera Guy Kev”.
I eventually found myself to be a member of the 501c(3) non-profit media outlet Nothing Mag, where I learned social media marketing, event and festival planning, and how the live music business works, while also getting to continue my journalism by writing, shooting, and filming stories. At the same time, I had joined the social media marketing team at Garden Amp in Garden Grove and got to see and shoot some of my all-time favorite bands like The Adicts, The Casualties and Gwar to name a few, and that’s when I really started to make my name.
During the pandemic, with the live music scene on pause, I focused on sharpening my skills in marketing, cinematography, and videography. I filmed live sessions, tinkered with new techniques such as lighting and other camera techniques, and overall worked to improve my craft so that when the world opened back up, I came out swinging- and it all paid off. These same skills I developed over the pandemic are tools in my belt that I continue to use every day.
Today, I’m still chugging along, constantly amazed with how far I’ve gone on this ride, and I always look forward to what’s next.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Every story has its ups and downs, or is a fairy tale. I think the first major hurdle for me was figuring out, “Where do I go with this?” and “How does this lead to the next thing?” At times, I’ve struggled to keep things moving, since the future could be so hard to read, but eventually I learned to leave things up to fate and see where I land, while also looking ahead as far as possible, and seizing every moment I can to expand on myself. Luckily, things tend to work out and opportunities stack up.
Another challenge for me was having the confidence to just “pull the trigger” so-to-speak. I’ve struggled (and still do, sometimes) with assuring myself that this photo/video/project is “good enough”, and move on, rather than hyper-focusing on it and succumbing to self-doubt since it’s not exactly to my skyrocketing standards sometimes. While I have a great support system of personal friends and admirers on social media, it can often times feel like a one-man show, and I’m my own worst critic. It’s not uncommon for me to constantly be bugging my closest friends and loved ones for their opinions on my latest piece of work, as almost a sort of “validation” or “confirmation”. Ultimately though, I’ve learned to trust myself and be confident in my work.
Finally, I think burn-out has probably been the biggest hurdle overall. I’ve struggled immensely with burn-out and over-grinding my gears, and have found that when burn-out hits me, my heart won’t truly be in it, and if my heart’s not in it, the art suffers. I’ve had to learn the hard way that sometimes I need to take little “sabbaticals” to refresh my brain and be excited about my work again. So I’ve picked up other muses to bounce between when I’m not shooting, such as scare-acting at haunted houses, playing and writing my own music, DIY fashion, and leathercrafting.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in photography and videography with a focus in music, portrait, and product photography. Using my background in marketing, story-telling and other creative outlets, I aim to capture raw moments and re-tell the story in my own distinctly creative style. A picture is worth a thousand words, and I aim to use each one of those words to their best ability. I’m also known for fast turnarounds, because there’s a reason they’re called “news” and not “olds”.
I would say that I’m mostly proud of how far my work has taken me and the relationships I’ve been able to build within the music scene. Having artists who’s music I’ve grown up listening to reach out to me or share my work to their huge audiences, or even just being recognized at a show by people who follow me on social media and want to say hello (and are even, dare I even use the term…fans) reminds me of how far I’ve come. I’ve even had a few people get star-struck when meeting me, which is something I’m still trying to wrap my head around…
What sets me apart, I think, is that everything I create is authentically me, and I’m always trying to tell a story. There’s a distinct style to my work that constantly evolves as I do, and I think that adds to the story. In a way, a lot of my work is a visual diary of my life, and I feel a special connection to all of it.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The list of people who deserve credit in this journey is extensive, but only because every single person in my life has had a role in my success. From my collaborators to my lurkers, every one plays a role in this story. I think the one main person I’d give the most credit to though, is my mother. She’s been my biggest cheerleader, backup, therapist, role-model, and quality-control agent on this road. She’s always the first to see every piece of work I create and gives notes, thoughts, opinions, and praise before anyone else. Thanks Mom! Love ya!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kevinavila.myportfolio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kameraguykev/
Image Credits
John Gilhooley
