Daily Inspiration: Meet Nathan Nuñez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Nuñez.

Hi Nathan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Photography has been something I’ve always done as a way to preserve a moment, so I could reflect on it in the future. Unlike the past generations, I’m granted that privilege as I grew up having a camera attached to my phone. But during the pandemic, I had the time to understand how the camera really works, and I even started learning how to make the moments I love to capture look even more beautiful. My main interest was taking photos of people; every face is different, and one face can be photographed in hundreds of different ways. With this in mind, I wanted to understand how to best capture the faces I love seeing, those of friends and family, as these photos will always have the most value to me. Going through the practice and experimentation is the best part of this whole process, as you start to discover you’re capable of more than you thought possible. It was around 2022 when I started to broaden this approach to new faces unfamiliar to me. Taking portraits of strangers, scheduling sessions, and establish bonds with others through my work. This repetition led me where I am now, which isn’t too different from then, but I’m definitely better than I was before. Which is the best part, because if you had asked me back in 2022 if I understood portrait photography, I’d have said “yes” with full confidence. But with hindsight, I clearly knew nothing, understanding the full fundamentals of it now. But in a few years, I might say, 2026 Nathan still knew nothing, which has led me to a mindset of always being a student regardless of how good I think I am. Regardless of what I do or don’t know, I’m always ready to learn, even if that’s something I may have to do on the spot. I have many goals, but they aren’t incredibly unique to me, like an editorial shoot for a magazine, my work on a billboard, or shooting for a big brand, but ultimately, I really just hope that I can eventually be in a position to uplift other artists that deserve recognition.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s definitely been tough for me, especially considering that I’ve had no mentor figures. I didn’t go to school for this; everything you see from me is a result of continuous trial and error and studying on YouTube. I wish I were even remotely close to breaking even on everything I’ve invested, but that’s just not the case. All I can really depend on is the feedback of peers which isn’t the same as feedback from those working in the industry, and it seems like those in the industry don’t really care to look beneath them and pull upwards. So I have to climb this hill by myself, and nothing will stop me from reaching the top.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a photographer who loves to capture people in environments that complement them. My main specialty is portrait and fashion photography, shot on film. I love to shoot film; every step of the process brings me so much joy, and there’s nothing that comes close. I was always inspired to shoot film because all the images that inspired me to take better photos were done on that format, images that have been deemed timeless. This is not only due to the subject matter, but the feeling they give of a memory restored, even to those who weren’t there. This comes with its fair share of troubles of course but good things don’t come easy. The format has altered my process to slow down and be intentional with my work, and it’s only been to my benefit. I’m more confident than I’ve ever been that this is what I’m meant to do.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
There’s a reason there are so few people who make it to the top; that’s because it’s a long and grueling climb. The number of times I’ve thought about giving up is uncountable. But there’s really nothing else I would rather do than this. Every opportunity that I was denied feels like a punch to the gut, and there will be more to come but most people would have stopped after being punched just once. But for every success, there were probably a hundred punches that came before it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nathannoon.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathan.noon/

Image Credits
All images provided by Nathan Nuñez