Life & Work with Patrick Flores of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Flores.

Patrick, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story actually starts with a completely different career.

After graduating from college, I did what a lot of people do: I took the first job that offered me a steady paycheck, and healthcare. I ended up working in sales and project management. It wasn’t a bad career by any means, and it taught me a lot about people.

Life was solid. I had the kind of stability a lot of people work hard to achieve. But if I’m being candid, I found it deeply unfulfilling.

Eventually, I decided to go back to school for my MBA. I was definitely thinking somehow an advanced degree would change my entire life trajectory. It wouldn’t but the journey getting there did.

Somewhere along the way, I also took up writing. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a great writer, but I was good enough to start contributing to a few online publications. I wasn’t always a fan of the photos that were being assigned to my articles. So instead of complaining about them, I decided to learn how to take my own.

Photography had always interested me. I’d messed around with point-and-shoot cameras growing up, but I never considered it a career path. Being Filipino, there was also a certain expectation that you pursued something practical and conventional. Creative careers weren’t exactly at the top of that list. But one thing led to another, and eventually I found myself working with Jiu-Jitsu Magazine. Before long, they were paying me more for my photography than my writing. Go figure.

When I finished my MBA, I suddenly had a real decision to make. I could go back into the corporate world, join a consulting firm, and become a finance bro—or I could do the slightly ridiculous thing and follow a dream.
I figured I could always become a finance bro later. But how often does a window open where you have a legitimate chance to become a working photographer?
So I went for it.I sold my condo, paid off my student loans, and saved enough money to bankroll myself for a year. I gave myself twelve months to see if I could make a living doing something I genuinely enjoyed.

I gravitated toward fashion photography. Weddings and traditional portraiture never really interested me in the same way. Fashion had this combination of glamour, creativity, collaboration, and difficulty that I found exciting.
I started with test shoots. Test shoots eventually became paid shoots. Paid shoots led to more paid shoots, and before I knew it, companies were offering me in-house positions. I spent a year shooting for SHEIN, followed by a couple of years with the rave and festival brand iHeartRaves, while continuing to take on freelance projects of my own.

Today, much of my time is spent working with a creative agency called Think Jam, in the entertainment industry. My career has expanded beyond photography into directing, cinematography, and production, working on campaigns tied to franchises like Harry Potter and Batman.

It’s a career I never could have mapped out when I graduated from college.

In a strange way, it all started because I didn’t like the photos someone else picked for my articles.
Sometimes a career begins with a carefully laid-out plan. Mine started with thinking, “I could probably take a better picture than that.”

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not, especially the first year I was trying to make it which was definitely the scariest time in my life.

I remember finding an all you can eat buffet that charged $12 for lunch. I ate as much as I possibly could just once a day to make that $12 last. At home it was a lot of peanut butter and jelly otherwise.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My formal title is Senior Creative Lead, Photo/Video, but on call sheets, I’m usually some combination of Director and DP, and occasionally Producer. It really depends on the project. I think being a versatile creative who can wear a lot of different hats has helped keep me busy—and, frankly, more employable. I also know myself well enough to know I’d get bored doing just one thing.

There was a time when I was most proud of my photography, but lately, I’ve found myself more proud of the pieces I’ve directed. There’s something incredibly rewarding about taking an idea—something that starts as a thought, a sketch, or even a dream—and turning it into something tangible.

As my career has grown, I’ve also learned that bringing those ideas to life takes an army of talented creatives. I simply can’t do it alone, nor would I want to. Directing has changed the way I approach creative work. I think much more from a team perspective now rather than as a solo operator. It’s become less about what I can personally create and more about how I can bring the right people together to create something better than any one of us could have made on our own.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I mentioned it in my story, but leaving a very comfortable 9-to-5 corporate job to become a freelance photographer with virtually no experience was an incredibly risky decision. I went from maxing out my 401(k) to wondering, “How am I going to make rent this month?”

Growing up, I was never much of a risk-taker. But I reached a point in my life where I realized that if I didn’t take a chance then, I probably never would. The older I got, the easier it would become to find reasons to play it safe.

Taking that leap ended up being the best decision of my life. Getting LASIK is a distant second. 🙂

Contact Info:

• Website: https://patjflores.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patenex/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patjflores/