Life and Work with Celeste Marquez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Celeste Marquez.

Celeste, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always had a love of art and taking pictures. I was introduced to photography at a young age. My aunt, whom I am very close to, is a professional photographer and taught me how to use her cameras and set up a good shot when I was a child. Over the years, I learned how to get an eye for a beautiful composition. In middle school and high school, I became familiar with the moving picture, or cinematography. Now, I work in both mediums, creating videos and doing photography. The focus of my work is typically travel videos and architecture pictures. My favorite part about composing a shot, whether it be a picture or video, is waiting for the right moment. It takes patience and an observant person to find the perfect image to be captured forever.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Some of the major challenges that I have faced in my journey is that my field is a male-dominated one. It can be difficult to gain respect and to make a name for yourself when you are surrounded by many others who have just as good of work but have the upper hand of being the “right” gender. Luckily, the stigma is starting to change. For all the many women looking to enter the world of film and entertainment, do not be discouraged because there are many others like us paving the way for a new trend in the industry.

Another challenge is standing out. It can be difficult to make yourself seem different in a world of similitude. I still struggle with this at times. The best advice I can give is to find your niche through your strengths and interests. Whether it be a certain filter placed on all your pictures or a hashtag used in every post- making your work stand out is essential in this field.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Celestial Cinematography – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Simply put, I take pictures and create videos. But the effort and amount of time that goes into them is what I really do. My specialties are travel videos and architecture based photography. I love these types in particular so I chose to make them my niche.

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
The most important advice I can give is to have the courage to START and the strength to CONTINUE. For over a year I told myself I would start posting my work online but I never started. I always put it off and told myself “I’ll do it eventually” or “next time.” There is no next time. If not now then never is my new motto. Do not put things off because they will never get done. Actually starting-whatever it may be- is the hardest part, but it is only half the journey. The next step is to continue. As hard as it may seem- keep working toward your goal. For me, I overcame this challenge by committing to post every day once a day. By holding myself to a goal, I was able to continue putting my work out there and encouraging myself to keep working and was able to hone in my skills.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @celestialcinematography

Image Credit:
@celestialcinematography

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