Meet Xavier Rony

Today we’d like to introduce you to Xavier Rony.

Xavier, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
This creative journey I’ve been on started when I was in high school in 2014. I took a photo class that inspired me to go outdoors more and start taking photographs with my phone. What began as a simple love for the outdoors developed into this things I suddenly loved doing. As I get older and experience different things I can always count on making photographs to distract me from whatever is going on in my life. It is such an invaluable asset to have learned. It has taken me across the globe and never in a million years did I think that that high school kid who loved hiking and iPhone pictures would be doing this as a job and seeing the world as he does it. It has been such an incredible journey of growth and progression as I go deeper and deeper into why I love what I do. Of course it isn’t all good times and sunshine, the stress of trying to run a business and stay in school full time is hard but it has taught me very valuable lessons on time management and balance.

Lately, I have been focusing less on the business/commercial side of photography and strictly shooting various passion projects and concepts I have thought about over the past months. Creating meaningful images and living in priceless moments has been the driving force of my life lately. Learning to live in the moment and not focusing on the superficial aspects of being a creator has been a key element to my growth not only as an artist but as a human being.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge for me is balancing other aspects of my life. As much as I would love doing photography 24/7, I can’t. I’m currently a senior at the University of California, Riverside and it has been a tough balancing act trying to stay true to my vision and completing a life long goal of getting a degree. It’s a crazy time in my life because of all the emotions I feel about different things. Is school the right choice for me? Should I drop everything and pursue my passion? There’s no right answer in my mind but only the right feeling and for now I’m set on graduating in a few months with no regrets about the choices I have made. Every step of this college journey and travel/creator lifestyle I have made for myself has been worth it.

A big struggle I just went through this past year was a really bad burnout. All of a sudden, I found myself not happy with the work I was making, I realized that I was creating for all the wrong reasons. I found how toxic social media was for artists and how it pushes this idea that your audience and engagement tells you how good of an artist you are. That mentality is what causes creatives to lose their drive and forget the reason why they started in the first place. In a way it was an identity crisis but not with myself so much rather with my work. I went from a year of collaborating with brands like Google, Express, MVMT, Jansport and others to suddenly feeling very displeased with the direction I was going with as an artist. I felt that I was creating for others all the time and not for myself. It was a very humbling emotion to feel but that feeling of being lost eventually carved me into this new version of myself as an artist, not just a “content creator”. I’m going to be making beautiful images that embody who I am and the vision I have. Nothing is more refreshing than realizing what is best for you.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My business as of late has been a lot of portraiture. I do weddings, engagements, fashion, lifestyle, graduations and more. But I would say I am most known for my commercial work for a various spread of clients. I specialize in travel imagery and having a brands message embodied in the pictures I take for them. I do a lot of product work, whether that be with people or just simply traveling with a certain product from a certain brand. What I’m most proud of is my creative direction because I can make some really interesting imagery and branding from scratch and help my clients make that marketing and content transition they’ve always wanted. What sets me apart from the rest is my drive and just who I am as a person. I’m different because of my compassion for others and my passion for my art that I strive to create everyday.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I remember staying home during the summer with my mom and as she was doing work around the house or making lesson plans for the classes she teaches I would be watching VHS tapes of Kipper. I’m really not sure why I remember that but It isn’t my favorite memory because of Kipper but it’s my favorite memory because of the feeling it brings me when I think of it. It brings me one of comfort and being worry-free which is very nostalgic for me and that is exactly what my work has been turning into lately, I try to invoke a feeling of nostalgia and this sort of “old school cool” in my photographs.

Pricing:

• Normal portrait sessions (group or solo) start at 150$ an hour.
• Wedding packages start at 450$.

Contact Info:

• Website: xavierony.com
• Phone: 6262534479
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: instagram.com/xavierony

Image Credit:
Xavier Rony

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