Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Ochoa.
Laura, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a beauty product photographer based in Downtown LA and my career journey has been just that– quite the journey, with many twists and turns.
Growing up in Brownsville, a small Texas town that borders Mexico, in the non-technology age, led me down the path of practicality. So I did what normally happens after graduating high school and followed my friends to college and studied business. I knew that this was not to be my path early on, but I stuck with it, and while in school, I began to work part-time at a makeup counter at a department store in Austin, Texas. This was a time when beauty was not the bubble it is at this moment. This was years before Sephora existed. If you wanted to buy beauty products, you would have to go to a department store.
The first makeup counter I worked at was Prescriptives Makeup and unfortunately, it’s no longer as strong as it used to be. They were known for customized makeup so I would actually make foundation and powder for clients. It turned out to be a great training ground for learning about color and skin tones. I have to briefly mention our uniforms because it was the most rad uniform in history. It was a long, black see through lab coat that would flow behind you as you walked. I would always get compliments on it and was asked where I got it. It was such a fun response to say it was actually my work uniform. Also, because we would have to make customized makeup we were sent to various classes in hotel conference rooms and I always found it funny when 50 of us in these long black cloak-like uniforms would swarm in like a scene from Harry Potter. We got asked if we were going to witch school all the time. I loved it. I still have that uniform in my closet today.
As you can see, I loved working in makeup and learning every aspect of it and absorbing as much knowledge about it as I could. I decided to continue my schooling by going back to college and getting a second BA in Communication Design, then studying Art Direction at an Ad School, then getting a Masters in Photography… Phew, it was exhausting but I would not change my journey for anything. Everything I did led me to where I am today! Through this extensive schooling, I continued to work at makeup counters in Austin, Minneapolis, and New York City. Some of the other counters I worked at were for Smashbox and M.A.C cosmetics.
When I finally landed my first creative job in New York City, I finally let go of working at makeup counters, but I always missed the beauty gab and the relationships I developed because of our mutual love of makeup. As I continued to develop and grow as a Graphic designer, I realized that photography was becoming more of a passion of mine. As I was working at makeup counters, I also shot photography on the side. I moved to San Francisco to work at Gap Corporate, I decided to go to school again and fully focus on studio photography which is when I received my Master’s at the Academy of Art University. I knew I wanted to shoot product photography from the start because it has always been an interest of mine and thought it would be an amazing experience to learn about lighting for a product. I quickly learned that product photography was way more complicated than I thought, but with patience and perseverance, I was able to build a small portfolio shooting only beauty products and luckily that led me to work in-house as a photographer for Sephora. There I continued to grow, as the head photographers became my mentors. I always wondered if I would be just as good as them, and finally my eye for lighting products and product surfaces kicked in, and my confidence grew exponentially, so I made the decision to move to LA and become a freelance beauty photographer. In retrospect, it’s interesting to note that my career had come full circle, the makeup counter girl had become a certified beauty photographer. I love working with my clients and shooting their beauty products. Some of my favorite jobs are the ones where I can contribute ideas in building my client’s visual branding. What’s interesting is I thought I would be a product photographer in general because that has always been my forte, but I realized my niche is ALL things beauty and feel fortunate and always get excited as I continue to build my client base and work with different brands.
Alright, 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 road has been bumpy with twists and turns and some of the struggles that come with working as a freelance photographer. Besides Covid throwing a wrench in the last year, as it did with everyone else, it’s really been a lesson in futility living in a competitive city like LA. When I moved to LA about four years ago, I came with great experience under my belt, but what I did not realize was that I would have to start from ground zero. I had to bring back my New York City hustle. I hit the phones and social media hard to reach out to prospective clients daily, and reached out to friends and the small network I had developed, and asked for help. It was hard to do, but I had to be vulnerable and let them know I was in trouble. Some of my first jobs came from referrals of creative friends and I am forever grateful for that. My first year of living in LA was the ultimate struggle. I had some wake up calls and learning lessons such as companies that did not pay me, tried to steal my work, or both!. It was hard, but I’m glad I went through it. I know now, as a freelance photographer, that it is totally ok to say no if it does not feel right or if they do not agree with the contractual terms that I set forth. Because I put those parameters down, it paid off as I now work with top beauty brands and clients.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
People don’t realize how lighting for product can be very complex and challenging, but with perseverance, I have become quite skilled at it. I remember when I first began to learn about lighting at AAU, I was so intimidated by the lighting systems and how to set it all up. There is so much intricacy involved with lighting, it can be very daunting at times. Once I was able to make it make sense to me and my aesthetic, it all came together. It feels great to actually specialize in lighting for product. Once perspective clients see how serious I am about it, along with shooting the other aspects of their photography branding, they realize that it is what truly sets me apart from other photographers in my field.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am the biggest risk taker. Because of those risks, my path has had many twists and turns. Moving around for school, and eventually taking a big leap of faith to move to New York, with little to no friends and savings enough for about one month of rent, was probably the biggest risk I ever took. But I am glad that I really just went all in for it. Turns out New York was where I met my soulmate of friends that I am still close with now. Living in New York led to a plethora of job experiences that I still carry with me today. Then going back to school and following my ultimate passion to get a Master’s in Photography at AAU was another calculated risk. I am so happy that I did it because it led me to my current career that I would not trade for all of the cosmetics in the world. Leaving an amazing full time job as an in house photographer in San Francisco to begin a freelance career in LA was CRAY as all get out, but I don’t regret it one bit. Every single risk was absolutely worth it. I am so happy to be where I am today, and am excited to continue to grow as a photographer and as a person here in Los Angeles!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.lauraochoaphoto.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraochoaphoto/
Image Credits:
Photography by Avanti Deshpande
