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Meet Amparo Barajas of Ambar Image

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amparo Barajas.

Amparo, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a photographer, I am fascinated by the fact that I can stop time at any due moment that I like. The camera is my best friend, my accomplice and my best companionship.

For years I have been trying very hard to find the missing link of myself. Now I have found it. That link is photography. Now that I have found my truth self I can explore new feelings.

Feelings and emotions that I did not know how to interpret portray or control. I am my own masterpiece. The people that surround me are my mentors. I learn from them. For years I have been lost trying to find myself. I have explored other territories such as acting and modeling and in the middle of my journey my true self came out. I have been blind for so many years and I am finally finding my passion and myself. Photography allows me to show the best and the worst of the world. Through my images I can tell a story without words, manipulate the reality or simply accentuate beauty and perfection. What I love the most about photography is that there is no right or wrong. It gives me the freedom to simply tell the story from my own perspective.

During my high School senior year, I stared acting and modeling. It was my dream as a little girl to be a theater actress. After a year in acting and modeling the door of pageantries opened up. I participated in 5 pageants total representing Mexico in the US. It was during my first pageant and my first year in college that I realized that I wanted to take a photo class. When I took my first class I was so afraid that I did not know how I was going to survive the dark room developing my first film. when I came out of the dark room with a wet film ready to dry and I saw images in it I felt the greatest joy I have ever experienced in my life. I fell in love with photography.

For the next few years I continued working, going to school stopped acting and modeling in 2007, but continued the pageantry path. During a red carpet event in the process of my last pageant in 2014 I realized I was standing behind a photographer observing the rest of the contestants being photographed and I really enjoyed been there behind the camera. After 9 months of preparation the night of the event right before I came on stage I suddenly realized that I did not want to do that anymore. I finished the event and I decided that it would be my last one that now I was just going to work harder, stay in school and be a photographer.

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?
One of the things I would do differently if I had to start over is to believe and trust myself more. I lost a lot of time because I used to think that my work was not good enough.

Please tell us about Ambar Image.
I am a photographer. I am a portrait and events photographer. I am proud of my business because it is the result of many years of work and preparation. I have been very lucky to have great professors at school that still give me advice if I reach out to them for help.

What set me apart is that I take my job very seriously and I make sure that my clients are happy with the final result.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory is that I have always been a “Big Dreamer” and when I feel lost I like to get away from the city and go on long road trips by myself so I have enough time to think, reconnect with the little girl that always dreamed big and get back in the right path.

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Nhan Nguyen
Francisco Madrid
Vicente Guerrero

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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