Today we’d like to introduce you to Armando Cepeda.
Armando, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I got into photography through a friend of mine, Angel. He was an acquaintance in high school and I noticed that he was getting into film photography. I really admired his developing skills and I became a friend of his soon after. I had a few ideas that I wanted to shoot and asked if he’d be up to shoot a few portraits of me and he accepted. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but when I saw the pictures, I was in awe. I, then, told him that we should shoot with some people some ideas and soon enough, we found ourselves doing a beach shoot with a few people who were starting out in modeling too. He submitted it to an editorial and it got accepted. I couldn’t believe it. A collaboration of ours had made it into something people would be able to see.
Immediately, after that shoot, I bought my own camera. I began by shooting candid adventures of me and my friends in Downtown LA, but then I decided that in order to really get what I wanted out of it, I needed to translate my own ideas into photos.
Soon enough, I restarted the focus of my Instagram, set up a Model Mayhem account and sought out just about anyone who was willing to work with a beginning such as myself. Out of 20 models, I would contact, 1 or 2 would contact me back. It was the one model that I shot that accepted that made me think: “Because she accepted the collaboration, I’m going to do the best possible shoot of my abilities.”
I really got some great photos out of that shoot and my confidence as a photographer increased. I couldn’t believe it. The response from others was astounding and more and more people began to follow my Instagram. People outside of my own circle. From then on, I began to contact people to collaborate and it just kind of took off from there.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. Like I said earlier, out of 20 models I would contact in Model Mayhem, 1 or 2 would respond. If more did respond, it was mostly rejections based on my inexperience.
I think in any creative professions, there’s always a struggle.
I remember about a year ago, I felt that I was losing my passion. For some reason, I thought Instagram either made me or broke me as a photographer and for a time, I wasn’t able to get anyone to shoot at a time where I felt like I was putting out some of my best work.
To other photographers out there, Instagram is an amazing platform, but do not like the likes and followers dissuade you. If you truly have the drive and nonstop passion to succeed, people will find you and your work.
Who, or what, deserves a lot of credit for where you are today?
Well, I want to single out a few people and institutions.
A friend of mine, Angel, a fellow photographer, was the person to get me into photography. I have to thank him for showing me that there was an avenue to creatively express yourself. Without him, I would not have found this passion so I am forever grateful.
I also think that the Santa Monica College Photography program allowed me to connect with other photographers just as passionate as I was. It allowed me to assess what my strengths and weaknesses were and what I could do to remedy that. I met so many lifelong friends there.
Lastly, I want to thank a friend of mine, who models, Lyena. I was actually going to quit doing photography but she helped reignite my passion for it and has since gone on to become my best friend.
Photography has always been a journey of meeting people and letting their passions infect you with positivity and the continuous pursuit of success.
What type of clients or projects do you look forward to most?
My ultimate goal is to do street fashion editorial and submit to magazines like i-D and Nylon. However, I particularly want to travel the world and cover street fashion in countries such as South Korea and Japan as I find their fashion particularly interesting and in a few years, I plan to teach English abroad in those countries.
What have been some of the most important lessons you’ve learned over the course of your career?
If I had to start over, I would have done photography a lot sooner. I wish I had discovered this a lot younger. I keep wondering what kind of works I would have produced in the past and what kind of people I would have met.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 3106583824
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Matchapazzi
Image Credit:
Sharon Cedano (Sharoncitta), Angel Lin (angelymydarling), Lyena Hironaka (KitsuneGhost), Nicole (nicqueen), Krys Khloe (spotkryskhloe), Angelique Witmyer (angeliquewitmyer), Noelani Bradley (noelani_bradley)
