Today we’d like to introduce you to Rafael Paiva.
Rafael , please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always felt a tendency to be an artist. Born in Brazil, I had struggled trying to find myself professionally for almost all my lifetime there. I spent years in law school and almost became a lawyer or something else in that field. At the same time, I was studying to be a psychotherapist, which actually really helped me to make the decision of quitting everything and going after something else that I really wanted to do. I decided to move out of my state, and go to the biggest city in Brazil (Sao Paulo), with no money and all by myself. I had the hunger to be an artist. I tried acting, but it just wasn’t that yet. Then I started to remember all the years I spent drawing and photographing people at my family reunions. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to buy a professional camera back then, it was just too costly with all my new lifestyle.
However, I decided to invest on courses to learn Photoshop, and that was when the whole thing started.
I moved back to my original state and I was managing a company and doing event photography as a freelancer on the side. I moved to Los Angeles in 2012. Even though I had some experience with event photography and some basic photoshoots for two years, I needed more to survive in LA.
So then, I started doing everything I could to learn new skills, investing on equipment and trying to be the best I could with my photography. I found myself doing my first product shoot, for a company that I worked for as the shipping guy. Trying some lighting setups and using my skills on Photoshop, I created the best pictures they had. After that, it was just growing. I found new clients who believed in my potential and I became a professional commercial photographer right away. Every job was a new challenge, I had to become an expert in lighting, and also at dealing with people in a new language.
But I was craving more, I wanted to work photographing more people as well. So I invested a lot of time learning and doing Portraits and Beauty shots. My clients were always really happy with the results, so that made me really excited and happy as well.
Since the beginning of my professional life as a Photographer, I learned that we can never waste our time and investments offering our services for free. My whole portfolio is built from real jobs. I have done some free photos for my close friends, but that was not a job, it was just me playing with my camera to help out a friend. And I guess, keeping this professional mentality was what made me value my work and it is what gives me strength everyday to fight against the big competition we all face around this market.
Loving what you do is the first step to succeed. However, being great at what you do is the most important fact that will make you succeed. Always be real and know your value, people one day will recognize it too.
Has it been a smooth road?
Lots of struggles, especially in LA.
We are in a city where your name is more important than your real talent. People give way more credit to who you know, and who you have in your portfolio than to your real talents. It is also hard to deal with clients who are just worried about saving money. And we can’t forget all the new amateur photographers just wanting to shoot anything for free so they can learn how to photograph.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I think every new project that I am involved brings a new unique experience. Helping artists to develop their personal brand image, and companies to create their campaigns for their new products are the most appreciative moments in my career.
However, the proudest moments are (I can’t pick just one! =D) when a client comes to me, afterwards, to thank me for being so amazing at handling the project and changing so much the way people see their image and even the way they see their own image. This is priceless. I feel like I have done my job the way I should and I feel fulfilled. It is even a better feeling than when I see my work on a magazine cover.
Were there moments when you had to struggle?
I believe the moments that I struggle the most are when I am dealing with people who have no idea about what they want, or they have no appreciation for what we do to get the job done.
Lots of people think about photography as something with no value, they think Professional Photographers are just people playing with cameras like they do with their iPhones. Unfortunately, the technology made the basis of photography more accessible and therefore the attention got diverted. But people also easily forget about quality and propose, which makes them fail for lack of trust on real professionals.
Is there something we can do as a city to improve the outlook for professionals like you?
I found myself in LA, professionally and personally. I believe this is a great place for me.
I feel like it is all about your mentality. If you are coming to be a star in LA overnight, maybe you are having a wrong attitude about this place. To grow here you have to work hard and actually be really grounded on your dreams. This is a place with plenty of opportunities, but you can’t just come to LA with no talent and play pretend and expect the city to recognize your “work”.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rafaelpaiva.net
- Phone: 8185687548
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @rafaelpaivaus
- Other: www.up-branding.com
