January 20, 2017

Meet Wilshire Photographer: Miroslav Parushev

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Miroslav Parushev.

Miroslav, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Since I was very young I’ve always been involved with visual arts. Where I come from (Bulgaria) I guess the school system is different than the one in the US, so I was enrolled in art school at the age of 11 up until I went to university. After all the art schooling I went to study Public Administration for few years where I realized that politics and administration were not something I wanted to do and I moved to the US.

One of my best friends and me moved to Las Vegas where his brother was located. He was also a good friend of mine, who unfortunately isn’t with us anymore, rest in piece George.

In Vegas, I decided that I should go back to the creative side of me and enrolled to study photography, thinking that it would be an easier way to make a living doing something that is artistic.

The school helped me learn the technical aspect of photography but it didn’t provide me with a real life experience working on commercial sets and meeting bigger clients. The reason being is that it was in Vegas, where the photo industry is very limited in size and number of clients.
So one day me my ex-wife decided to move to the city of Angels to give it a try. We got a live and work loft by McCarren park in the American Cement building where we stayed for a while, till I got into a motorcycle accident. Then moved back to Vegas briefly and now I spend most of my time in NYC working with designers on campaigns, look books and personal projects.

Has it been a smooth road?
Being a freelance photographer is not about a smooth ride, it’s about lots of hard work, lots of struggle to establish yourself. It takes a long time to get your name out there and the only way to do that is by hard work, creating strong style and persistence. The only people that succeed in this business are the people that want it so bad that they don’t give up no matter what.

One of the struggles is finding new clients. The market is so over-saturated with photographers that finding a new client is very hard work.

Working with reliable and passionate people is the key, sometimes that is a struggle to achieve as well.

What’s the hardest part of your job?
Usually, the hardest part is finding new clients.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me is the state of existence where, not only you do what you love and you get rewarded for doing it, but at the same time you give back and contribute to the well-being of people and the planet as a whole.

So, what should we be on the lookout for, what’s next in store for you?
I prefer not to plan. I’ll continue to do the best work that I can do and enjoy the journey as much as I can.

I like to travel and see new places, meet new people and experience different cultures. Being a citizen of the world is my plan. Having a family at some point in the future.

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