Juan Ortega caught our eye through his beautifully diverse clientele and his beautiful range of photos. He is a wedding photographer born and raised in Valencia - one of the most beautiful cities in Spain.
Although work is now play for Juan, like all of us he had to start from the bottom to get to where he is today. He is a creative who finds a lot of his inspiration well beyond the camera.
Juan is also a big advocate for developing your own style and staying away from trends. Your personality and tastes need to be seen through your work. Read on for a bit about Juan, how he feeds his creativity and drive and where he finds his inspiration.
Where are you from and how did you get into photography?
I am from Valencia, one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. It is an incredible city, full of sun and beautiful people!
My adventure with photography started like in the movies. There was always a great coincidence that seemed to connect everything.
It was thanks to a good friend that I started working in a photography store. I will be forever grateful to him! Prior to this, I had never had a camera in my hand (I was 17 years old when I started working in the store). From that point on I fell madly in love with everything that surrounded this world. I am a curious person by nature, so naturally I wanted to know everything about photography.
How would you best describe your style of photography?
My style is mixing spontaneity with intimate connection. It’s very important to me to find the right balance at every shoot. I always think how incredible it is for a couple to trust you enough to share the most important day of their lives. It is a unique feeling - you don’t get that in many professions.
Your photos are beautifully diverse, how do you attract such a diverse range of clients, do you travel for work?
My personality and the colors I use seem to attract my clientele. I make sure both translate well across social media. Without a doubt, all my clients are people who connect with me at a very high level. Not only at the photographic level, but also, cultural, musical etc.
I do travel a lot and always have. Combining travel and photography is what attracted me to the industry.
What are your 5 top tips for attracting a diverse range of client from all over the world?
- Create your own style and make it unique - this should derive from your personality and tastes. This is what will create a style no one can copy.
- Always demand the best of yourself. Never settle for anything, you have to always want the maximum.
- Don't just research wedding photography. This is a very typical mistake. It’s easy to fall into this trap. All you’ll do by doing this is sabotage your unique style and you’ll end up doing what everyone else is doing. Instead, I suggest you consume films, listen to different genres of music, watch music video clips etc. Make sure you’re always looking for new ideas.
- Get out of your comfort zone. Don’t only restrict yourself to wedding photography and taking pictures of couples (even if this is your specialty).
- Look for other photoshoot opportunities, set yourself challenges - this is one of my top tips.
- Everything you do, do it with passion and never give up. If you really want this, you have to go for it every day, every single minute. You have to be very committed while staying connected to social media at all times. Make uploading photos etc a priority. Being a photographer is an incredibly unique and beautiful line of work to be in.
What are some questions you like to ask the couples before the shoot?
I try not to ask clients too many questions. Above all I try to find out everything I can and what they like. The main goal is to get to know them very well. The better you know them the more smoothly the photoshoot goes on their wedding day.
What continues to feed your drive, creativity, and passion for photography?
The main way I continue to feed my creativity and drive is to never give up. Make sure you look for new things to do every day. People always want to see new things! I also make sure I’m constantly consuming high quality visual content so I can continue to see things differently.
I also find a lot of inspiration in books. I have countless books in my house all showcasing great photographers - Magnum Photo, National Geographic etc!
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