Meet Bella Cendan | Miami-Based Lifestyle Photographer & Freelance Videographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bella Cendan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bella, what are you inspired by?
I am inspired by the beauty of everyday life. Every moment that someone experiences — from the simple, mundane moments (the ones that we tend to take advantage of, and eventually miss the most when they are gone) to the ones most celebrated — is so important to photograph/film. I specialize in a gift that I will never take for granted: the beauty of capturing someone’s unique story and documenting life’s sweetest moments to last for a lifetime.

Some lifestyle photography/freelance videography moments that I tend to capture the most for my incredible clients include proposals, engagement sessions, elopements/micro weddings, pregnancy announcements, gender reveals, maternity sessions, birth/labor photography, newborn photos, family portraits, graduates, branding sessions for businesses, headshots, work with the non-profit Kesem (documenting the magic of providing support for children 6-18 years old), and more.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is in photography/videography. What I believe sets me apart from others is my empathetic heart; I am extremely personable, always going above and beyond to make sure that my clients feel as prepared and excited as possible throughout their entire journey of working with me (from the first moment they contact me, to the moment the gallery is fully edited and returned to them).
I am most proud of the moments where clients who have felt so happy with my work, that they have continued to hire me again, giving me the true honor of documenting their life’s sweetest moments over the years.
I am most excited about my work with Kesem (a nationwide non-profit that provides year round support for children 6-18 years old impacted by a caregiver’s cancer diagnosis), where I am able to be “Rugrat” (my Kesem name!) throughout the entire summer, traveling across the country to chapters hosted by various colleges/universities, providing photo and video content that allows Kesem members to experience the magic of the organization every single day.
To get to where I am today professionally was definitely not easy. There were curveballs thrown my way (including a pandemic shutting down the world just six months after I graduated from the University of Miami, at the beginning of my time in the “adult world” navigating my career as a creative), but thankfully, I never lost sight of my dream and never allowed my passion to completely disappear. I had wonderful people in my life who encouraged me to never give up on my dream, and without them (especially when things were really hard in 2021), I definitely would not be where I am today.
I have learned many lessons along the way. One that I try to remind myself the most is the importance of kindness. You never know what someone may be experiencing/going through in their life, so always communicating with them in kindness can go such a long way for some people. While I love every moment I spend with my clients at their session, that is just a small portion of their entire life story — one that I am honored to be trusted to capture and document for them, allowing them to share with their future generations to last for a lifetime.
I would love for the world to know that Bella Rosa Productions is all about authenticity with a focus on capturing your unique story and life’s sweetest moments for a lifetime! I am a proud female small business owner who completely runs everything for Bella Rosa Productions; I have worked so hard and am so thankful for everything that I have gone through since officially launching my business in 2020 (although I have been photographing for half of my life before then!) to be exactly where I am today.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting the area, I would make sure to give them a Miami weekend experience that is always my favorite and go-to. While Miami provides a large variety to experience, my favorite tends to fall align with something like picking up pastelitos (croquetas de jamon and tequeños from Pinecrest Bakery are my favorite!) or a sandwich from Publix (you can never go wrong with a chicken tender pub sub) and having a picnic while watching the sunset from Hobie Beach in Key Biscayne; visiting my favorite book store, Books and Books; watching a movie at the Coral Gables Cinema; having rib rolls and a drink at Flanigan’s; going on a bike ride at Shark Valley in the Everglades (which is also the best place to stargaze in South Florida); and exploring the beautiful campus of my alma mater, the University of Miami.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to my support system. Thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love, and encouragement of them, I am exactly where I am meant to be in life. My family (my mom, Cathy; my dad, Ignacio; and my brothers, Vincent and Daniel) have supported my dream of being a creative from the start. Although I come from a family predominantly in the medical field, I have never felt the pressure to follow in their footsteps; instead, I have felt endless support and encouragement to do what I love the most in life. Along with my family, I have had friends who have supported me from the start; these are the ones who posed for me when I got my first camera and started to take photography classes, the ones who continuously believed in my talent and my ability to make my dream into a reality, and most importantly, the ones who encouraged me to never give up on my small business when things got hard. I was given the best teammates anyone could have asked for in life — this one is for you.

Website: https://www.bellarosaproductions.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellarosaproductions/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabellacendan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/isabella_cendan

Facebook: https://facebook.com/brosaproductions

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC10YnyFwD-ypTETlll_ljWw?view_as=subscriber

Other: Vimeo: vimeo.com/bellarosaproductions

Email: itsbellarosaproductions@gmail.com

Pixieset: https://bellarosaproductions.pixieset.com/

Image Credits
Photograph of me (Bella Cendan) taken by Jenny Hudak in 2022

All 8 photographs provided are demonstrations of my work; Bella Rosa Productions