We had the good fortune of connecting with Carolina Menendez and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Carolina, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
As cheesy as it may sound, I believe it chose me. I picked up a camera in high school and became mesmerized by the exposure and development process of photography. The photography elective available to me was great but I wanted to soak in more advanced information so I signed up for a photography class in my nearby community college where I was able to learn a great deal more. Since then I knew I had to pursue this as a career somehow, though I had no idea how to do it.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
In my personal photography brand I love to focus on portraiture. This was the theme of my work in art school. At my core what I love to do is connect with people and hear their stories. When I’m photographing a proposal, engagement, family or maternity session I get to do just that. You get to hear the most important part of people’s lives. Not their careers, not their schooling but the good stuff, the real stuff. You learn about the story of their love, how they got to be where they are in it and sometimes get to witness the evolution of it. For example, many times we’ve gotten to be present at a proposal, wedding and maternity shoot. Its the sweetest thing in the world to be able to be a part of people’s lives in this way. It was very difficult to get to this point for me, honestly. The one thing they don’t teach you in art school is about the practical application of your craft, at least it wasn’t a focal point in my program at all. It was Alex who got me there. Until then I worked in the service industry for 16 years which was grueling but also fulfilling as working in fine dining you learn so much about the world through food and wine. I was still able to connect with and hear people’s stories from all over which was an aspect I enjoyed about that industry albeit from a different perspective.
When I met Alex shooting some lifestyle for a clothing brand and he told me he’d been a wedding photographer for the last 10 years my ears instantly perked. “How did you get into that? Can you teach me how?” I was shameless in my curiosity and he was so generous sharing his knowledge which is rare in the photo world where many gate keep information for fear of having competition. I started assisting him at weddings and eventually I started second shooting for the company he shot for and the rest is history. I’ve been shooting weddings alongside him for the last 3 years and started our own brand in the last year.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First place I take my out of town buds when visiting is Crandon Park, best beach in Miami. A much more quiet chill beach with beautiful shallow water. Next we might take a trip down south to visit Robert Is Here, do a loop at the Anhinga trail and pick up some cinnamon rolls at Knaus Berry Farms you know, the classic jaunts.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Peggy Nolan first and foremost. She was my teacher at FIU and I feel so honored our timelines intersected and that I got to be her student. She’s forever the voice inside my head when I’m making photos. She has the gift of teaching people how to see and how to use photos to convey thoughts or feelings more powerfully than words ever could. Secondly, my love and business partner Alex Bartole. He’s the person that taught me how to actually get paid for my skill set and thus sustaining this passion of mine. He taught me a great deal about how the industry actually works, got me into the wedding industry which culminated into starting our own brand together.
Website: https://www.carolinamenendezphoto.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinamenendezphoto/
Image Credits
Alex Bartole for all images of me (the photographer). My photos are the rest