Meet Jorge Parra | Visual Artist & Commercial Photographer

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

Hi Jorge, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Contrary to what others may think, risk-taking is a standard aspect of, and I would say, a necessary trait, for any creative career. This applies to business careers, artistic ones, etc. Basically, if you are not comfortable taking risks, jumping into the void without knowing what comes next, if you do not enjoy those moments of uncertainty, the not-knowing , then there are little chances that your creative career will flourish. Same thing applies to some critical moments in life. Some decisions are life-changing and difficult to reverse. So you either do it or not, and either way, your life will be different. In my case, I certainly jumped from being a 9 to 5 chemist, working in a lab, steadily married for years, and almost overnight I switched careers and became a freelance photographer, with no insurance, no corporate protection, no fixed income, not knowing when the next check would come out, my wife could not take it and we had to separate, and all things considered, I just could not help it, I was just happy with the massive change of career and my drive would not let me stop for anything, So you get some cool things, and you also loose some. It is the balance what will tell you wether it was worth it, but if you start by thinking about the consequences before you do things, then you are afraid of taking the risk, Basically, if you do not feel that kind of powerful drive doing what you re doing, then most likely you are in the wrong career and time is always running out. It is up to you what to do next!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As I said before, I switched from being a Chemist into becoming a Photographer almost overnight. I still consider myself a lucky person who has lived two lives in the same lifetime! When I started my work as a photographer I did commercial work but never stopped doing personal work, develop the ideas I had in mind, without thinking in terms of rewards, financial or otherwise, other than my own personal satisfaction. My personal/ Fine Art work is based on the Female Nude and this has been an unexpected situation in the US markets, since there seems to be a huge conflict about sexuality and what it means to carry a healthy sex life in America, and many are prone to tag any type of nudity as pornography, so I am at this very moment involved in this controversial fight. Love it!! We will face challenges in every step of our life and careers, so it is just a matter of adjusting to the weather, embrace change, learn to deal with adversity and to keep a steady fight. My commercial/Advertising work developed over time, so now, after years and years of hard work, I am now capable of doing big productions for big name clients, just as easy as doing small jobs for small businesses. What I expect the world to know and remember my brand is the level of confidence you can deposit on my person and my working style, since that is what I have to offer beyond my creativity, skills and professionalism. At this moment I have already created a totally new workflow to be able to keep working under the current COVID pandemics, in order to guarantee my clients that it is still business as usual, only that there is nothing usual about the virus, but we have now a more careful set of healthy practices in order to keep everyone safe and happy. I am not sure this pandemic status will go anytime soon, so it makes sense to assure the clients that things will not turn bad in the short/mid term at all, and we are ready to go on with long term practices, if necessary!.

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.
As a photographer, I have tried to avoid taking pictures in standard locations, so I am avid scouter for the unusual locations, so a friend coming to visit and expecting me to show Miam , will definitely see a different version of the city that any stand visitor would do. As I have travelled so much in my life, I have learned to go where the locals go, eat what locals eat and go places they love to go to REALLY enjoy the place. The French people would call it “Savoir Vivre” attitude (to know how to live), since it means you may be going to not-so-fancy-places to enjoy the real flavors, music, dance and culture of the place you are visiting. Many average visitors to Miami would not like my suggestions and will certainly prefer to go to Calle 8 stores and walk on Wynwood streets and Aventura Mall. It is exactly for this reason that I would not mention specific places to go. Sorry!

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?
The books from Carlos Castaneda about The Teachings of Don Juan, very especially The journey to Ixtlan, are a series of stories about a student of Sociology who decided to do research on ancient Mexican religions ( the Toltecs) and managed to make contact with one of those shamans, Don Juan Matus, in the Sonora desert, Castaneda stayed in contact for years with Don Juan, and found himself in something he could never imagined or expected, but the amazing spiritual learnings you can get from those books is just powerful and sometimes overwhelming. Those books have been with me since my young years, in my travels through Europe, and now I can say without hesitation that those books started my spiritual path, something that has led me later on towards Buddhism, Taichi and Meditation practices who are constantly shaping and re-shaping my thinking and helping my creative process in totally unexpected ways. Hopefully you can find your own path, no matter the approach, it can be religious in nature, it can be philosophical, it can be yoga or running or tantric sex, whatever it is, I wish that anyone can find a way to learn to live with themselves, enjoy the silence, enjoy walking alone and help yourself develop your creativity and inner peace. This aspect of life may be more important than money and success.

Website: http://JorgeParraPhotography.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jorgeparraphotography/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorgeparraphotography/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jorgeparraphoto
Facebook: http://facebook.com/jorgeparraphotography
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jorge-parra-photography-north-miami
Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/JorgeParraPhotography
Other: Fine Art Photography website: https://TheArtoftheBody.com At Home Production website: https://AtHomeProduction.com

Image Credits
Production Coordination, Art Direction and Photography by ©Jorge Parra