Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Garcia.
Tony, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Dallas and went to school at Booker T. Washington for the Performing and Visual Arts aka Arts Magnet Dallas. During my time there, I majored in music and was exposed to many forms of art through Dance, Music, Theatre and of course Visual Arts. I remember walking down the halls feeling so inspired by everyone’s work and I feel it really sparked my growth. Music has always been my passion, but I believe as time goes by you are able to develop more than one passion and that’s where photography came in. In music, my stage name is LAAHLO, but in the photography world I am Tony Garcia.
As an independent artist, I had to market myself and that included taking stylistic photos of myself, except that I found that to be quite expensive. A natural problem solver, I find my way around roadblocks, so I delved into the idea of becoming my own photographer. Honestly, I never really considered myself a photographer because I wanted all of my focus to be on music. I later realized that I shouldn’t limit myself to my capabilities. I began to create my own posters for shows, album covers, social media promotional shots and quickly began to help other artists with their projects.
For a while I thought photography was just “pose and smile” photography but as I began to experiment I realized its much more than that. Candid and Travel photography became my niche.
Has it been a smooth road?
I feel when you are on the right path, it’s never a smooth road. Naturally, I’m an over-thinker and I’ve battled with anxiety disorder since I was a kid. Anyone who has experienced this or is currently living with this knows how challenging it can be at times. Music has always helped me break into my creative side and photography has become almost therapeutic for me. I started to realize how important photography was in 2018 when my Grandmother was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. Although this was a very challenging time for the entire family, I tried my best to capture every moment together. Unfortunately, she lost her battle in January of 2019 and this made me realize the importance of living and capturing every moment as if it were your last. This is the mentality I like to have when I’m working with my clients.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Tony Garcia Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
If I was to describe what sets me apart from others, I would say that I have an artist eye. I know how it is to be in front of the camera with all my music projects, so when I switch roles and become the photographer, I have an idea of what they are looking for. Although I love taking portraits, I get the most fulfillment by taking candid photos. Capturing that one or many unplanned moments adds that extra spark.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The world of social media has helped photography and music in so many ways. I believe this will continue to play a major role for many years. We live in a world of camera phones where selfies have taken over and us photographers need to stay current with trends to evolve with technology.
Contact Info:
- Email: tgarciaphotos@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tony.garcia.pics/
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