Today we’d like to introduce you to Sergio Tavarez.
Hi Sergio, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a photographer/videographer based in Washington Heights in New York City. Growing up I loved movies and shows. I would analyze almost everything from how the color grading looks, the quality, ratio, etc. On top of that, I really enjoyed the scenery of the parks in New York and became attracted to them. I would take pictures on my phone since I didn’t really have a camera and wasn’t working at the time. For a while, I took a step back because I didn’t know if it was just a passion or something that was just for fun. What really inspired me to get to trying photography was having the opportunity to do background work for the movie “In The Heights”. It really inspired me seeing actors, crew workers, and the director make something that was special to them. It really made me feel motivated. A few weeks later, one of my best friends, Danilo, who I grew up with just started his music label, Heights Finest, and asked me to be his photographer and videographer. He came with me to Best Buy where I bought my camera, Lumix G7, which I still use till this day. I was able to start getting to work and was really more motivated than ever.
As of today, my photography/videography business is something that I am proud of. I worked really hard and am still working as hard as ever. I’m grateful for my friends for motivating me and even allowing me to take pictures of them so I can perfect my craft. To all the models I took pictures of, I thank them for allowing me to create the piece of art I wanted and my vision. It was more of a push that I needed to get to where I’m at.
Currently, I am still doing photography and working with models. Also, helping my friend with his label with music videos and even photoshoots for him and his artists. I am writing an upcoming script for a short film about mental health that I really been wanting to do for a while so that’s another that’s been on my list. A dream of mine is to write a script and be given the chance to pitch it for a streaming service or network to really show what I’m capable of and the vision and art I can bring into the industry.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was never a smooth road to begin with. One of the obvious struggles was just being motivated to want to do it. It’s hard for me because I do struggle with mental health and like to overthink a lot of situations. What really helped me was journaling and writing my thoughts and having my friends push me to get to where I want. Another thing I really found challenging was having kind of like a writer’s block. Before I never really communicated with people, I worked with on what their vision is and how they like to work, etc. I think that was one of the main issues I had. Also, I didn’t really have ideas to begin with. I started talking to the people I worked with and asked the ideas I can bring in and if they liked it, we go further and add more ideas. It’s all about creativity and when you work together and not alone you can really get a lot done. Another big issue I also had and I don’t know if other photographers/videographers have this same thought but was my label and how I branded myself. Did I label myself as a photographer/videographer or did I just see myself as a person with a camera?
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a photographer/videographer. I specialize in taking outdoor, portraits, landscape, music videos, and soon filming. Recently I have been more proud of the portraits that I have taken. Before I was never really confident in taking portraits and would sometimes get anxious. Now I am more confident and can bring insights with the people I work with.
What sets me apart from others is that sometimes I like to get in the mind of all aspects of photography and videography. I like to think to myself what do I see in a picture that I can bring to a film as a director? It helps me get inside of each parts of the what I like to do in this field of work.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Time is your friend. It’s okay to fail and relearn something. We have all the time in the world and there’s no need to rush. If you need to step back and think to yourself and just have your own space, then take it. Everyone’s mental health is important and if you feel like time is that reason then remember to yourself that a lot of people that have built their business have felt this way before and took the time they needed to get to where they’re at.
Contact Info:
- Email: sergmerg6705@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sergcollects/
