Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Mendez.
Hi Tony, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Photography became my path when I recognized how big it was. A former acquaintance of mine ,that I did music with in the past needed a favor and I like to help people. Even though I had no clue what I was doing I was willing to try because I like to help people. He was looking for some photos to do promo on an upcoming project. Personally, I thought they looked pretty cool however my community responded with lots of support towards the project. I started to create other projects and eventually I landed a gig, taking photos at clubs throughout the week.. I would even get to hear my name randomly on the radio for my photos which I thought was an awesome accolade.this was all happening when myspace was starting to get really hot, so there were a lot of us moving and shaking throughout the city, and now we were getting recognition directly. It was a great time to be part. Of the industry because everything was changing no more film digital was allowing people like me to take thousands of photos advance at a high rate.
My reputation for being reliable was building and the quality I was letting out made people take interest. The first photo shoot I did was a handheld Kodak a little square one without the zoom. After that shoot, I was able to get a Pentax. My peers we’re putting out great content and people I worked with were even becoming big names. Everything kinda snowballed and before I knew it I was doing as many freelance shoots as I could get and also I worked for a magazine briefly doing journalism and photos for celebrities and underground artist on the rise. I didn’t stop there. I enrolled at school and studied photography.as I’m doing all this, I realized other people were focusing on genres, that never really sat right with me. I respect it deeply and I have tried it however, I feel like what I have to offer is closer to a lifestyle that’s being projected presented as art,so I want to show people what I do, and how I do it. I want to show you what I like and how I experience it and that involves a plethora of different things. Being candid and transparent, do you do one thing every day or many things? This was the question I was asking myself, so I went on my artistic journey that took me from Cleveland to South Beach, to San Antonio. In between I’ve had such a rich contrast of people, places and growth. I learned that being an artist and a business person are two very separate things. After some years, i had to get serious about expanding. It’s not enough just to get paid. You have to have a goal in mind. today I’m still running the company, but I have many more resources and a bigger scope. I’m able to use my imagination and it keeps feeding me and rewarding me.im right back where I started, which is the best thing I have surrendered to the work and turn. I’m able to create anywhere anytime at a professional level.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
absolutely not lol and I wouldn’t have it any other way. All things are able to service us. There are definitely no tutorials for when you do an awesome job and at the end of the night the person that supposed to pay you is nowhere to be found. no one can prepare you when you found something harmless gives you trauma, like capturing someone hours before the death. There was one year, where literally every single project that was supposed to come out was met with aggression, even though I did what they wanted me to do. I could not compete with the persons self-confidence, and it taught me a lot about who I didn’t want to be and who I was not willing to work with. I love that expression. Every dollar isn’t a good dollar I will say this above all these things I felt like changing my mind about expectations gave my biggest challenge. four walls can be protection or they can be a prison, and that’s how I feel about the mind. cherishing the experience over the expectation, because en route to the next great thing we are always training and becoming better. A lot of so-called bad things happen for good reasons and when I figured that out instead of attaching to the agony, my force field went up. I find it exhausting to consistently protect the energy just like anyone else and I spent a lot of years chasing after perfection. Somethings are so deeply embedded and in life you continuously improve so I do wanna say I still have obstacles however, the way I use these tools up to me. The object doesn’t choose the person does people love light but hate bugs, instead of polarizing for one for the other, I accept my choices with integrity
As you know, we’re big fans of Marvelous Shots Productions. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
we are a production company That prepares people for growth on a professional level. Our mission is to provide quality content that is formatted correctly to use on different platforms to generate business.
Imagine you buy a logo and it looks great but when you go to print it, you’re told that it’s only usable on the web. That’s what we avoid for people, we take away the mystery and provide clarity on how to operate and project your visual goals
Our reputation for the past 17 years has relied on being consistent. We use the software and equipment that is necessary by constantly updating, researching,reviewing and applying technique. we have the experience to help you organize and be recognized before you’re seen.
I do want people to know that everything is done with the attempt to exceed. Everything we have gone through has led us to choose this again and again.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I’ve been helped by a lot of people. I might only name one person because everybody else I hold close relationships with and we are in the information age so we must protect. It was Surreal from my community to embrace my photography job after job. It Went crazy until it just turned into a frenzy. That did a lot for me.
When I need you alone for my first camera, my mother was able to lend me what I needed for the purchase. Actually inspired by the level of skill she had being self taught as I was growing up. She has helped in multiple ways. Especially. by providing extra workers lol. My youngest brother has a totally different flow from me, but I can tell “him hand me that”And he already knows what I need. We are able to bounce ideas off of each other and come up with solutions and that is a big win. Because he cares about accuracy just like I do.
I can’t convey how important, but my children. Simply put I have four gifts. The great thing about family is that they contribute individually, but contribute as a whole. I feel like I absorb a lot of willpower in their favor but also there’s a lot of unconditional love. Even if it is a child with the mind of a 45 year-old art critique. They just walk in mention something and walk out the problem is there often right and I will have to change everything around. I love it and them.
Their mother is also a huge catalyst in how I got here, because I sure had a disdain for computers, other than recording. She is an accomplished artist with formal education and experienced with set production. I’m pretty sure I learned how to edit photos by watching her and she also encouraged me to go to college for photography, which was a great experience and made my foundation solid. we broke a lot of late nights working on projects.
I’m gonna say Jonathan Wayne my professor. He was a man about technique and what he had to offer was organized so you could follow along. He also created a great environment in his class for people to be themselves and actually practiced what he preached. Just don’t call him John. I feel like his own work inspired my broad reach Ireland looked amazing.
I’ve traveled a lot of places so I’ve got to meet tons of different personalities. I have been built up by a lot of strangers that makes me feel Ignited inside. I want to say thank you to all the people that have booked me showed up in person or virtually, or just gave insight. It makes me feel closer to people. I love that people trust me enough to lead.
My new community here is San Antonio has taught me a lot. It dawned on me that the opportunity lies in the city being at its own pace. There is so much variety because there is so much demand. You can do different things and not get drowned out or locked into one space. I appreciate every single post with a person in it that says San Antonio in my portfolio. One of your native stars here introduced me to her community so I could refresh my momentum, not all people are kind enough to be vulnerable like that. also, I love the market side here you can find all type of nostalgic things for photo shoots and just have pure laughs off of the stuff that shows up that you can purchase like a pony for $300.
I wanna thank you guys also for the feature and all the work it takes to put together everybody’s energy and still be immaculate. To anybody who feels inspired by my work at any point in time and also to the forces keeping me together that emerge to create.
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