We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrew Fabela. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrew below.

Andrew, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned my craft from a very young age by watching others. I vividly remember being in elementary school watching others do art projects and thinking about how I could make mine just like theirs, or even better. This thought process of mine remained into my high school years which I think is when I started to teach myself how to master my craft of photography. I began doing research, watching videos of other professional photographer’s online and how they did their work. It took many phases of trial and error, but the main thing that made me learn from it all was actually going out and taking photographs. I always leaned more towards photographing people, and I learned and self-taught myself techniques that a lot of professional photographers do. I have to admit, I learned the more difficult way – by starting off with 35mm film. I learned that starting off this way would set me up later on for success, as knowing how to do everything manually in photography is much better in the long run rather than relying on automated techniques. Some more definitive obstacles during the learning process was learning from film, but with time my skills became better and better with practice, which I think is the ultimate way to learning the craft.

Andrew, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I began my foot in the photography industry by taking photos of close friends of mine. It may not seem like a big deal, but connections matter – especially in a competitive industry like Los Angeles. One day I met actress Molly Jackson, who I began taking photos of. Then through her, I met celebrity photographer Reinhardt Kenneth. I began assisting Reinhardt on editorials for some of the biggest fashion magazines in the nation – Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, L’Officiel etc. Through him I learned very valuable techniques and lessons that have shaped me and my work to this very day. I applied what I learned from him, and my very work then began to take off. Through him, I have met many amazing creatives, people and industry professionals that I have formed valuable connections with. What I am most proud of, is that I have all of this experience under my belt at a very young age! I value the experiences that I have had so far, and I apply them to all of my work. I now shoot editorials for magazines such as ShowBiz Magazine, FLG and many more to come due to all of this, which is also another landmark achievement I am very proud of.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My biggest goal and mission is to always create, and to never stop. I like to create images that foster beauty, and in doing so, that is what fuels me to do more. From a very young age I have always had an eye for creativity, and I keep that eye for it going through my work, and from learning from others as well.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing my work be published, having my name be left forever on something that I can proudly tell others “Hey, I did that!”. The biggest reward of it all is seeing my parents smile at my work as well, and having them know that I am happy with what I do. That to me is the biggest reward.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.andrewfabelaphoto.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/andrew.fabela
• Facebook: Andrew Fabela

Image Credits
© Andrew Fabela