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

Rodahina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Success is like a gumbo as there is no one ingredient that can bring it to life. However, I think one of the most essential elements to success is willingness.

One must be willing to bet on themselves and have unwavering faith that they can and will rise to the occasion — even when others do not believe.
One must also be willing to learn from others and their mistakes as this will aid to avert certain letdowns.

When I took the step to invest in myself and my passion for filmmaking my definition of success was measured by the trophies on the wall and amount of accolades. However, these objects are simply representations of completion. I realize that I was successful when I first took the risk to do something that I excel at doing and most importantly — I love.

Above all, success requires a sense of self-awareness so that in times of adversity, your inner voice does not get muddled or drowned out by the echoes of comparisons or inadequacy. Instead, through self-awareness, one is willing to accept that they can and will rise to the occasion.

Rodahina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My passion and career for filmmaking and content creation first started with a smartphone, a storyline and my mother’s kitchen. One Sunday, I received a bright idea to create a home movie for my church to watch as part of our annual Mother’s Day Show. At the time, I did not know anything about recording, editing or directing a film but I knew that I wanted to tell a story with a potent message that my audience could both understand and be entertained by. I recruited my younger sister, Donna, to assist me and we ended with a 15 minute-long short-film for which we interchangeably played all of the characters. I realized how much I loved this process from start to finish. Even when there were obstacles, I saw the movie through to completion.

Many years later, I picked up the lens again in college. This time, I invested my savings into a digital camera of my own that I would use to make more movies and capture photos surrounding my experience. Soon, I found myself setting up photoshoots and videos with students that I went to school with at Tuskegee University. As my skill behind the lens expanded, I decided to take my craft seriously. I made my business official so that I could offer my services to a wider audience and stay true to my childhood dream of producing content that would inspire, educate and empower.

Today I supply families, schools, churches, brides, rental properties, and others with a vast array of content tailored to their specific needs. I help bridge the gap between clients and their audience by creating quality content deliverables that emphasize their mission and immortalize the moments captured.

What sets me apart from others in the industry is my perspective. I use my vision and My interpretation of light and color to create unique content. This interpretation is unlike what anyone outside of me can create as it is influenced by experiences which are relative to me.

I am most proud of existing in this industry because there are not many people that resemble me and create how I do. This gap creates room for me to introduce people to a world they have not yet experienced.

I want potential clients/followers/fans to know that RODA CAPTURED PRODUCTIONS LLC is dedicated to serving and preserving the community. My brand is about more than creating digital deliverables. My mission is devoted to connecting passersby with new information that will inspire them to positive action.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the lessons that I had to unlearn is that I have to please everyone. As a young woman, growing up in a traditional Haitian household was not always easy. I was taught very early on what was expected of me, how I was to behave and what I was required to do. This upbringing began to mold me into a perfectionist, and — to avoid shame — I would not rest until everyone was satisfied. While this taught me how to handle responsibility, the expectation of perfection weighed on me as I got older. It started to translate into my creative process and I began to understand that I was being too hard on myself.
The pressure of being what others wanted or expected was too much.
I eventually came to realize that I placed my self-worth in my work and the validation I received and I was not giving myself enough credit. I am now learning that I am enough. I am now learning to celebrate the milestones and small wins. I am now learning that I must always do my best but I do not have to please everyone.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

As a young child I was rather timid, yet very observant. Early on, I developed an affinity for cameras and using them to capture pictures in motion and other important moments. While my affinity for motion pictures grew, I taught myself to edit videos so that I could create home movies for entertainment in my church and at home for my family. Growing up in a Haitian household taught me many things but one of the most potent lessons is that our history is important and it will continue to matter as long as there are people willing to witness and immortalize it for the sake of protecting and passing it on to the future generations. I soon realized that my juvenile pass time was instead a way for me to preserve the history of my community and its members. I have since dedicated much of my creative power to documenting the experiences of those around me that I have the opportunity to encounter. One of the key milestones of this on going journey has been with clients that compensate me for my time and talent. There was a point in time when I only used my camera for leisure because I was unaware of the many opportunities that it could create for me. Now, I understand that my childhood passion was leading me to a greater purpose. My mission is to inspire, empower, and educate viewers through the films I create and other works I produce. I hope that this mission illuminates and empowers other digital creatives and storytellers alike to trust their inner voice and be confident in sharing this voice with the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rpasteurin.myportfolio.com/work
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roda_captured/?igshid=5lw8wuw6qpow
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rodacaptured/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodahina-pasteurin-83525b192?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Flinktr.ee%2F
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/roda_captured
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3HmRrlMweoFFKHupsUax_A

Image Credits
Image Credits: Rodahina Pasteurin