We recently connected with Luis Miguel Lopez and have shared our conversation below.

Luis Miguel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.

So with any creative endeavor, I would say that learning the proper fundamentals (to just about anything) is fairly important. However, I am also a big advocate for learning through trial and error. When I first started photography and videography, I was like a lot of people and attended YouTube University. The accessibility to the internet was so clutch at the time because you could literally watch a video, digest the information, and then go out and try it out for yourself. It’s not like in school where you would get quizzed on certain topics and if you fail, that letter would go on to define your knowledge in that particular subject/field. To hell with that. Just keep practicing until you get it to your own liking, not anyone else’s. I would say that art in almost all forms is pretty subjective – Don’t completely ditch the fundamentals; Learn them first to the best of your ability and then bend the rules to your advantage.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I initially got into photography through a good friend of mine and Instagram. I noticed that he started posting high-quality images online and I knew that they weren’t merely iPhone photos. Heavily intrigued, I asked him about his setup, and a few months later, I got my first camera. My journey started back in high school (end of junior year/start of senior year). I would round up a couple of friends and we’d make the most out of weekends by taking road trips to see the stars, national parks, the coast, etc. Simply put, my profession was rooted in going out to take some cool photos at some cool locations. Shortly after, I got into videography once I found the “record” button on my camera. Since then, I’ve always been a hybrid shooter, taking on both roles as a photographer and videographer (sometimes it does get overwhelming trying to manage both). Many shoots later, I began to freelance – taking on projects for start-up brands, event recaps, portrait sessions – basically anything that could put money in my pocket at the time.

Now I mainly focus on client work – that ranges from e-commerce brands, events, products, etc. In May of last year, a couple of friends and I started our own creative marketing agency. We are called Untapped Agency and we partner with brands to give them a stronger presence online/on social media. I mainly handle shooting (video) and editing. We each have our own designated roles as we fill in each others’ weaknesses. I still try to show some love to my own personal brand; But it is difficult to find time as client work is a top priority in my book. Additionally, (this year and a little bit of last), I’ve tapped into live music photography. I’m well aware that it isn’t a financially stable route; However, I expect absolutely zero money from these artists/shows that I shoot for anyways. Most of the time, it’s mainly to get access. Furthermore, mixing my deep passion for live music and my love for photography just makes my entire creative endeavor that much more fun and interesting (as it is quite easy to burn out through client work). Attending these shows and covering the artist/atmosphere fuels me creatively as it forces me to try new things each show.

Link to online portfolio (Live Music section): https://luislopezmedia.myportfolio.com/live-music-photography

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

I can’t remember exactly when I started freelancing solo, but I did consider that a “side hustle” at the time because I wasn’t booked frequently. I had very little understanding of how to run a business/handle clientele (to this day, I’m still learning). But after a few years of that, while also meeting the right people, we started our business last year. Before the birth of Untapped Agency, I became really good friends with Allan Pham (@bgpham – CEO of Untapped Agency) and Omar Salah (@omarmaliksalah – social strategist). The way we met was pretty insane – I knew Omar through an old employer we briefly worked for and I knew Allan through a mutual friend. Little did I know that they had already known each other too! We eventually started going on shoots together for fun and occasionally, one of us would need an extra shooter for a paid gig and we were each others’ “go-to’s.” Then in May of 2022, we birthed Untapped Agency. A few months in, we got ourselves an office space to work out of in Fountain Valley. Our team is still going strong today as we are slowly expanding and beginning to scale.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

It’s more than clicking a button. I always tell people that I merely press buttons for a living – I like to downplay what I do in a humorous way. But deep down I know that despite how fun this career looks, it is quite taxing physically and mentally. When clients raise their eyebrows in reaction to relatively high pricing, most of the time what they don’t understand is that they’re buying the years of learning and experience these creators put in. They’re also buying an experience (and this depends on how well the artist delivers in terms of service – this can either have your client keep booking you on retainer or even help connect you with other clients).

Contact Info:

• Website: luislopezmedia.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luislopez.media/
• Other: Untapped Agency website: https://www.utdagency.com/brands