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

ALFREDO, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

In this field i’m able to work and be on vacation. It’s a passion that crosses over very smoothly. I’m typically in the night life scene so sometimes a vacation is just being home and sleeping a good amount and doing nothing. I still love to travel and definitely can’t wait to do a few things this year. I plan on visiting a few places near and far and taking my son and daughter on some surprise trips to some pretty special places. I really want to teach them some new things.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Well i’m a photographer and I founded Skateheadz Photography about 2 years ago roughly. It was accidental but it worked out for the best. I went from being homeless to having a solid name in this industry and some of the best work out there. Ive built a solid following and I am maintaining fairly well.

I love covering night life at clubs, Festivals, Pretty much anything music, but I’ve actually taken a deep interest in weddings. I plan on expanding very quickly into that realm and stepping back on the night life stuff till i’m solidified in the wedding scene.

I’ve done bridal showers and family portraits but i know my vision for weddings will make lots of people happy. I know i will do some amazing work in that area. I know pricing will be amazing for the consumer and turn around time will be beyond anything anyone’s seen before. I’m excited to restart and do something new.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me being able to create and be an artist in this field is very rewarding, I’m great at what I do and I love competing but i feel my most rewarding moments are when I get to create my own visions. That’s when I feel the happiest. I feel the happiest making “My” work because it’s only mine. It’s my coping method, and it has definitely saved my life. My personal visions are projected from all parts of me. I feel I created my best work when I was in that dark place we as humans tend to tuck away. I’m sure anyone reading this knows that place, and is probably guilty of hiding or avoiding that place. I feel my most raw and most connected when i’m there facing internal turmoils. I feel it gives me a special edge that allows me turn ugly into something beautiful. I’m currently learning to draw more from other aspects of my emotional being and it’s been a really amazing experience. I think that versatility is what makes me unique as a creator and as an artist.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

So i’m going to be a bit more open but the last time I was in my dark place I was going through a lot of different things and I felt like it was time to end everything. I didn’t feel worth much and I definitely felt like things would just be better that way. I had taken down all my work in mass amounts till there was nothing left. I started drinking a lot during that time which did not help. Well one night i was at the local dive bar and I came up with a final photography project to leave behind. I wanted it to be dedicated to men’s mental health and raise awareness about suicide. I named the project “Salvation”. I’ll save the details in what I wanted to depict and how it was going to be presented but I went on this venture and started interviewing people. The people of choice were people I felt struggle daily and hurt daily. I felt they were the most capable of projecting my vision. I took time to learn their stories and learn who they were and who they are now. The amount of perspective i gained about mid way through “Salvation” was unfathomable. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation for everything in my life, I was thankful for all my short comings and all the things I overlooked. They all helped me in their own individual way. “Salvation” had taken me down a road that healed me In ways I hoped to help heal others. I never finished the project but I plan to in the future on better terms. I want to make it more meaningful and helpful to the audience who is viewing it and the people who are participating in it. I want to give back to everyone involved.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Skateheadz_photography