We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anel Muro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anel, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am very happy working as a photographer! I actually worked a 9-5 office job before deciding to become a full-time photographer. I will admit that I was happy working the job that I had, I enjoyed it a lot and I loved my co-workers but I was getting tired of being stuck behind the desk every day. So when I switched from working a 9-5 to a freelance photographer, it was like a rollercoaster of emotions. It was amazing to experience the freedom that this job came with but at the same time it was a little nerve-wrecking to know that I couldn’t rely on a check every two weeks anymore. And with that being said, I recently had a unique opportunity to work as a receptionist temporarily and even though I did enjoy it and had fun with my coworkers, it made me realize that the “regular” jobs were not meant for me anymore. I’m not saying I would never go back because now going through the blur of COVID, my photoshoots were all gone which meant that I had to find a “regular” job but as long as I have the choice, I will continue my career as a freelancing photographer!

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

I am 29 years old originally from Orange County, California. My life was very much all over the place growing up career wise, I didn’t think that college was for me, so I got an internship right after I graduated from high school. I worked several internships for a couple summers at that company until I ended up applying for a full-time job where I stayed for the next 5 years. During my last year there, I was handed camera equipment to try out by an uncle who was going to be moving so I began taking it with me to Disney since I had my annual pass and that was where I began to discover that I loved photographing people but I had no clue how to start or who to ask. I applied at a private university called John Paul The Great Catholic University, I got in, quit my job, and moved to a different city. Since I quit my job, I realized I had nothing else tying me down other than homework, so I started joining film sets that paid nothing but allowed me to practice using my new camera equipment that my parents had given me for Christmas. From all of that and learning about marketing strategies in school, I began posting my very beginning-looking pictures on social media and started getting attention. So, I kept working free photoshoots, asked friends to model for me, etc. And that same year, one of my friends who was a wedding photographer allowed me to tag along for a wedding he had so it was the perfect opportunity to see how photographers worked and what type of work ethic he had and I loved it! After that, I joined photographer groups online and found a wedding company that I still work with occasionally today! I’m nowhere near where I want to be but I’ve learned so much on what it takes to be a creative artist and how hard it is but how fun it is at the same time, I love what I do!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Consistency, consistency, consistency. That is the main thing that I have learned when it comes to building my audience. It’s still a challenge for me because I realized that no one is going to promote me, I’m my own content promoter. Another thing, keeping a consistent style. Especially if it’s posting on social media, try to keep the same color palette on profiles like Instagram for example. This isn’t something that is going to happen on the first day, it takes time to find the style you like, the content you want to post, and the type of content you want to be known for. But just keep posting, and keep the being consistent with posting. Another thing that helped me was research. A lot of research. Whether it was knowing what hashtags are the most popular, when to post, what times, etc. Luckily there are so many platforms that talk about this information so it’s a lot easier to find that out but things are changing all the time so it’s important to keep up with it. And the last one, patience. You’re not going to build a huge audience over night unless a post randomly goes viral. Be patient with yourself, keep practicing whatever it is you’re selling whether if it’s a service or a product. You can always be better and you’re not the same as everyone else.

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

I love traveling and love photography, so I thought, why not both? So, my main goal is to become a traveling photographer! I have already had some opportunities to travel for weddings so that encourages me to do it even more!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anelm.photographyy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnelM.Photographyy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anel-muro/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/anel-muro-photography-escondido

Image Credits
Cristian Frias Bianca and Louie Garett and Kayla