We were lucky to catch up with Ava Martinez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ava, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?

I absolutely loved my internship. My last year in college, I landed an internship with NBC Studios in New York in their photo department. I interned for Bravo and SciFi Chanels. I was responsible for hiring photographers who would be the lead photographer to shoot billboard campaigns for up coming shows. That was so scary and exciting because these were productions with a lot of money, professional actors and reputations involved.

I would look through look books/portfolios of major high end photographers and decide if their style would fit our vision for a specific billboard advertising shoot. Once picked I would help set up all details for the shoot; location, props, clothes, lighting, staff, and much more. Once the shoot took place, I would then load the images and cull through the edit and narrow down the best shots, send them over to the editor for retouching and then report to head of the department for overall approval.

This allowed me to take away editing skills. To this day I still use their organization system. How I separate original files to edited files, renaming images and delivering galleries to clients.

After this internship and starting my own business, I knew I needed to learn as much as I could so I would find work with local photographers and assist them. This meant carrying their lights, bags of equipment and help set up group shots. This kind of experience was priceless because I learned so much being in the field before having the confidence to do it for myself.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Taking a risk to me meant following my dreams and that tug I felt in my heart about this craft. Looking back, as a child, I took photos of my barbies and Ken in front of a sunset pillowcase that I used as the back drop. I guess it was my calling from an early age.

I took a photography class in high school and again fell in love with the craft. Learning about light and the darkroom was such a passion of mine. I would spend hours developing film and processing it, my hands would smell of chemicals all the time.

In college, I received a BA in photography but didn’t know the business side of things. I found work in retail stores all over New York and New Jersey. I didn’t know it then but being a retail store manager in New York would help sharpen my people skills and how to make connections. It also helped my create my packaging and that no matter how little or a lot a client spent with me, delivering a product nicely wrapped always made clients feel special and worthy.

After being so unhappy in a regular 9-5 cubicle job, I made a decision to quit and go for it as an entrepreneur. I had just become engaged and moved out of my mothers home. With little to no money, I just knew I had to make this business work. I would take photos for free to build up my portfolio and website in my apartment, then an actual client called wanting me to take her maternity portraits. I accepted, showed up to her home, literally shaking but did the job. I knew exactly at that point I had a career as a professional photographer.

In 2007, I opened Ava Martinez Photography; a boutique photography studio that has been capturing portraits for teens and families for over fifteen years. What started off as an idea , big dreams and a ton of passion, developed into a thriving full time business. After graduating NJCU with a Bachelor in Arts degree, I interned for NBC in their photography department then having many in between jobs. I worked in retail and many areas that never fulfilled me. I would constantly search how to become a full time photographer. My heart was always with photography and helping people leave their legacy through art. I began building my business at the age of twenty four.

My work is light, casual, unposed, and personality driven. My favorite age group to photograph is teens. It’s that in between stage where emotions are on a roller coaster, self confidence is being questioned and everything in their world seems questionable. I find that when parents schedule teen shoots, we start talking and they open up to me allowing me to capture their purest form of self expression and emotion. I also love women owned branding shoots. Women are fearless and can really do just about everything and I love showcasing that. I believe in empowering girls through images. There’s something so powerful about having a conversation with young adults and then capturing a portrait where their true personality shines from their eyes. I hope I’m showing my daughter that anything is possible through hard work. It’s not always easy but it’s attainable.

My company went from an at home operating studio to my retail photography studio where I sharpened my skills, became confident as a business owner and gained many client relationships. There are so many aspects to my business, it certainly isn’t just one niche. I’m an artist at heart and love creating many things.

I’ve published a children’s fashion magazine and portrait book. I am currently working on a luxury coffee table book of that past 15 years of my images. I’ve also launched a fine art print and home decor line. I’m always thriving for more and I cant wait to see what the next 15 years will bring me.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

After owning my retail studio for three years, I became pregnant with my first child. I worked all through my pregnancy. At that time I also photographed weddings which was a bit of a struggle when I was in my last trimester but I hustled through and made things work. Once my daughter was born, I didn’t take much time off. I don’t have any employees running my studio so I went back to work fairly quickly. I put my daughter in daycare and worked my full days. Something was missing…time with her. I felt that I could have it all just not all at once. The days of not being home with her and making memories brought me to decide to close my studio doors. At that point, my clientele was good and after talking to my clients, they said they would follow me wherever I photographed them. So I closed those doors and was an on location photographer for a few years. Yet again, something was tugging at my heart and I missed having a creative space. I missed building photo sets and having a meeting space where clients and I could meet, have coffee and discuss their photography needs.
This is where the idea of transforming my garage into a studio came about. I discussed it with my husband and he agreed to help me make this my creative space. We cleared everything out, left the exposed beams, painted everything white, and shortly I filled my new space with my photog equipment and because in studio sessions again. I’m loving this space since it’s literally in my backyard and it gives me the flexibility to work on my time. I am constantly evolving with all the changes in my life.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being my self. When I first started as a professional photographer I researched what everyone else was creating, how they were marketing themselves and what they were charging. I felt I got caught up in everyone else except myself. With social media is easy to follow and try to produce work that had a lot of likes. I soon realized I had to stop following people and really create images that represented my clientele and myself. Once I began to focus on my style, I noticed how clients loved MY work. That in inself feels so good. People believe in my work and are proud to hang their portraits in their home. I absolutely love delivering images that clients now say are so hard to choose from because they love them so much. I’m lucky that most of my clientele has been with me from start to finish so I literally have grown up with their families. Those relationships are so special to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.avamartinezphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avamartinezphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avamartinezphotography/

Image Credits
all images are taken by me, Ava Martinez