Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cara Gonzales. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Cara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
There are so many things I would love to do, to create for people to see but when it comes to the bottom line I would be happy with my legacy only being seen by the people that surround me. I want the people who I spend time with the most to see who I am as a person. Maybe to the people I don’t know I would love if they saw my photography and if it made them feel something that would be even better. My legacy is still being created and I hope it is a positive one. I love encouraging people and maybe just reminding people to do things that fill their soul and care less about other opinions and what society and social media tells you to think. I know my legacy will be shared with art that I create and how I’ve made them feel. Whenever I leave certain stations, places and people I love to ask myself how it made me feel. The lasting impression is something I think about a lot and I hope I continue to have more positive lasting impressions on people I meet.
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.
I think I am a jack of all trades in the creative world. I think I have always been creative especially when I was young and found my way into what really had my interest. I currently am a social media coordinator for a medical spa company and I never in a. million years thought I would be able to do this full time. I knew who I was at a young age and ultimately had wanted to be a photographer since I was in 3rd grade. I grew up having a Sony point and shoot and always took photos and learned how to edit them when I was on a computer. It was something I enjoyed but it took a decade to feel confident in who I was as a photographer. Growing up in five different states and seven different schools between elementary and high school was a huge factor in who I am as a creative. I was more than grateful to have had a chance to travel and meet all kinds of people in unique environments. Years late, I learned about how much I love doing portrait photography and I have never stopped since. I think one thing that is extremely important when being in any creative field is continuing to make thing you are proud of and things that you love and being confident in who you are. I am self taught in digital and film photography and I honestly have to tell myself that no one else opinions matter, no matter how cliché that sounds; it’s true.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I experienced a small pivot in my social media precense years ago and then changed my mindset completely. A part of being online for so long helped me see how I grew and how times in my life shaped my art and content. Several years ago I would cater my editing and style to a certain thought process, wondering if people liked it more. I catered to photo itself being of certain things as well as my editing style. I realized when I posted those photos I was never really happy and went through a lot of deleting and reposting and I was so worried about it getting comments or likes, etc. Looking back on it, I’m not sure what triggered my transition but I rebranded my entire social media presence and really posted things I truly loved and wanted to share with others. It didn’t matter if it looked like other peoples content or catered to looking a certain way, I truly enjoy everything that I share online and I’ve never felt happier about something like that. I hear it all the time from creatives that they don’t want to share or they don’t know if other people will like it but doing it because it makes you happy is all the reason you need to share something with the internet. Being able to share my creations with others is something I absolutely love and want to continue doing.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I know that goals can get lost and it is normal to have to refocus and figure out what goals have changed or what I want in life. Creatively, I would like to talk photos forever and do projects I want to do and not necessarily for the money. I want my ideas that I have to come to life and I want to share to the world with how I see things. I love to take photos when I am going through things, it is an outlet I have and that I am grateful for. In some photos I might have been extremely happy or going through a heartbreak and I love to have my photos remind me of that moment. I hope people can look at my photos and also feel something even if it is not necessarily the same thing I felt creating it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.carareece.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/imcarareece