We recently connected with Edgar Trevizo and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Edgar, thanks for joining us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?
One of the most rewarding things as an artist is hearing someone else praise your work. Like when your client sends you a quick message saying “these are amazing”. It gives me a push to keep trying and to not give up. I have plenty of people who support me and my work. For that I am alway grateful. I want to share a story of a friend who I met via direct message this year who was just a random customer inquiring about photographic pricing. Her 30th birthday was coming up and she wanted to celebrate by taking some professional images. She was directed to me by a friend and quickly knew we were going to get along well. This was her first time really ever doing this, but I made her feel comfortable enough for her to express herself. She was just absolutely incredible with her poses and was very attentive and patient throughout the process. Even allowing my creative process to shine through the photographs. We quickly grew pretty close with each other as we both had some similarities we shared and I felt an aura of so much kindness radiating from her. Once we finished shooting I got to work on editing and putting my final touches. Once she had received the photos she instantly loved them and asked if we could work again. You know I would not turn down such a request, especially not from Ines.
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.
My name is Edgar but everyone knows me as ET. I’m a professional photographer in the DFW area where I specialize in portraits, creative photos, graduations, vehicles, family photos, and more. My work stems from years of creative exploration as a child. I grew a technique to draw and use my imagination to express some of my many struggles I was dealing with. It allowed me to share my inner thoughts as I had never been quite good at explaining them verbally. Over time my art seemed to derive specifically from the countless images I grew up taking with any camera disposable to me. At some point I decided to start at my own business that would focus on putting my skills to use. With the help of my best friend, Wendy, I came up with Etgenic. The name of my brand that puts my initials and “genic” in photogenic together.
Im extremely proud of the work I’ve and actually surprised myself from time to time on the things I’ve been able to accomplish. I’ve been able to build my own website from scratch without knowing a single thing how to, creatively improve on editing by just researching and growing online, and have always done my best to create my work environment as comfortable as possible. I can never seem to value or appreciate myself from the work that I do but I know I try so hard for success.
In the future I want people to know that I’m not always doing more artistic work. My world revolves around being open and vulnerable by expressing art. That Etgenic is more than just a business but its own identity, its own world. My goal is to find ways to help people be seen and heard.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn from myself is letting go of the idea of trying to be perfect. For so long I wanted to make sure everything was up to code. I had to make sure everyone was happy, my photos were better than before, I had to be at a certain aspect in my life, and everything fell apart for me. I wanted to make people proud of me and I just could not do it. I was failing myself and criticizing every single thing associated with me causing me to hurt some people who care about me and my work. I think all of it stems from some hard times I grew up as a child and not wanting to let anyone down. The idea of making mistakes haunts me. But if I never did I would have never been here. My imperfections are exactly what makes me stand out.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I still struggle with social media, but not like before. I can get extremely anxious at times and can end up feeling lost in it all so maybe I am not the best at that. However social media has been great for promoting without spending income. The best way for me is to build an audience by finding a way to sort of make your work differentiate from others. As well as constantly making sure you are engaging and posting a lot of content. The final thing I do recommend is to grow your connections by involving yourself with people who will show you some new tips and ticks. That has sort of allowed me to grow a following for my work. Fine ways to collaborate.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://etgenic.com
- Instagram: @etgenic
- Facebook: etgenic
Image Credits
All photos Taken By: ET