We recently connected with Edward Cristobal and have shared our conversation below.

Edward, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

If i were to start over and do something differently is don’t let an obstacle change your trajectory. I was told from Highschool that I had to take a year off to build my portfolio to get into the school i wanted. At that time, we already got into the schools we applied for and taking a year off to build a video portfolio wasn’t going to fly well with my parents. fast forward almost a couple decades later, I picked a camera and started the journey.

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

I am a Toronto based freelance cinematographer that shoots in different verticals such as narrative films, commercials, docuseries and music videos. I started out a bit later compared to other people coming fresh out of film school or high school. I started off filming weddings, fashion and live events and as I started to progress in those type of filming, I started to transition into more of the film industry.

I like to help clients bring their idea to creation by working together to achieve the product they are going for. I am a very collaborative person as I believe that everyone has something to offer whether small or big, we all have some ideas or solutions that can help the bigger picture.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn was being a “yes” man or in other words, learning to say no. In the beginning of my career, I would say yes to everything and anything whether paid or not. This was great at first but as my skills got better, the value I was offering would outweigh the time and money. I eventually got to a point where I can be selective with which gigs to take on and turn down others.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My main hustle now used to be my side hustle. I used to work in a non-profit organization as an account manager and I would shoot on the side. Over a span of a year, I noticed my side hustle is starting to catch up to my main work’s salary. After a year and a half, I decided to take s leap of faith and take on shooting full time and leave my corporate job. It was definitely a scary thing to do as I would be losing job security but a friend told me that I am too talented not to be busy. After hearing those words, I gave in my two weeks the next day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vimeo.com/eddiecristobalreels
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eddie.cam/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-cristobal-2194932b/