We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Eloy Manalo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Eloy below.
Alright, Eloy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?
I have vivid memories of when I would be so thankful I spent the time to prepare. One moment that stood out to me was when I did some work for a really important client back in 2021. We were short on one set of things we needed to build our camera for a music video. Me and my 1st assistant camera had brought enough tools, essentially overpack, to get the camera working for the job. If I didn’t over pack, the final result of the video would’ve been drastically different. The lesson learned here is that it doesn’t hurt to prepare, have a solid game plan, and have a solution as soon as a problem arises.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I’m Eloy Manalo Jr. I’m a photographer & cinematographer mainly working in Los Angeles and San Diego. I started mainly doing content for real estate in my college years in SD. When I moved to LA, I found my niche in working live events, specifically shooting for social media. It’s been a wild 3 years since I started and I’m grateful to be given the opportunities I’ve had so far. Companies I’ve worked with the last couple years include Apple, T-Mobile, Instagram, Coachella, Billboard Music Awards, and many more.
I mainly provide services that tailor to shooting talent of the shows/events promoting them or their brand. It’s a niche that I’ve learned to enjoy with every new gig. Each opportunity to do this line of work is always something new and fresh. It is challenging to keep things different and new, but that’s what makes it fun.
What do you find most rewarding about being creative?
Freedom is the one number rewarding aspect about being a creative. Words cannot describe that feeling of being in full control of your life and the things you want to do regardless if it’s success or failure. Life is so much shorter than we think once what reflect on past experiences. Truly embracing every moment and pursuing the things that spark your soul is priceless. Freedom is everything.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Find your niche! Niches, especially ones that aren’t explored or shared so much, can be the next big opportunity for you. I found my niche in capturing aerial footage of San Diego with my drone and sharing it with the world when it first got popular. The views from that led to my account building an audience. I landed my first gig doing real estate work soon after. It started to snowball even more as I got to network in the SD region. My best piece of advice about finding your niche is, you never know until you try. Seriously. People can blow up over night if you have the right idea. Worst comes to worst, it doesn’t. Failing to find your niche is part of figuring it out.
Contact Info:
- Website: ejpmanalo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeprodigy/