We were lucky to catch up with Gino Lucas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Gino, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I’m a firm believer that when it’s the right time, then the opportunity will present itself. That’s what happened with me and photography. It’s funny because I actually didn’t start taking it seriously until the pandemic. I’ve always loved taking pictures, but never thought it would be a viable career option for me. I was always told to “do something practical” or that I don’t want to be doing photography because it’s too much work. I pretty much operated that way until I decided to finally purchase my first full-frame camera in the summer of 2020. I figured, “ok, we’re in lockdown, let me see if I can finally learn how to do this photography thing.” It was also just an excuse to hang out with my friends because I needed people to practice on.

As I’ve become more immersed in the photography community, I’m actually inspired a lot by other photographers who are 10 years younger than me and following their dreams from the get. In a sense, it makes me wish I had started my photography career back in my 20s to experience as much as possible. But knowing me in my 20s? I don’t think I would have been mature enough to handle and appreciate everything that has happened for me in my journey.

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 back background and context?

Ok so, it’s Gino!

I’m Gino Lucas (he/him), a 30 year old gay Filipino-American born and raised in the Bay Area in California. I consider myself to be a part-time photographer because I actually have a day job outside of my photography work. Now you’re probably wondering, “but Gino, why not just make photography full-time?” Simple answer is I don’t want to loathe it. I don’t want something that brings me joy and is my way of breaking up the mundane of my 9-5 into a job. It becomes completely different after that. Instead, I either take on projects that speak to me or allow me to express myself in some way.

A huge part of my photography is highlighting my identity as a Filipino American. I’m all about blending our rich history with the stories of people today. But that doesn’t apply to just Filipino Americans – I use that as a guiding light to amplify others and help us shape our own history together. I mentioned this earlier, but I’ve only been doing photography seriously for about 3 years now. What’s crazy is that in my 2nd year in photography, I was tasked with the opportunity to shoot Filipino American rapper, Ruby Ibarra, for her article in Vogue Philippines. Mind you, the imposter syndrome still hits to this day, but that was the turning point for me in my career and something I’m super proud of. I owe a lot of my journey to her because she saw something in me that I was having a hard time seeing for myself. Literally, year 1 of photography, she asked me to take her engagement photos. I thought she was crazy because I was just starting out. She loved it and then a year later, it was Vogue Philippines. And now in year 3, I shot for her record label, Bolo Music Group. Every single time I work with her, she continues to uplift me and all those around her. As I progress in my career, I truly hope I am able to do the same for others.

Also wanted to give a quick shout out to my team, Team Lakwatsaristas: Michelle and Hillary. They’re two of my best friends who come with me on every shoot to help support in whatever ways they can. I wouldn’t get half of the things done in time if it wasn’t for them. If there’s anything I could instill into any aspiring artist, thank your team and all those who’ve supported you to get to where you are today. We are truly nothing without those people.

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

Asking Permission

I grew up, like many children of immigrants, in the pursuit the American Dream. It’s the whole “work the same job until you retire, buy a home, have a family, then enjoy your retirement.” This is what my parents wanted for me and I thought I had to achieve at least half of that before I turned 30. In reality, it held me back from actually seeing my true potential. I remember crying during these last few years and telling myself “you’re destined for great things.” I just didn’t know what those great things were. I would talk to my friends, family, and even my therapists about how I know I’m meant for so much more, but there was always this underlying fear. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of not being good enough.

Then I had a major breakdown at the beginning of 2023 that flipped my whole perspective on life and on myself. The fears I had were my own defense mechanism. I was trying to protect myself from taking a risk, even when I know I wanted to do it. I was waiting for permission from my parents and the people around me to just wholly embrace me, when I just needed to be the one to do it. In retrospect, it’s a lot easier said than done (and I thought I was done with the whole self-discovery thing after coming out lol), but for my entire adulthood, I felt like I needed these signals to tell me it’s ok to do something and to always do the “right” thing. But now, I’m going for what I want in pretty much every aspect of life, embracing mistakes and failures to learn from them, and legitimately feeling happiness in allowing myself to just be me.

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

Building a community of people who are on the same mission. It’s the mutual respect everyone has for each other and the willingness to lend a hand when needed that make me emotional. All I want to do is have the most talented people I know come together to just create art together. And seeing it actually happen in real time is so, so rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: ginolucas.com
• Instagram: @gno.lcs

Image Credits
gino lucas personal photo shot by jaymar elen (@jmrln) and graphic designed by sheselle (@sheselle)