We were lucky to catch up with Josefina Fernandez Moran recently and have shared our conversation below.

Josefina , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Late in my adolescence I knew I wanted to be an artist. In my early teens I knew I wanted to work in film. I went to Europe and visited a friend that was studying to become a Make Up Artist. I know then that I was going to become a Make up artist and pursue a career in the film industry.

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

As a child my father shared his love for the movies, and ever since then I have been interested in the visual arts. I started being interested in photography in my adolescence. At the beginning I wanted to be a painter but eventually photography became more exiting. A lot of my inspiration has come from films, painting and photography.

My first career as an artist was doing Make Up for film television and print. My passion was to be in the film industry and luckily after some hard work and lots of small jobs I was hired to work in a television show in Buenos Aires where I am from. That was my big break, and I was able to finally work in the industry. I really loved developing a character for a movie, explore the psychology of them. It was also a great way for me to learn about lighting, sets, and photography.
As I worked in the industry as a Make – up artist I decided to start exploring photography. I bought my first film camera, a Pentax K 1000 which is one of the best cameras to learn film photography and started taking pictures. I took some beginner classes and very early on I met a wonderful teacher that taught a class on developing your own voice as a photographer. The moment I took that class I felt that that was what I wanted to do with photography, tell personal stories.
I understood that photography was a way to communicate and reveal hidden truths.

The focus of my photography work is portraiture. I enjoy connecting with people and I love to take their portrait. Before I start to work with someone, I create a safe and relaxing environment. I want the person to feel comfortable with me, this allows them to open up to me so I can portray them in an honest way.

I feel very proud of the way I can connect with a person, make them feel at ease and this helps to create a great portrait. I realized that as a Make – Up Artist I had the same skill. I was able to make people feel comfortable.

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

Being an artist allows me to be in touch with my emotions. As I grow and develop my work I discover new artists, new and different stories. I am constantly inspired by other artists and the work they do. It allows me to continue to develop as a human being.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I grew up in a very conservative household and art was not considered a viable option for me to study. Initially I went to college to become an English Translator, my parents had insisted I should follow that path. I worked really hard to become an artist. It took years to get my parents to support me and understand that being an artist was a viable path in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.josefinafmoranfoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josefinafmoran/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josefina-fernandez-moran-