Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to MARCEL BOLDU. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, MARCEL thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Definitely some of the keys are perseverance, practice and patience, you have to try again and again, every time you try you acquire more learning, every time you make mistakes too, every time you try you get more experience, we are perfecting and you go correcting the errors, you have to move, if we remain static we will never advance.

MARCEL, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been a commercial photographer for 30 years, I was studying my second year of Industrial Engineering and in summer vacations I started working in a photography studio, it was love at first sight, I discovered what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I left engineering to start photography. In those days there was no YouTube and the information was in the hands of very few (information is power) I had no one to teach me, I wanted to be a photographer, I began to see magazine ads and tried to imitate the lighting of products in advertisements , it was very overwhelming and frustrating not being able to make them even similar, I discovered that my best teachers were observation and practice, so I started making notes, trying different angles, turning the light up and down etc. and then I would take the rolls of film to the lab to develop and had to wait two days! When I had the rolls revealed, I would review my notes, repeat the exercise again and continue making modifications to the light, over and over again until I achieved the objectives I wanted, that time created a special relationship between the light and me, nowadays where wherever I go I always see things around me and photograph the things I see in my mind, it is already part of my daily life.

I currently have my studio in Doral, I create strong relationships with my clients, not only do I become their creator of images but I also share my experience with them, I help them, I advise them and I have been able to build strong and lasting relationships, they trust me , I currently have active clients for 25, 20 and 15 years, and I continue to work with them as enthusiastically as if it were the first time, in each project I feel as part of the brand.

I emigrated from Venezuela to the United States 6 years ago, I worked with international brands such as Pepsi, Gatorade, Oreo, Procter and Gamble, Burger King, among others, I had to start from scratch and I currently have a studio in Doral where I have built an excellent customer portfolio over the years that has grown and continues to grow every month.

In my studio I offer a workflow that clients can see almost 100% of the final results in the session, this workflow has been developed based on the experience of all these years, that gives them a lot of confidence because at the end of the day they go home calm and happy seeing the results of their photo sessions.

I am always innovating to be on the crest of the wave, I was never left in my comfort zone, today everything is changing very fast and if we don’t move with the wave it will leave us behind, today after 30 years I am still surfing this career that is my passion and my life.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the mistakes that one makes when one emigrates to another country is to try to do things the same way thinking that the same formula that helped you grow in your country can be applied and that it will give you the same results, there are a learning curve that we cannot avoid, reaching a new culture with a different language has its challenges and can be very frustrating and overwhelming, unconsciously there is always a resistance to change, what I learned is that the more willing we are to change and adapt the process will be faster and less painful to begin to see the light, the greatest lesson that being an immigrant teaches you is humility, nobody knows you and you have to get off the pedestal that you brought from your country and start from the beginning again To make yourself known and build a name again, humility, patience and perseverance are required.

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

All the experiences lived these last 6 years have made me a resilient person, emigrating to another country is not easy, all the tests, adversities, changes, rejections, humiliations, insecurities, starting from scratch, leaving your family and friends, your house, etc., affect your life positively or negatively, you decide how to react to these situations, trying to learn something or an opportunity from each negative thing, that makes you stronger and helps you grow, it is about how we face and live with what God and life are giving us if we accept the things that happen to us and see them with glasses where all things are for the good, they are for learning, we will be happier than if we refuse to accept the circumstances and the things that happen to us, we will not grow and we will remain stagnant, this is a test that anyone who emigrates to another country will face from which no one can escape.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.marcelboldu.com/
• Instagram: @marcelboldu
• Facebook: MARCEL BOLDU PHOTO AND FILM
• Linkedin: MARCEL BOLDU
• Twitter: MARCEL BOLDU
• Youtube: MARCEL BOLDU

Image Credits
marcel boldu