We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Odette Garza. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Odette below.
Odette, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?
Whenever people ask me how long I’ve been doing photography, I always struggle to give a straightforward & exact answer. This is because photography has been a passion of mine for as long as I remember. There’s an old home video of me unwrapping my first camera at Christmastime when I was 5 years old. It was a chunky pastel pink camera that took real digital photos, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled to have it. Fast forward several years later to the fall of 2022. At the time, I was a senior in college getting ready to graduate with my Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast and Digital Media. Photography had taken a bit of a backseat during my time in college, what with the business of classes & just life in general. But at the beginning of that fall semester, one of my supervisors at work who I had become close with had just had her first baby. I offered to take some casual family photos of them since I knew they had been wanting some updated photos of their family to share with relatives. Despite being close to this family & knowing them personally, I remember how nervous I was for that session because I always secretly felt a bit insecure about my photography skills. I absolutely adored photography, but it had always been more like a hobby I indulged in for my own enjoyment, but never felt confident enough to openly offer it to others. That family session ended up changing everything for me and it marked the beginning of Odette Patricia Co. That session made me realize the precious & priceless gift that photography can be to others and that I had the ability to share that gift with people. I also gained confidence in myself as an artist and I finally began to “let go” and gave myself permission to start being truly creative with my photography. The next few months were filled with more family sessions, graduation sessions, and pretty much any other session that allowed me to refine my photography skills. The following spring, I dedicated an entire semester to interning for my college’s baseball media team, where I spent nearly every single weekend at the ballpark with my camera capturing the rapid & exciting moments of baseball. At the end of that spring semester, I finally graduated! It was now time for me to decide what I was going to do post-grad. Looking back at that summer, I realize I spent it denying the fact that I knew I had to go full-time with photography. Truth be told, fear was the only thing that kept me from diving head-first into photography after graduation. Fear of failure. Fear of lacking finances. Fear of looking like I wasn’t successful. Fear of paving my own path. You get the picture. There was a whole lot of fear stopping me from pursuing my passion at the time. After many failed job applications, I distinctly remember an instance where God simply showed me that there was no other option but to officially start my business. So that is exactly what I did. Earlier that summer, I had been approached by another local photographer on Instagram who had asked if I could second shoot (assistant photograph) a wedding with her that December. At the time, I had never photographed a wedding or even many couples for that matter. I made my lack of experience clear to her, but despite that, she sincerely wanted me to work alongside her. I agreed, even though I felt absolutely terrified about this new avenue of photography and how much I did not know about it. However, I decided that now that my business had officially started, I was going to immerse myself into learning everything I could about wedding photography. I mean, what did I have to lose? In hindsight, I am eternally proud of my past self for her adventurous and nonchalant attitude towards taking the risk and dedicating herself to learning all about wedding photography. Pushing past my fears & the unknown is what led me to find my true passion and a job that fulfills me like nothing else ever has.
Odette, 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 knew I had found my place within the wedding industry when I learned how fabricated and performance-based wedding days can be. Being a photographer who thrives off capturing completely candid and unprompted moments, I realized that I could offer clients more of a laid-back and relaxed experience when it comes to documenting their wedding day. To me, weddings are not about the clinically perfect portrait of the bride and groom or fabricating a moment for the sake of a photo. The things that excite me most about a wedding are the unscripted moments, like when a bridesmaid tells a joke that gets everyone in the bridal party to hysterically laugh or when the groom spontaneously looks over at his bride & holds her hand subtly underneath the dinner table during wedding toasts. When I started offering wedding photography within my business, I knew that I wanted to be known for emphasizing the totally authentic & community-centric moments at a wedding. I have a little catchphrase that encapsulates my main goal as a wedding photographer & my entire brand in one phrase: “Sincerely & Joyfully documenting your story.” Sincerity & Joy are the two things that drive me as an artist and are the main values that my business is built upon. From the beginning of my journey in 2022 until now, my business has only continued to evolve, grow, & flourish. My dream of connecting with couples who desire to prioritize having genuine & joy-filled weddings has and continues to come true. I live in a constant state of awe & gratitude towards God, who guided me to begin my business and take a leap of faith. Most of all, I’ve allowed sincerity & joy to be at the forefront of everything I do as an individual, artist, and business owner. Life is full of surprises & extremely unpredictable, so for now, I am very grateful for where I am within my business. However, even if everything I’ve worked for gets taken away from me tomorrow, I will forever consider this business endeavor of mine to be a success. Because on the other side of my fears & insecurities, my ultimate passion and calling was waiting for me. And if overcoming fear & insecurity isn’t the definition of success, I do not know what is. Sincerely & Joyfully, -Odette
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
The main thing that has helped me establish my reputation within the wedding industry is working alongside & connecting with other wedding photographers. I learned very early on within my business that connecting with other photographers makes this job so much better and sweeter. I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside many incredibly talented, kind, and encouraging photographers who helped me establish myself as a wedding photographer. I’ve also have had several clients that were referred to me by a fellow photographer friend of mine. Working hard at improving within your craft, being confident in your unique style as an artist, and cheering fellow artists on are all things that have collectively helped me build my reputation within this industry. I think the moment you stop comparing or trying to compete with your fellow photographers, and you simply try to grow and work hard and get along with anyone & everyone you can, is when your reputation will establish itself and be at its strongest.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to bring attention to aspects of life that you notice & find especially beautiful to others who might never have noticed that beauty if you had never emphasized it through your artwork. For me, photography is all about emphasizing and bringing attention to certain details. As a photographer, I get to choose what an audience looks at and remembers from a moment in time. There have been many times when people will tell me that they would have never noticed a certain detail if I hadn’t captured it and brought it to their attention through my photographs. I think it is so beautiful that we were all created with different perspectives on life and we all choose to notice and amplify different aspects of life. Which is exactly why no two photographers are the same. Each one has a completely different way of seeing the world, with different stories and life experiences. That is why sharing your art and being creative is so important. We get to share our own unique perspective on life with others, and hopefully, our perspective can bring some joy or a provide a positive experience for those who view it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://odettepatriciaco.com
- Instagram: @odettepatriciaco
Image Credits
Odette Patricia Co.