We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Taylor Juarez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Taylor below.

Hi Taylor, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

The American Dream is a very narrow path – graduate from high school, go to college, get a degree, get a good job, work hard, be successful, have a family. The problem is that many people cannot or do not want to follow this path. There are infinite ways to follow your dreams, find success, do work you love, and have a fulfilling life. The best thing we can possibly do for our students is to present a wide variety of options. When students are in high school, they shouldn’t have to feel pressured to go to college. College has become very expensive and is not the best option for everyone. There are other ways to continue education and training beyond high school. Many jobs don’t even require a college degree, especially jobs in the arts. As a creative myself, I can attest that most of the success I’ve found in my career has come from meeting people in the industry and getting practical, hands on experience. Although I did get a traditional college degree, it’s not something that was necessary for the career path I wanted. I think students need to be presented with more options for what they can do after they graduate high school. They need to meet people from all walks of life, hear their stories, and see examples of different kinds of careers and successes.

I also believe in the importance of allowing space and time for students to figure out what they want. Many students are not going to have their career mapped out when they graduate high school. Many students even finish college and still don’t know exactly what they want to do. As a society, we are very destination-oriented. We expect students to have things figured out and have a solid trajectory. We expect them to achieve a certain type of salary and obtain a certain level of success. I think students should be taught that it’s okay to not know what you want to do or where you want to go. We need to put more emphasis on the exploration and the journey. Students should feel like they can explore and experiment without feeling guilty. They should take the time to find what they are most passionate about, because doing work you believe in is how you live a fulfilling life.

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?

I’ve been an artist and creative all my life. I got into the theatre world when I was 10 years old, and that carried me all the way to college, where I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In college, I got to study and work in all areas of theatre. I also started working for a local production company and discovered the world of indie filmmaking. It wasn’t long before I knew I wanted a career in filmmaking. After graduating, I took a job with a local company as a wedding filmmaker. I absolutely fell in love with weddings and storytelling. After 5 years of working there, the pandemic hit and the event industry changed overnight. I lost that job and wasn’t sure what was next. After many months of unemployment, I decided it was time to take a leap and start my own company, Emberwild Films. So far, it has been a very rewarding experience.

For me, one of the most important elements of a wedding film is audio. The vows, the words spoken by the officiant, the toasts, the letter readings, the reaction of a groom when he first sees his bride. I have always been a lover of words and I try to capture as many spoken words as I can on a wedding day. It’s one thing to see beautiful imagery of your day…but to hear the sounds of the environment, hear the beautiful words spoken by the people you love…those moments are priceless. Those moments deserve to be captured and are essential for crafting the story of a wedding film. Getting to piece together spoken words and score them with music is my favorite part of creating a film. The story is everything.

It is an honor to capture one of the most important days of people’s lives and I am so proud of the work I get to do. I am passionate about connecting with my clients, learning their stories, and telling their love story through their wedding film. I am drawn to fire in life, love, stories, and people. I want to know what sets you on fire and then capture it.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

The best part about starting my business was that I already had a strong reputation within the wedding industry. I had been working in the industry for 5 years. I had lots of vendor friends and a solid network of contacts. When I announced the launch of my company, I had a great group of vendor friends ready to support me and refer me. Having that support system was invaluable. I was able to establish my brand very successfully because vendors already knew who I was and knew what it was like to work with me. Also, I had a group of videographer friends that cheered me on. In my market, we believe in community over competition. As videographers, we all support each other and even work for each other. Having solid relationships in the industry has been one of the best ways to build up my brand’s reputation.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

As a creative, I’ve always lived a non-traditional lifestyle. I often work different hours, longer hours, and take on multiple jobs at a time. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever had just one job. I am currently working a full-time job as a producer at a video production company. That keeps me busy 9-5 most weekdays. I am also choosing to continue growing my wedding film business on the side. The main thing that non-creatives struggle to understand is why I choose to do both. Why would I willingly take on more work and run a business when I have a stable full-time job? Because I love both. I love being part of a creative team at my full-time job, and I love getting to create wedding films. And I’m not the only one that does this. I know many creatives that run multiple businesses, have several streams of income, or feed various passions at once. It’s the way we are wired. We are always pulled by what we are passionate about, and it is ever-evolving. The other thing to understand is that when we are pursuing creative work, it doesn’t feel like work. We love what we do and we feel fulfilled. Of course, burnout and overworking ourselves can also become an issue. Balance is always important, don’t get me wrong. But the best part of the journey is letting go and following our dreams. The possibilities feel endless, as does our potential for income. I personally love having multiple streams of income and the flexibility to create the kind of life I want. I am grateful for my creative journey, where it’s taken me, and where it will take me. I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.emberwildfilms.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/emberwildfilms
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/emberwildfilms
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_CiBFiEYZOm4Mp2ex8ognw

Image Credits
Images of me – Gaby Deimeke
Image of me with bride and groom – Eryn Chandler Photography