Self-Taught Photographer Gomez [@1AndOnlyGomez] Shares His Creative Journey

Self-taught Photographer Gomez shares his motivations behind becoming a photographer, and how he finds peace in doing what he loves most! Gomez seeks to support other photographers by keeping things authentic, whilst incorporating influences of photographers he loves. Read more to hear from Gomez in our recent interview with him.

What motivated you to become a photographer?
“My motivation to become a photographer was when I brought my first iPhone(6), I took a few pictures of scenery but I never chased it up or took it seriously. Then my brother in law brought a camera (Nikon D3400) and allowed me to get a feel of what it’s like to take pictures with a camera. I started with taking a few pictures at church but a decent amount of them came out looking decent. So, I decided to start googling and watching videos on YouTube on how to use the camera and play around with the settings. This encouraged me to start my page,”Photosbyg20” and promote it. That’s when I gained followers from other photographers, looking at their pages and seeing their work just made me feel more passionate about my interests in photography and I thought to myself, there’s nothing stopping me from learning and working my way towards their level. Personally for me, that’s where most of my motivation came from and the beauty of just being at peace while you’re working is an undefeated feeling.”

How would you describe your photography style?
“I’d say my photographic style is very simple but aesthetically pleasing but what I aim to do with all my pictures is to capture how the natural lighting works well with my model or subject,making them the main focus within the image. I try and manipulate with the light and angles, making sure the background of the image is captured but the model remains the focal point of my image, a mixture of these two things help me create the pattern I maintain with my photographic style.”

Have you worked on any projects? If so what was your most exciting one and why?
“I haven’t really worked on any projects. I’d say I work with “concepts”. For example, one of my most exciting bookings was a “Nike clothing advert” themed shoot which I did with another photographer “LCDESIGNS_”. I found that really exciting because it helped me create my own style of a Nike advert and also improved on how I worked with angles.”

In what ways do you look to switch things up in photography?
“I look to switch things up in photography by making my work authentic but also supporting & using other photographers as an influence in my work. My main influence,or someone’s work I look up to a lot is Gifty Dzenyo,her pictures are always smooth and very cleanly edited. But the main thing for me would be support, especially within the black community, we can all support and work together because there are many opportunities out there for us,so we shouldn’t see each other as challengers but work together and show people how talented we are.”

Keep up with Gomez by following on Instagram!