Out of the Studio w/ Alejandro Ibarra
This blog post will be highlighting New York-based photographer, Alejandro Ibarra known for his editorial and celebrity portraiture and his viral hit project “Coming Out Stories”.
What made you move to New York?
What other places you have lived before New York?I moved to NY because I got offered a teaching position at the New York Film Academy. I LOVE teaching; I was always the class nerd and tutored my fellow classmates since elementary, so to be able to teach photography is a dream. Before moving here, I lived in LA for about six years, Idaho for two, North Carolina for high school, and Mexico for the first half of my life. I’m kind of from all over.
How did you get into editorial work?
I did commercial work for years, but I was hired to shoot a really good friend of mine for a big Latin magazine, and I loved how quick the process was and how it was really focused on telling her story; the styling and the production design was all to enhance her and the written words of the article. It’s less money than commercial, but more satisfying to me, personally, so I kept going in that storytelling direction.
What is your process dealing with a client?
About half of my celebrity work starts with communication with publicists, and the other half is speaking directly with the celebrity through instagram. My shoots are super fast (averaging approximately one minute with celebrities), so it’s practical and easy for people to commit to shooting. Energy on set is important for me, so I act as if I had just taken a shot of tequila and have music poppin'. There’s lots of singing and dancing on my sets, too. And sometimes I just actually have a shot of tequila.
Your work has been featured in PDN, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed. How were you able to market yourself?
I pitched to both PDN and BuzzFeed at a photo festival in Palm Springs. It was one of those 15 minute one-on-ones you can schedule with representatives from different companies/agencies/publications. They both worked out, luckily. Huffington Post saw the BuzzFeed article and they contacted me for an interview. I think in general, putting yourself out there and being nice to people always, no matter where you are, can potentially lead to jobs or opportunities such as these. And it helps if you try to create work that is relevant and relatable.
What drives your creativity and what/who influences you?
I honestly don’t consider myself to be very creative, that’s why everything I do, whether in still or film, is based on personal experiences. So, life in general inspires me; the good and the bad. As for influences, there are so many for different reasons, but the late Peter Lindbergh and Annie Leibovitz are definitely my top two biggest influences.
How has your ethnic background and social surroundings impacted your photography?
I personally think it’s impossible for anyone to create work that isn’t personal. Some do it consciously and some don’t, but there’s always a part of the artist in their work. Being both latino and gay, and having lived in the South and in a Mormon community as an obvious minority in each, made me want to very vocal in the stories I tell about the communities I am a part of, especially the LGBTQ community.
What was your concept of creating Coming Out Stories?
I came up with Coming Out Stories while talking to a friend of mine who had just come out to his family. He was describing the whole situation in detail and, though it was completely different to my experience, I still somehow related completely to everything he was saying: the tension, the weight of it all, the fear, the joyous and not-so-joyous parts. All of it. And I figured if I felt this way, other members of the community who had come out would, too.
In your opinion what is one of the hardest things about photography? And what do you do to overcome it?
I think it’s just figuring out who you are as a photographer. That’s the biggest thing I see with my students or people in general when they ask for a portfolio or website review. The easiest way to start to findyour voice is to figure out what you enjoy shooting the most; always go with passion, otherwise, you won’t put in the work. From there, get rid of work that doesn’t fit into how you want to sell yourself as. For instance, if you want to be known as a fashion photographer, don’t put any wedding or food pictures anywhere on your social media or website, even if you love the images; it’s distracting and confusing and only tells your potential clients that you aren’t focused enough in the area that they want to hire you for.
What advice would tell yourself when you started on your photography journey?
I’d tell little Alejandro to shoot what he wants to shoot. I did engagements and weddings for years, which made sense at the time because it was good money, but I didn’t really enjoy it, and before I knew it I was becoming known as a wedding photographer, and I knew I didn’t want that. So, shoot what you want to be hired to shoot. Oh and invest in skincare, little Alejandro, even if you’re 16 years-old. Sunscreen, y’all.
Any advice for photographers wanting to start out in Editorial work?
Focus on telling the best and most complete version of the story of whatever the subject is. Really get involved in the what and why of the story, not just how to get pretty pictures of everything.
Name 3 things you can't live without?
Unfortunately, my phone.
AirPods. I like life better with a soundtrack.
Toiletries in general. I would die without my toothbrush or deodorant, at the very least. And I'm obsessed with skincare.
(Wait, should I have said friends and family at some point? Sure, that, too.)
Any future projects you are working on?
Really hoping to publish Coming Out Stories as a photo book this year. There are also two film/TV projects that I’m unfortunately not allowed to talk about right now because some elements are still up in the air, but I’m super excited to go back into narrative film work, which is a huge passion of mine.
