Meet Luz Castilla | Photographer & Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luz Castilla and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luz, what is the most important factor behind your success?
As a self-taught photographer, the most important factor is creating freely and bringing ideas to life. Since I started my career I have always gravitated toward creating my own ideas rather than following popular trends. My work is done with the sole purpose of learning and bringing ideas to life, and I still believe that to this day. Other factors that played a role in helping me be successful were patience and fun. I wouldn’t let the lack of technical knowledge take away the love and fun I felt for photography. On the other hand, it encouraged me to try new angles, edits, settings, etc. Over time with trial and error, I learned how to work the camera and use editing software efficiently.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Doing something that you truly love will always be the best form of self-love that there is. Doing something you love makes it easy for you to do that hard work. Doing something you hate makes it harder for you to put in that hard work, so you will always feel stagnant. I wake up every day excited about what I could create, about new ideas that come to mind. I had an idea back in 2019 about starting an interview series on artists/creatives and their stories. In early 2021 I made it a reality; I named it “The Life Of A Creator.” It is now on my Instagram, IGTV, and other platforms (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) I am most proud of this because other people can now experience something that was just an idea. Never let the world or anyone tell you that you dream too big; maybe they dream too small.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would definitely take them to the butterfly museum in Houston. Going there is like going to a completely different world! I would also go to a race track and an arcade downtown to play games and have fun. And of course, something that we cannot miss is Richmond Ave, that’s where most of the Colombian-based restaurants are in.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents Federman Castilla and Mercedes Hincapie, are a big part of why I started photography. They got me my first professional camera for my birthday and always encouraged me to do what I love. I would also like to thank one of my best friends, ArmstrongWW; he was my first model (besides myself) who helped me understand how to position my camera in different angles and shoot in different types of lighting, which later helped me get better at shooting. I want to thank the first person who booked me! During that time, that small achievement was everything to me and served as a learning experience. I would also like to appreciate the people who support me on social media that I know personally and those I don’t know personally; the love really goes a long way! <3 and Last but not least, I wanna thank me for believing in me, I wanna thank me for doing all this hard work, I wanna thank me for never quitting!

Instagram: itsluzc

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luz-castilla-0a4584191/

Twitter: itsluzc

Facebook: luzcmedia

Youtube: Itsluzc

Other: vimeo- https://vimeo.com/user98954029

Image Credits
Itsluzc, LuzC