Jennifer Lopez | Photographer & Video Editor

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

Hi Jennifer, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
I think getting in the habit of adapting to change and open to learning new things is what has helped me succeed. Things are always moving, and if you don’t move with the flow of change, you’ll get stuck behind. But if you’re at the forefront and learning new skills, you become valuable.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Over the years, my photography has changed, and through the challenges I’m happy to say that I found my niche. It wasn’t easy finding my “photography voice” in an age where everyone has access to a good camera. Social media has changed the game for photographers, and while that is great, it is also a challenge to separate yourself from the rest of the world. I overcame the challenges by always listening to my friends who encouraged me, and filling my mind with knowledge that helped me push forward. Ultimately, I found myself telling stories of those who are disenfranchised and giving them room to tell the world what they’ve been through.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
If my best friend was visiting, I would take them to Dog Haus, stop by for intelligentsia coffee, and take a road trip out to Sequoia and up to Yosemite. The best part of Los Angeles is having close access to amazing parks.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Mentors have always played a huge role in my success. I had a high school journalism advisor that pushed me to learn all aspects of media from photography, design, and writing articles. His name is Carlos Briano, and whenever I’m stuck on a project, I will still turn to him for advice. Once I moved to Los Angeles, I was very fortunate to work with two amazing and talented people – Tony Reyes and Shaun Lang. Tony is a filmmaker of many talents and Shaun is a photographer. Both of them taught me valuable life skills and in depth techniques about photography and cinematography. A book I highly recommend people is “The Obstacle is the Way” by Ryan Holiday. That book helped shift my mind from seeing any obstacle as an opportunity.