Meet Aubree Estrella | Photographer / Videographer

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

Hi Aubree, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think the entire foundation of my career has been based upon risk – whether calculated or uncalculated and for better or worse.

I grew up a very high level athlete and was being recruited to play D1 collegiate soccer from a young age. Back then I had my whole life laid in front of me with incredibly comfortable options. I was given the privilege of living a very nice life, at a great school, getting a good degree, all expense free due to the sport I loved to play. Seemed like anything anyone would ever want, right? But for me, it couldn’t be further than what I truly wanted to do and what my main passion is – which is creating art via photography and videography.

When I was a junior in high school at 17 I took the risk of throwing away a very safe, comfortable life for a completely unconventional, foreign one all in search of chasing down my dreams. I quit soccer, turned down all of my scholarships, moved out to Los Angeles, and finished my last year of high school online. I didn’t know a single person in the city let alone anyone in the industry, but somewhere in my soul I knew the risk I had taken would pay off.

I can now say it did pay off tenfold – I’m currently a touring photographer and videographer and have had my work on numerous Times Square billboards, album and single covers, as well as have been published in multiple publications, some of which being Rolling Stone, NME, and Spin. There’s never a time I’m not grateful for taking the blind leap of faith, for it turned my risk into reward.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
There’s so much to reflect on when it comes to my career, but one thing I am incredibly proud of is the style I have created for my art, whether it be photos or videos. When I was first starting out I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, no clue how to even secure a photo pass to shoot a concert, let alone how to edit a photo in the way I wanted to. So, when I finally did land my first photo pass for a show at the Troubadour, I was over the moon. I thought that now that I got approved for one show that had to mean more shows coming in, more photos to edit, more opportunities to practice and learn so I could start developing my own style. That was incredibly naive thinking on my part and I didn’t end up getting any shows after that for months. So, up until those shows months later, every single day I would sit and edit the photos from my first show (funnily enough they were photos of UPSAHL who opened the show, though we wouldn’t actually meet for a couple years) for hours a day editing then restarting from scratch on an endless loop, experimenting until I finally felt like I knew Lightroom like the back of my hand. By the time I got approved for that second show my editing was already miles ahead, and I feel as though the hard work I put in to develop a baseline style and understanding of editing was one of the biggest advantages of my early career and added incredible leverage. My style has had its ebbs and flows, but everything is still based around that baseline foundation I created so many years ago.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This has always been a tough question for me to answer. LA has an endless amount to offer, but after living here for close to 5 years I’ve been able to carve out some of my favorite places to frequent. There’s 3 places on my list I always try to add to anyone’s LA visit when they are coming here for the first, or millionth time:

1. Dan Sung Sa – This has always been one of my favorite restaurants that I found when I first moved out here, incredible atmosphere and food and always an all around good time.

2. Any overlook hike in Malibu or the Palisades – I feel like this is always a go to, you can truly never beat the ocean views at the top of a hike in these areas.

3. Pace in Laurel Canyon – An amazing spot for great Italian food, wine, and a cozy ambiance.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There’s so many people who deserve so much recognition when it comes to my story, but the main person I’d like to shout out is my dad, Chris Martinez. He is, and will always be, one of my greatest role models in life. He was a professional soccer player for 10 years before transitioning into the coaching world, coaching professional soccer in the MLS. He instilled in me knowledge, life lessons, and advice that have stuck with me throughout everything in life. He always taught me to “control the controllables” and that has always rang true and helped me in situations where I feel stuck or uncomfortable. The only person you have the ability to control is yourself, and everything else is just background noise that you can’t let affect you. In a creative field, that statement has always eased my nerves when I get stressed about my timeline or even when I begin to compare myself to others in my industry.

My dad has always been my biggest fan as well. He knew soccer wasn’t my dream like it was his, and he welcomed the idea of me quitting with open arms, letting me know it’s my life and I should go after what I want for me and me alone. He’s always been my sounding board, and early on in my career he played such a pivotal role in my demeanor and professionalism. He would always pick up my calls to sit with me as I sent emails so I could read and reread them to him to make sure my cold emails were worth something. Those cold emails led me to exactly where I am now, working with artists and managers I reached out to in the very early days of my career. So much would not be possible without him and his wisdom.

There’s not a person on earth who doesn’t like my dad, and I’m constantly striving everyday to live in his light and continue to take his advice to heart and I will always look forward to sharing my wins with him, because nothing would be possible without him.

Some other honorable mentions go to my sister, Avree, the most badass person and mother I’ve ever known, who is my forever muse, as well as UPSAHL, who took me on my first tour and unlocked a world I didn’t even know was possible.

Website: AubreeEstrella@gmail.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aubreeestrella/?hl=en

Image Credits
Aubree Estrella