We had the good fortune of connecting with Dennis Roy Coronel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dennis Roy, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
What began as an endeavor to earn a paycheck quickly turned into a journey into passion, self-discovery, art, and business ownership.

2012, I booked a wedding as a wedding videographer a few days before the event. I wrangled a cowboy-like team of creatives to help me capture the day. I didn’t realize that I was walking into a life-altering experience.

By the time the Father of the Bride took center-stage and began giving his speech, I was bawling, and hiding my tears behind my camera while I let the rest of the team cover what was happening. Quite simply – that day changed me. The drive home consisted of figuring out how I walk away from the filmmaking degree I just earned and set forth into an industry I knew nothing about.

The next year would be spent soaking up as much information and knowledge as I possibly could about the wedding industry. I took on assistant jobs, I reached out to industry leaders, I invested in online-workshops. I did everything I could to become the best at my newfound profession.

12 years later, I find myself still in pursuit of those big emotions I felt on my first wedding and providing my clients with images and memories that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What began as wanting to be the best at what I do, evolved into a journey of self-discovery.

I thought that being the best meant to follow in the footsteps of our industry leaders. To do as they did, emulating their work to the point where I lost myself.

It wasn’t until I realized that I had no voice or footprint in my work that I began a journey into finding my own voice. My work became art, and the experiences I was providing my clients became something beyond just delivering pictures.

Understanding the nuances and complexities of human-behavior has allowed me to create a safe space for my subjects. I don’t just enter their space, they invite me in. This allows me to create honest imagery that stays true to who they are as individuals, but is grounded with trust, which allows me to introduce my own visual language to their days.

The result is a body of work that is both authentic and artful.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
– The Comedy Store – De La Nonna’s
– The Last Book Store
– Canyon Coffee
– Any thrift store
– Pasadena Humane Society (go save a furbaby)
– The Huntington Library & Gardens
– A drive through the Malibu Mountains, and lunch anywhere along the PCH

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Erich McVey is hands down one of the most impactful figures in my career. What began as being a fan and supporter of his work from afar, later became a friendship and mentorship that I will forever be grateful for.

Erich was the first beacon in our industry that taught me you don’t have to go with the crowd. It is possible to find success by staying true to who you are as an artist.

Website: www.dennisroycoronel.com

Instagram: instagram.com/dennisroycoronel

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