Meet Lizeth Garcia | Pet Photographer

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

Hi Lizeth, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have loved photography since I was in High School, I can confidently say that it is the thing I know how to do best. My first job was at a portrait studio and then I worked with a newborn photographer for many years. I was inspired by my photography boss to start my own business but I did not want to photograph babies or kids or honestly, people. That seemed so boring to me and not something I wanted to put all my energy into as an introvert. I love dogs, I was never allowed to have one growing up so being able to photograph them sounded like a dream. I opened up my dog photography Instagram page while I was still in college. I photographed my friend’s dogs to build a portfolio and slowly my business started to grow. After graduation and finding a full time job I still kept at this little side business. I didn’t have to do it anymore if I didn’t want to but I didn’t want to let it go. It honestly brings me joy, getting to tell people that I’m a dog photographer is one of my favorite things. Seeing people post my photos and say how much they love them gives me life, it gives me purpose.

What should our readers know about your business?
Photography was all I ever knew wanted to do. I didn’t really have a backup plan in case this venture didn’t turn out. Even in my full time job I work in the photography department, I get to hold a camera everyday. Getting to where I am today has felt like a very slow climbing ride, but I have climbed nonetheless. I put a lot of effort into my business some months more than others, but the one thing I do consistently is that I kept trying. What you will hear from most of my clients is that I am patient with their dogs, that is also true about my business. Time and time again I will continue to show up, be myself and do my best to get your dog to look amazing.

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?
My go to place for breakfast burritos is at K&A Cafe in downtown Anaheim, they have a green salsa that is the best! I’m a beer person so I often go to Radiant Beer Co. also in Anaheim, they always have a great selection and host events like trivia night, book swaps, paint and sip and so much more.
When I’m in the mood for cocktails I like to go to Strong Water in downtown Anaheim or Vacation Bar in downtown Santa Ana for Tiki style drinks.
Some of the best shrimp tacos I’ve had are from a restaurant called Perla in downtown Santa Ana.
Sushi Bear in Tustin has one of my favorite salmon plates called the lemon drop, it has thick slices of raw salmon and my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
My absolute favorite Poke place is Luvfish in Garden Grove, they have a luvfish bowl that is so amazing and I have yet to find another place that is better.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The person who will always get credit for any amount of success that I have is Grisel Leyva. She is the loud, funny, amazing photographer for X&V Photography. Grisel offered me my first job at Sears Portrait Studio right out of High School knowing that I was a quiet kid but that I loved photography. She then hired me as her assistant photographer when she started her own business. I learned pretty much everything just from watching her run her business, from how to talk to clients to how to troubleshoot in the middle of a photoshoot. I made many mistakes in the process but Grisel has always been nothing but encouraging. She gave me the confidence as a young kid to pursue the thing that I was interested in and that I was actually good at it. I still lean on her to this day and she still supports, guides and cheers me on.

Website: lizethgarcia.smugmug.com

Instagram: @lzg_photography