Meet Pamela Bautista | Photographer

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

Hi Pamela, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Just recently, I truly realized the importance of having a healthy work-life balance. For majority of my life, I think I’ve been conditioned to think that if I constantly work hard I will achieve the success I want. Those days looked like booking shoots with any free time I had, long nights of editing, and consistently thinking of ideas to market myself. I realized I had no separation from work and gave no time to care for myself. Because of that I felt the effects of that physically and especially mentally. As a creative, I think it’s inevitable to attach your work to your identity. I started to attach my worthiness to how much my work was being noticed. As much as it feels good to be praised by others, I started to lose my sense of self-compassion as I pressured myself to work. Right now, I am prioritizing my mental health and learning how to balance my time as a working creative. I’m actively learning how to detach from unhealthy habits of non-stop working, and to be more gracious with myself. Not gonna lie, it’s been very difficult to resist the urge to push out work. But I learned I cannot create my best work when I am exhausted. Creativity definitely needs time and rest to thrive, and finding the right balance is my main goal right now.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I would describe my artistic style as vivid, detailed, and sometimes dream-like. A major part of my work is my use of color and I put a lot of focus on how the I want the colors to set the tone of my photos. I strive to make eye-catching yet satisfying art, but I really want people to feel something when they see my photos. I view my style to be a mix of the past and modern-day. I draw a lot of inspiration from media from the 70’s-90’s because I love how it feels classic and timeless. Therefore, I give a lot of attention to every detail and textures in my work. With that, I often experiment with digital effects to create fantasy-like scenes.

I started my journey in photography in 2019 not knowing a damn thing. It started off with getting my first DSLR camera and noticing that I can take a couple cool looking pictures here and there. With how sharp the pictures looked, I developed this little hobby and separate Instagram to post my pictures. I didn’t know anything about my camera settings and was editing through my phone. I was really just taking random pictures of my friends and bringing my camera everywhere. Eventually that led to requests from friends to take portraits of them and me accepting, blindly. I barely knew how to work my own camera, but that first portrait session sparked a new passion in photography. I wanted to learn how I can make the next photo better so I started educating myself on my camera, editing programs and lighting (Thank God for Youtube). Today, I shoot and retouch all my photos, collaborate with very talented creatives, and create work for a couple brands all the while discovering my own personal brand, Phiftysenses.

The journey was not easy, and I am still learning. Starting photography as a creative outlet feels awesome and is a lot of fun. But I was not prepared to start a photography business. I learned a lot from trial and error and creating boundaries, like not accepting every and all requests to shoot. I’m currently learning on how to better run the backend of my business such as organizing finances and managing clientele. This side of becoming a photographer has been enlightening but very stressful. I found myself often scared of feeling like I’m not gonna “make it” and definitely have imposter syndrome from time to time. I believe that finding the right work flow that works for me is helping my sanity. We’re all pressured to hustle, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to take care of your mental health outside of work. Consistency is key but rest is vital.

Throughout my journey, I have connected with a lot of people that I would have never pictured myself working with when I started. Networking is super important and has opened up a lot of opportunities, but I am internally a shy person so it gets pretty nerve-racking when I attempt to reach out to people I want to work with. I encourage myself to get outside of my comfort, take one risk at a time, and learn from it. I’ve met a lot of amazing people along the way.

I want the world to know that I create from a place of heart and inspiration. I still I don’t know where my photography will bring me but I hope my story will relate to others like me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I think I’m much more of a homebody than I would like to be, so this question has me stumped. I may not have a lot of places to make a whole itinerary but I would definitely take my best friend to a music show. We love house and techo music so we would probably hit up Academy LA or Exchange for an event. I’d also wanna take her to a museum like The Broad or botanical gardens at the Huntington Library. If she’s visiting in the summer we are definitely going to the beach, most likely Malibu.

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?
I want to dedicate my shout out to my all supportive friends and family who have been so encouraging in my journey. My boyfriend, Kevin Apacible, who bought me my first camera and offers continuous help when I need it. And to everyone my camera has led me to connect with, I am eternally grateful.

Website: www.phiftysenses.com

Instagram: @phiftysenses

Twitter: @_pamelajane

Image Credits
Featured models & Instagram handles: Sofia (@so.ul.fia), Mikala (@mikalaleean), Kammeryn (@xokammeryn), Earvee (@earveesdream), Bre’jon (@brejongolden), Alexia (@alexiavibes), Zairah (@zairahhid), Christian (@murlo_), Christie (@christie.valdiserri) Make-up & Hair Talent: Natalie Orosco (@nataliaroyce_), Stephanie Amaro (@by_amaro) Wardrobe Stylists: Bre’jon Golden (@brejongolden), Alexia & Zairah (@stellapuellastyles) Clothing Brand: Ethereal Studios (@etherealstudios.la) Photos by Pamela Bautista (@phiftysenses)