Meet Tony Olivas | Professional Photographer

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

Hi Tony, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process for starting my business started when one night I was on my way to shoot a concert in downtown Seattle. I get to the venue but was not informed that the location was switched 3 times. So I was on the verge of giving up and calling it a night until someone approached and asks me “Are you here for the Giveon concert?” I replied “yes” and he replies “oh that’s down on Pike Place”. We exchange info and he says I’ll most definitely be needing you, and I lit up with joy. A few weeks go by and I get an email from the individual that night to shoot a Black tech event. Of course, I was on board. From that event, I was marketing and networking myself to event curators that need a photographer and were more than happy to offer my services. I began shooting events almost every weekend and it dawned on me that I should start my business and pursue photography full-time,

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from others or what I think sets me apart from others is that I create what comes to me from visions or dreams and use that for creative photoshoots. This has helped me professionally because I would get clients/potential clients to message me wanting to do a photoshoot similar or along the lines of “creative,” and no this was not easy for 1. it took me a while to start sharing my work, 2. it also took me a while to start even calling myself a pro. I learned that It’s best to share your work to garner feedback and to put yourself out there because if you have people wanting to work with you, then you’re doing something right.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For something different I’ll actually take them out of the country and venture off to Guatemala. We’ll explore Antigua, Tikal national park, and Livingston. My family is from Livingston so I know a lot of things we can do around there like go to Los Siete Altares and then grab something to eat and we can also go on a boat ride in Rio Dulce. The people in Livingston are very lively and always dancing so I know it’ll be a good time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are actually a few people I want to give a shoutout to and they are, Stephanie, Virginia Gutierrez (sister), and Chandler B. Wilson. Stephanie was there being my muse in my very early photo days. My sister for being a creative genius and also for being the first person to consider me owning my own business. And last, but not least Chandler, another close friend was there to help build more onto my portfolio and also for being down to take pictures just for fun.

Website: https://aps-t.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/syn.tony/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-o-4b8128183/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lltoekneell