Life & Work with Natalia Morales De La Cruz of Mesa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalia Morales De La Cruz.

Hi Natalia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Ever since I was a young girl I was always fascinated by pictures! I was very observant and like to think that I still am. Photography was a way in which I was able to share the observations I made with others! I want to say that it all really took off in high school. I needed to meet my health class requirement and since it was only a semester long, I needed to find another semester long class to pair it with. Being a senior that just wanted to be done with school, I was looking for an “easy A.” I had a friend that talked to me about yearbook! She said she did it and that it was fun, so I signed up. When senior year came around, I remember going into the class and just being so excited! I feel in love with creating! We were first introduced to adobe software such as InDesign. My favorite part of course was taking pictures! I remember how ecstatic I was when I got to touch my first DSLR camera! I thought I was so cool! I would seriously take it around everywhere! I was also very active in other extracurriculars so I would take it to all my cross country meets, my orchestra concerts, track meets etc. I just had the camera glued to me! In that transition period of high school graduation and starting college I sadly put photography on the back burner. Although a few months into college I felt a longing to take pictures again! I decided it was time for me to invest into my own camera! I looked out for some Black Friday deals, and I got myself my first DSLR for my 18th birthday! I was so happy when it came in the mail! It was actually something that I did not know I needed so badly in that period of my life. It brought me so much joy in my moments of difficulty and continues to do so. I began to do photography for mostly family. I had a friend who also does photography, and she was telling me all about Instagram! I had deleted all social media before going into college as a fresh start and it was in August of 2020 that I decided to take the plunge and make my business account on Instagram! I had been taking pictures for 2 years before and it brought me so much joy to have a platform to share those pictures with!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Around the same time that I bought my camera, I ended up being hospitalized. I was 17 and it was the week before my birthday, I began to feel this pain in my lower back. I didn’t think much of it. I did get in a super minor car crash and had recently started working out again, so I just shook it off. Each night the pain got progressively worse! It hurt so much where I could not sleep on my back. Sitting only made it worse so my college classes were miserable! It got the point where the night before my 18th birthday I called my parents in tears and asked if they could come get me because I couldn’t bare the pain. My parents had wanted me to go to the hospital but with my stubborn attitude I always just shook it off and said, “I’ll be fine!” Well, we went to the emergency room. I waited for about 3-4 hours before getting admitted. I remember thinking that they would just give me pain killers and send me home. Well, that was not the case. The nurse came back in with the doctor and said that I would be staying overnight in the hospital and needed to have surgery the following morning! I was in shook! I ended getting my surgery on my 18th birthday!  That was just the beginning! I ended up needing 3 more surgeries after that one over the course of 2 years. In all those months in between I was left with an open wound that I had to do pack everyday. This also meant I could not swim or get the area wet. So, every camping trip, hike or anything that required my lower back to get wet I had to skip. I still tagged along and well I got used to taking pictures! I now see my surgeries as an added blessing because without it I might not have learned all that I know now! It also helped ignite my passion for photography even more since I couldn’t do some of the other things I loved! I remember feelings left out or just sad that my surgeries has limited me and I was stuck watching everyone else have fun. I believe that is one reason photography is so special to me! It gave me so much joy. It made me feel included! I loved seeing the faces of my friends and family when I showed them my work! It made me feel valued.

I honestly do not see my struggles as struggles anymore. Sure, I did when I first had them but now, I look back at them with a grateful heart! I believe that no matter what you do there will always be opposition. My road has not been all smooth and I do not want it to be! I am excited to see where the road will continue to take me!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a photographer! I love photographing any event for people! I love doing weddings, engagements, family sessions, newborn sessions, senior photos etc! I am really loving couple photography right now but I love it all. I am honestly most proud of how much I have been able to accomplish and learn! I am all self-taught and I feel like especially entering the Instagram world of photography it can be intimidating. A person can easily fall into the comparison game and think that what they do isn’t any good. Whenever I get a good picture that just makes me smile or shout for joy that makes me proud! I am proud for going for it! I am proud that I am trying! I believe that what sets me apart is my young age I am only 20, but with that also comes a drive and passion! I am young but so eager and ready! I also LOVE the outdoors! So if you need someone to hike or wake up at 4 am with you I am your gal! I also believe that when it comes to photographers and trying to find the right one you are not just choosing their pictures but them! You want someone with a personality you will get along with! I love people!

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I would love to go deeper into my photography business. I have no plans of ever giving up photography! I would like to expand it and invest more into it! I am really interested in videography as well. I would love to be able to create a team and have a videographer along! If I am still as in love with shooting couples I can totally see my business shifting towards couple photography, However, I do not think that I will ever ONLY do couples. I still love doing families, seniors, newborns etc.

Contact Info:

• Email: nataliamoralesdlc@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliamoralesdlc/

Image Credits
Natalia Morales