Meet Yadira Villarreal Lomeli

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yadira Villarreal Lomeli.

Yadira, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far
My story starts in Yuma, Arizona where I was born in 1995. I was born in the U.S. but practically raised in two countries, the U.S. and Mexico. I lived in a small border town called San Luis, Arizona until the day I moved out for college. This city is so small my week would consist of spending weekdays attending school in the U.S. then going to Mexico to visit my cousins and grandparents throughout the weekend. Whenever people ask me where I am from, it’s always an awkward question to answer. “Ni soy de aqui, ni de aya” I reply. “I am neither from here or there.” It’s hard to find an identity for yourself when you are so self conscious about your pronunciation and grammar in not only one, but two languages. Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to know so much about both cultures and I fully embrace it now, but it gets pretty tough sometimes. I am never fully going to fit in. But I’ve accepted that. I’ve kind of embraced that and it’s played a big role in shaping my career path. I am not from just one country, I don’t really belong anywhere, so I travel. I am a traveling photographer and videographer. I specialize in family and engagement portraits, and it’s come in very handy to speak both languages.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Growing up, my father would always be carrying his camera with him. He would always capture every New Year, every visit to Disney, our visits to the parks, and I think one of both of our favorite memories was being silly around the camera. We have tons of videos of my dad and I making silly commercials or improvising on the spot for the camera and pretending to make action movies and parodies of shows. I was never good at sports growing up, I was so bad I literally broke my nose playing soccer the first day of high school. I tried out for band, folkloric, softball, student council, dropped out of band, dropped out of folkloric after a week, only stayed in student council for that one year, and missed 4 out of the 5 tryout days for softball. Between practically being raised in two countries and joining every after school activity only to drop out a day or two later, the only thing that remained constant for me was my camera. When I was about ten I got my first camera and started making music videos with my little sister, then in high school I started doing all kinds of videos every Monday just for fun and to have something to edit. When it was time for college, I decided I wanted to study filmmaking and photography. And I am glad I made that decision. There’s nothing more that I love than connecting with people and capturing their special family moments, just like my dad did. And I get to travel a lot – which is a bonus!

Please tell us about your business.
My name literally means a friend. And I think that while it might sound cliché, this is what sets me apart from other companies. My focus is on giving you great portraits but also making it a great experience for you. Dad jokes included. Most of my clients have never even been in front of a camera before, and I get it, it’s intimidating. But at the end of the day, you’re as loose as my dad and I was when making those silly parody videos. And that’s what you’ll remember when you’re selecting your beautiful photos, the experience of being YOU in front of the camera.

I would like to mention that while traveling family portraits is my focus, I am also working on a documentary book with portraits of diners and antique shops around Arizona. I am very much obsessed with finding new antique shops as well as researching the history behind them that I decided to gather all of that information and make it into a book. I am hoping to get this published in early 2020. My goal is to keep growing as an artist and hopefully get to make more films about social injustices around the world because personally just from growing up in two countries, I have a lot to say.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wouldn’t change a thing. Nada. I am so lucky to have been raised in two countries, so lucky to have been raised by the two most loving, sweetest, and supportive parents a child could ever ask for. And I am so lucky to have been raised with the knowledge of how powerful a simple camera can be. It can capture beautiful moments and celebrate families, but it can also document the raw, not so great moments as well. And I am hoping to also focus on using my camera as a platform to share those moments of social injustices, problems with immigration, and domestic violence as well. Anyone that knows me can tell you I always have a smile on my face, and I believe its mainly because when we are taking those family photos, I realize its a true celebration of life and everything it might’ve taken you to form that family. Not everyone in the world has the privilege of taking involuntary family holiday photos. I’ve seen detained children, I’ve seen families get separated, I’ve seen friends go through miscarriages. Life is an emotional rollercoaster for different reasons in every country, hopefully, I can document that as well and bring more families together through that platform.

Pricing:

• Family Portraits Vary Depending On City and State of Choice for Photoshoot (Prices starting as low as $150)

Contact Info:

• Website: yvphotovideo.wixsite.com/portfolio
• Email: yvphotovideo@gmail.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/yadira_photovideo and instagram.com/middle.child1 for documentary work
• Facebook: facebook.com/yadiravillarrealportfolio

Image Credit:
Pink hat Self portrait (taken by Patricia Villarreal)
Yadira Villarreal Lomeli

Suggest a story: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.