Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tico Mendoza. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Tico, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
As part of the Atmosphere team at SXSW, I’m part of a crew of 5 top photographers who are responsible for creating all the marketing content for use across all public platforms: websites, social media channels, email campaigns, and printed materials. It’s a job where you are in constant search of unique scenes that capture the excitement and energy of SXSW from all angles. It requires finding or creating “wow” moments throughout the event, from the conference sessions, brand activations, music performances, parties, or any random scene that appears in front of you while you are walking non-stop.
In 2022, after already shooting for a week for SXSW EDU and entering the second week to start shooting SXSW Interactive, I had my first intense creativity block in years. After being side-by-side with other top photographers and comparing my work with theirs in real time, it hit me in a way that made me start doubting my capabilities and the way I was approaching all the scenes.
The rest of the day I felt incapable of shooting, doubting if that click was a good choice or good enough to get published. I stopped searching for scenes and went to the balcony of the Austin Convention Center and just watched the sunset, trying to figure out what was happening to me.
I still had 5 more days to shoot, so I needed to do something about it. I realized that I was getting too stuck in my own comfort zone. I was using the same lenses ( 50,35,85,20mm ) and the same shooting angles. I needed to shake things up. I forced myself to do the job just with the 24-70mm and 14-24mm, a combo of lenses I used to use back in 2014 when I started shooting for SXSW.
Doing that swap of lenses for 2 days helped me reset my brain, by forcing my eyes to see differently and reinforce the different views that are needed to tell a story. At first, it felt uncomfortable, but it was also liberating. It forced me to see the world in a new way.
After that, I regained my confidence and brought back my preferred lens combo to finish up the festival. I added to my style the perspective of the other photographers so my content could be more versatile.
As a result, after 9 years of shooting for SXSWM 2023 was the year of my best and most consistent work yet. I’m proud of the photos I captured, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share them with the world.
Lastly, to add spice to the photos and the creative process, I started bringing “gadgets” to play around with the scenes, like a prism and FX filters like flares, haze, and others. CLICK CLICK! Enjoy Shooting!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Growing up in Guatemala, I developed an interest in photography at a very early age. With the support and encouragement of my mother, who was an avid and passionate photographer herself, taking pictures was just what we did in that household. And for me, it never stopped, especially during my teenage years when I would take photos on my many outdoor adventures.
Still in Guatemala as a young adult, I founded a graphic design studio, providing branding and marketing solutions to a variety of clients. A significant part of the studio’s projects required photographic and video work, and so I found myself shooting everything from products to special events. It wasn’t really on-the-job training though; for me it was just an extension of what I had been doing in my youth.
In 2013, sponsored by a company based in Austin, I moved and started working as a full-time graphic designer. But as a side job, I kept making photographs, capturing the local music scene as well as sporting, cultural, and social events.
Although I spent the first two decades of my professional career as a graphic designer, photography was always an integral part of my practice. And so in 2018, I decided it was time to pursue my true passion and made the switch—becoming a full-time photographer and videographer.
Currently my focus is in event photography, headshots and lifestyle. I help businesses of all sizes gain exposure by growing their digital photo assets.
While most of my work is in the corporate and brands world, I also use headshot photography as a creative outlet to experiment with light and composition. This helps me to stay fresh and inspired, and it allows me to offer my clients a unique and innovative perspective.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Composition:
Coming from a background in graphic design where you have full control over arranging your elements in front of your digital art board to make an eye-catching composition, and then transitioning to real life where you may or may not have control over the scene and the elements inside, but still manage to move around and frame a scene where the light and timing converge into a photo, is something that fascinates me!
My knowledge of composition, which is still developing, has been a key part of my work. However, my two decades of experience in the 2D world have definitely helped me approach the 3D real world.
In my early days in photography, I used to watch a lot of portfolio critics on YouTube to understand the qualities of what makes a good photo. I also watched testimonials and interviews of famous photographers to have an inside look at how they think and approached a scene. Also, until this day I gather magazines of all types to see what type of photos gets published, to study them and hopefully try to remake them.
Lighting:
Understanding light and shadows is a skill that I’m still learning but the knowledge that I have gather through the years has been a key element to produce great content. Once you get the basics done, start experiment too see what works better and what doesn’t work.
Sharing energy:
My work requires interaction with others, and the energy reflected in my photos is the result of the energy created in the moment. I consider myself an easy-going guy with a warm and engaging personality, which has helped me create ease and flow between me and my subjects. If you are more introverted, remember that just by holding a camera it give you extra powers in a room, and people must likely will follow on what you ask them, but always remember to smile 🙂
Don’t settle, keep learning:
There is always room for improvement. Get feedback from other photographers! I feel the best way to learn from someone else is by shooting in the same event and looking at each other photos right there on the camera. You will be amaze to see how different the photos can be.
If you are starting your journey in the photo business, I would recommend to build your network of local photographers: find 3-4 photographers that has the skill set similar to you or better. You could share gigs with them if they are not available or viceversa, and also you can learn from each other. For bigger projects when the client needs more than one shooter you can bring your friends that you know will deliver the same quality as you or better.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I would say that I had two areas of improvement in the last 12 months.
The first one revolves around my work in documenting corporate events, which is the core of my business. Even though I started shooting events back in 2008, it wasn’t until 2023 that I finally felt that I had made it to the spot where I wanted to be. Of course, there is always room for improvement, but at this point, it is not something that the client will notice. It is just me trying to push myself to be better. I can now think faster and observe a scene in greater detail, identifying what’s working and what’s not, making immediate adjustments to achieve a composition that is both visually clean and purposeful
After overcoming the creative block of 2022, I am now in the place where I feel the most confident about the type of content that I can create and the pricing that goes with it. I doubted myself for a long time, and it was reflected in the price range that I was charging my clients. I started to receive comments from top brands like, “You should charge more.” I started to realize and accept that I was capable and my work was worth more than I thought.
The other area of growth has been in my headshots and portraits work. After spending a significant amount of time working on the studio lighting to get the corporate look right, this year I finally felt ready to start using the headshots as my creative outlet. I started to experiment with RGB lights and textures, so I am really excited for what comes ahead for creative portraiture.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ticomendozastudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ticomendoza/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ticomendozastudios
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tico-mendoza-6bb3251b
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TicoMendozaStudios
