Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Pinell.
Alex, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Freshman year of high school, I took photojournalism as an elective which piqued my curiosity and led to me taking a more advanced class the next year. That Christmas, my mom gave me my first DSLR. High school was a mostly experimental phase of me getting used to my camera. It wasn’t until freshman year of college that I started taking pictures of my friends. I was in the Spirit of Houston at UH and my friends were looking for people to shoot headshots and portraits for upcoming recitals. After that, it turned into creating a Facebook page and accepting gigs from strangers for graduation portraits and headshots. As I grew comfortable, I also started accepting engagement sessions and completing my first few weddings.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I would say that it has been pretty smooth for me so far. My advice for young women is that you should always be open and communicate with your clients. Everybody is uncomfortable in front of the camera and it is your responsibility to make them feel at their best so their pictures can look their best. Crack some jokes, tell a good story, whatever it takes to feel that connection with them. Also, YouTube and Google have been a lifesaver. Don’t be embarrassed to look up on any problems you encounter with your settings or camera or just to learn something new!
What do you do? What do you specialize in?
I am a well-rounded portrait photographer. My clients say that I am easy to connect with and be themselves around. I am proud that I have shot all different people from different walks of life. Whatever a client wants, I will work my hardest to get the shot they imagine. It’s really important to me to capture a personality, not just a person.
Who do you look up to? How have they inspired you?
I would say my mom is my biggest inspiration. She has been a teacher for 35 years at the same school. She is the definition of sticking with something you love through thick and thin.
Pricing:
- Starting at $150 an hour; no image cap
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pinellphotography.com
- Email: alexpinell@yahoo.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pinellphotography
Image Credit:
Alex Pinell – Photographer
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
Henry P. (Chico) Francis
July 12, 2019 at 12:55 pm
After reading this article about Alex, i realized that, like many other people, I consider myself to be a photographer. Yes, indeed! If I simply chose to do so, I, too, could be a professional photographer. Others may fool themselves into thinking that they could become The Next Great Novelist; a modern day Shakespeare, perhaps!
After looking through each of Alex’s pictures, I realized that her skill set is far beyond anything I could hope to achieve. I am not really sure what sets Alex’s work apart from the rest of us. Is it her technical perfection? The imaginative way she stages her
shots? Is it something else? I don’t know. What I do know is that she is in a league all by herself! I envy her skills!