Today we’d like to introduce you to Rony Agenor.
Hi Rony, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Well growing up, I’ve always been into technology. Started out with remote control cars back in the 90s then gaming on consoles in the early 2000s, then repairing and building computers throughout middle and high school. Now high school was a major fortitude for me, as I’m sure it was for many others. Deciding whether I should stick with tech & work on computers or get a job & help with bills around the house or play sports in hopes of making millions someday. Well, after one too many injuries from football my focus became more on school and a job, with plenty of gaming during my free time. It wasn’t until my senior year in high school when I went into a local gaming store just to check it out and see what new games they had out when I stumbled upon a very affordable camera instead. I don’t even remember the brand name; I just know it was silver and blue. Well, from there I was bringing that camera to school nearly every day and just snapping away with all my friends and just creating the best senior year memories. Funny thing is, at that point, I wasn’t really into photography, at least not the professional side of it. I was just enjoying the moment and the ability to go back in time hypothetically speaking.
Fast forward to the summer going into college, well, that camera ended up breaking and I kept putting it behind me on getting a new one. It wasn’t until November 2014, six years later, when I was doing another random store visit, this time at Best Buy when I came across the Sony a6000 and was deciding between that and another camera from Samsung. I did a quick lookup of both cameras and was sold on the Sony as I read about it being a brand new camera by Sony using their newly developed mirrorless mechanics. A few months down the line as YouTube had gotten bigger with content creation. Most creators would not stop raving about the Sony a6000 and the mirrorless system which made me feel good about my decision but at that point, I was still taking photos as a hobby. Then 2015 came around and after a lot of my hobby work was getting noticed by friends and family, I started getting asked to photograph events. From there, I had other friends asking me to party events, their family events, product images, cars, and more. I did that for a little over a year but wasn’t completely satisfied with some of the event experiences. At that point, I started brainstorming as to which direction I really wanted to take in regard to my photography career. The decision was simple, I wanted to work with one individual in creating beautiful images without having to deal with all types of other personalities at once or being told “I don’t want my picture taken”. So, at that point, I started focusing more on Photoshoots with one individual Model.
Luckily, I had a best friend who was interested in modeling, and I was able to develop my portrait photography skills with her a couple of times. I continued doing some party events, as that gave me the opportunity to network and get more clients for photoshoots. And with the money, I saved up I eventually upgrade to the Sony A7II. Oh, did I forget to mention that this all took place in South Florida? Well, 2020 had finally came around in which I would typically take a trip somewhere for my birthday, this time I came up with the idea of setting up a photoshoot with a model during my visit. Boston was the destination and that shoot turned out great and was a complete success. However, I returned home to the world going into a pandemic two months later. With that said, I packaged my bags to stay with family in Central Florida and started building my brand over, over there. This time I was networking mainly on Facebook and Instagram since the pandemic really affected things. But things were looking good in Central Florida I got a lot of gigs and still did some event work and I eventually upgrade my camera again this time to the Sony A7III and also started my Photography YouTube Channel. I ended up doing another birthday trip as well, this time it was to New York City. Manhattan to be exact, I had two photoshoots set up and both were a success as well.
Fast forward to the end of the year 2021. I got a call from a friend to come visit Houston where he moved to that summer and was babbling about. His timing couldn’t have been any better as I decided to make it another birthday trip and started networking on Instagram and setting up potential photoshoots for my visit. I wanted to make this one bigger than the last two shoots I did so I rented out a nice spacious Airbnb and had models set up for 3 of the 4 days that I was visiting. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a complete accomplishment as I ended up only doing a shoot with one Model, but it was still a success and I found myself moving here one month later. The experience here has been great so far, mainly because of the food. As for photoshoots, I’ve only done seven so far including the one from my visit. A lot of the shoots I’ve been attempting to set up here have just been getting canceled. I really hope that that doesn’t become a trend here and look forward to networking and meeting all types of people from entrepreneurs to content creators, models, and more.
P.S. In case anyone was wondering. Yes, I still game every now and then streaming on twitch and YouTube from time to time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a smooth road for the most part, just struggling with consistently landing gigs.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Photography bares many styles; Portrait Photography is what I specialize in however to go in depth I find myself dabbling in the Glamour, Fashion, & Editorial side of Photography. What I am most pound cannot be put into words. Just that I shoot in a more efficient way from how I’ve shot in the past.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I would love to eventually get a studio and team. That is all I would like to share as I wouldn’t want to give out all of my ideas.
Contact Info:
- Website: nifteeone.com
- Instagram: nifteeone
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nifteeone
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NifteeOne
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoCcC1mGZOhxWMsbiXs7jPg
Image Credits
Khady Breonna Tishara Sejah
