Tulle dress with black pearls insert by YUFASH Black tulle skirt by ZARA
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Hi JC! So where did it all start for you?
Well, I was born in Panama to a Catalan family and in my early twenties I moved to Barcelona where I lived for almost 15 years. I’ve moved around a bit, spent some time in New York until finally, I made London my home. Before becoming a photographer, I was an IT Project Manager for about 20 years, but I always felt out of place in that career. Like a fish out of the water. It wasn’t until my mid-thirties, when I finally plucked up the courage to change industries and pursue a career in photography. My long held passion. 2017 is my fifth year as a professional photographer and I’m loving every minute of it! At what age did you first become interested in photography?
JC Candanedo Photographer
I’ve always enjoyed photography. For as long as I can remember, I was always the friend or the relative who had the camera. There was something about documenting life that was appealing to me. People around me seemed to enjoy it, so they always trusted that I would be taking the photos wherever we went.
How did you start your career? What were some of the hurdles you encountered in the beginning? I started out, as I think most photographers do, by shooting family and friends. But it took me a long time before deciding that I wanted to photograph people for a living. For a short while, I played around with food photography, street photography, still life and events. But nothing felt right until I started to take more interest in portraiture. I think that one of the biggest obstacles I encountered, at the very beginning, was that I made this career change in the middle of a recession. I was still living in Barcelona at the time. During those years, I couldn’t find anyone who was as committed as I was to becoming a full-time creative. People were just focusing on making money to survive, which is understandable considering the difficult times we were living in. You know, when you are starting out, there is very little money in this industry. Everyone that I knew back then was just trying to keep their day job and pay the bills! At times I felt like I was the only fool who wanted to pursue a career in a creative field. I just couldn’t find a support group, a community.
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