HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Opening a small business is no small feat, especially in the middle of a pandemic. However, Harlingen native Juan Macias took a leap of faith to be able to continue capturing memories one photo at a time.
“I’m a photographer and it’s one of those things where I’m still adjusting to being a self-employed photographer,” said Macias. “My wife and I actually bought this building during the pandemic. My wife is a fashion designer here. She was paying photographers to do a lot of the shoots for her website and social media. I saw the amount of money that was going into it and it turned on the bulb and I said, ‘This is something that I probably want to do.'”
“My number one thing is I’m focusing on the individual with whom I’m shooting the photos,” Macias said. “I’m looking for body language on how he feels comfortable. I’ll throw out keywords. I’m constantly focusing on working the subject for the subject to come out and be themselves.”
He said certain trigger keywords make his client’s eyes light up.
“I don’t want to just take a picture, I want to capture them,” Macias said. “The biggest reaction that I get from a lot of them is like, ‘I like what you did. How can we make this even more? What can we do there?’ They want to add more to it. That’s the biggest reaction, they’re surprised in their face and want to do more.”
Macias has been a professional photographer since 2010. He and his wife also own a business in downtown Harlingen and are both Harlingen natives.
Visit Juan Macias on his Facebook page.
