My life right now is spent hopping from one fancy wedding venue to the next, but it wasn't always that way.

I picked up my first camera when I was 11 years old. I was completely enamored by the skateboarding culture, and industry photographers at the time. I dreamed of photographing skateboarding for a living and tried relentlessly to make it in the skateboarding industry.

By the time I was 16 I dropped out of high school and was living on the streets of southern California. Sleeping in public parks and friends' couches, still pursuing my dream of being a skateboard photographer.

At 18 years old, and still not a professional skate photographer, I decided it was time for a change, I packed my camera bag and decided to drive to San Francisco and become a wedding photographer. I spent weeks living out of a car and using Starbucks as my office. Slowly, using my skateboarding portfolio as my only reference, I was able to start booking clients, eventually turning weddings into my full-time job.

Today, I am 24 years old. I have traveled to 12 countries, on 4 continents all because of wedding photography. I am so proud to say that I have the greatest job I could have ever imagined. Even better than shooting skateboarding for a living!

More info: iluminastudios.com

A Self Portrait