Jan 6, 20223 min read

Angela Molina: Beauty is highly subjective, everyone builds their meaning of beauty

Angela, could you please briefly introduce yourself, and tell us about your first encounter with photography? Who has influenced you to start taking photographs?

My first meeting was when I was 15 years old with the camera on my phone; at that time, I was working for my parents' company. They asked me to take photos of the products and make a catalog; without thinking about it, I became interested and made my first portrait on my home with my best friend, Melina Sanchez. I had no idea how far photography could go until I began to see the work of many photographers who were my main inspiration, the most important at the beginning was Krishna Valdez, who is a Mexican photographer, two Years later, I got to know Daniel Olivares' work, and I was amazed at this world and decided to live in it.

From your point of view, what are the most difficult aspects of professional photography?

Valuing your work, well they say the artist himself is the worst critic of his work, and it is like that, the moment you want to do it professionally is when you observe and criticize yourself more, and that is fine to a certain point when you no longer you believe in the value of your work, and you feel inferior to others, or you begin to compare yourself.

What are the biggest challenges of being a photographer?

Not to stagnate, I think that we often fall into a pattern where we do the same and want to get recognized for only one thing; for me, the challenge would be to innovate your work and find new forms of expression constantly.

In your opinion, how beauty is perceived at the present age? What does photography mean to you personally and what really makes a woman or man beautiful?

Beauty is highly subjective, everyone builds their meaning of beauty, and the smallest can be the most beautiful. I do not feel that something specific can be added to a person to make them attractive; we all already have something that makes someone look at us hypnotized, and being able to capture that through photography is unique.

What type of models do you prefer to shoot with? Why?

I love working with those who have a performance that hypnotizes you because it makes the workflow enjoyable and gets to capture the idea much more emotionally and even theatrical, one of the people with whom I have liked working the most has been with Madame Guzter.

Are there any other photographers you lookup? Who?

I am constantly seeing the work of many photographers. I feel that it is fundamental to continue growing and discovering new techniques; currently, I follow the work of Cho Gi-Seok and Gilberto Chen a lot.

You are going about conducting a photoshoot, could you take us through the typical planning process for your images?

I start with the idea statement; I look for all the sources of inspiration, music, painting, cinema. And from there, I begin to make a mood board to place the concept well; in my mind, there is already the type of model I want, the stylist and the lighting, so I continue to schedule the date with the whole team.

In addition to being sharp and well lit, your photos are beautifully edited. What is your retouching/production philosophy?

There is always a style for each photo; you don't have to follow the exact mechanism for everything. The freedom of having different finishes is incredible.

What would be your tips/advice to models looking to expand their portfolio?

They are not pigeonholed with a single style or work; they have to be like chameleons and show all the possible faces in their portfolio.

What projects are you working on next, and what are your goals for the future?

Now I am doing several series; the last one I did was from a trip I had to Spain, and my goal is for the person who sees those photos to feel like a native and not a tourist when seeing details that many of us overlook. My goal in the future is to set up a studio for many photographers and a printing laboratory to have a space where amazing creators can tell incredible stories.

Where can we see more of your works and get connected with you?

Where I always upload everything is on Instagram @angela.molina7 and my website annmolina.com