Today we’d like to introduce you to Xavier Omar Ordaz.
Xavier, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been doing photography since 2018 as a freelance artist. What started off as a love for cameras the first time I picked one up back in 2009 turned into my entire life today. I began with photography, but as of today, I have expanded into many fields such as videography, music, and event hosting. Having hosted a charity art gallery that presented some of Orlando’s underrepresented local artists and vendors, I found a newfound love for community building and event hosting/planning. Organizing collaborative and networking events that help push Orlando’s creative community forward.
I studied photography at Columbia College Chicago as a full-time student but once I heard about tuition rising as well as some family that was sick back home in Orlando, I knew my story lied in Orlando.
Since moving back, I have began working on several different projects that revolve around different social injustice issues (such as woman’s rights/protection, BLM, immigrant discrimination, abuse, E.T.C.
Some of the work I’ve created in relation to that has already been presented at galleries local to the Orlando area.
Moving forward, I have a short film I am currently in development of that follows the story of a relationship in which one of the partners is unknowingly experiencing abuse that will be utilized to raise awareness to the different signs of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that can occur in a domestic relationship.
There’s a lot more I can get into but don’t want to overtype here haha, I also host a podcast that revolves around mental health and its relation to art/ artists.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. But I’m a firm believer in that struggle is what makes us. If it weren’t for the struggles I’ve been through, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Just as everyone else has, I’ve faced loss and heartbreak and have been stuck between a rock and a hard place time and time again.
Having to sell much-needed equipment I had worked for to make ends meet, being threatened with eviction notice, undervaluing my work to get food on the table and change from my daily meal of tuna and a slice of bread. All things I faced that I can think of at the moment amongst the several others I can’t think of at the moment.
I tend to not focus and just move past them because I find it not worth holding onto those feelings of regret or feeling like, “We’ll if I had done this instead, then this bad thing wouldn’t have happened to me.”
Instead, I put that energy into the next task at hand that will either help get me to the place/mentality I need to be at.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I began as a photographer, mainly doing portraits as it was my model friends that got me into photography. Now, however, my photography has expanded into several fields, doing whatever makes me happiest at the moment. Ranging from portraits, real estate, landscape, and travel photography. I’ve mainly moved over into videography and I am beginning my journey as a content creator as I feel it is the best medium to tie all the different things I do all together.
However, with my photography, my main priority is conceptual projects that emphasize mental health or social injustice topics.
At first thought, I feel being interviewed for my photo series project following the George Floyd protests in Orlando, Florida. Being on tv was the most surreal thing for me at the time.
However, in terms of being most proud though, I would have to say my podcast/charity gallery as both have led to people reaching out saying how either the podcast has helped with their own mental health journey, as well as raising funds for the mental health charity I partnered with for my gallery.
What sets me apart from others is that I don’t just focus on one field, as a creative, I am mesmerized by all forms of art and attempt to partake or be involved in any way that I can. While many photographers/videographers pick a niche to stay in, I take on anything and everything I can. Many people go into the industry for self-gain, but for me personally, I see it as community gain.
As I continue to do more work and expand my network, working with many creatives, I get closer to my final goal of helping create a booming community of creatives in the Central Florida area as cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago have.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I learned patience. Honestly, that’s the biggest lesson I took. As sitting in isolation would give me all the time in the world. I began being able to be at peace with myself and the world around me. Which really advanced me in all areas of my life.
Seeing the world shut down for the first time in my life made me realize how quickly things can change.
It strengthened my adaptability as not only a creative but as a human being.
Pricing:
- $125 photo sessions (outdoor or in-studio)
- Real estate packages depending on their need
Contact Info:
- Website: www.omarordazphotography.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/xavieromaro
Image Credits
Xavier Omar Ordaz
