Manny De Los Santos shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Manny, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about your customers?
One surprising thing I’ve learned about my customers is how kind-hearted and down to earth they’ve all seemed to be so far. I’ve never had to deal with a Bridezilla(Knock on wood) nor any nitpicky customers. They’ve fully trusted me to do my job and I’ve had several customers tell me that seeing the finished product has brought tears to their eyes. Hearing that has really made the long hours of editing worthwhile.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’ve been fortunate to be in the business for over 10 years, started off capturing student life living at Wichita State University, progressed to shooting for the Wichita State basketball team for several years during their perfect Undefeated season and got to travel with them all over the country for the NCAA tournaments, worked for The Sunflower newspaper and was a correspondent for the Wichita Eagle newspaper during that time as well. Next thing you know, I’m getting published in The New York Times, Washington Post, touring with bands, shooting weddings and Quinceañeras all over the country along with music videos.
Currently I’ve been working on corporate testimonial videos for Churches and jumping head first into shooting weddings and recently shot a wedding for a Social Media Influencer with over 20 million followers total which was exhilarating and a bit nerve-wracking, but she ended up loving the results.
All my clients have mentioned that I go above and beyond and love that I get creative angles and capture candid moments that tell a story as opposed to just stationary posed photography. My philosophy is to over-deliver while capturing beautiful moments.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before I became who I was, I was that shy quiet kid that grew up in a tough environment surrounded by gangs and toxic negativity at every corner. I was around drug dealers and criminals because that’s all we knew growing up, but at the same time, I always felt there was a better outcome and path in life then to fight and shoot each other over gang colors. I was living a double-life. Growing up in poverty around bad influences, yet taking advanced classes for intellectually gifted students.
I managed to graduate University while getting away from the lifestyle that took the lives of several of my close friends. Keeping a positive outlook on life helped me tremendously in getting me to where I’m currently at in life and becoming prosperous. I cherish all the simple things in life and have a great support of close friends and family
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would tell my younger self to stop beating yourself up over every little thing that doesn’t go your way and to stop letting thoughts of self-doubt to creep in. I’ve never had a positive role model growing up but I always wanted someone to be proud of me, so I would sacrifice my own happiness to make others happy which deteriorated my self-worth and caused mental anguish.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
I do wear my heart on my sleeve and love humans deeply and always want everyone around me to achieve their goals and their dreams. I’m the biggest cheerleader to my friends and even though I do look scary and intimidating because of my tattoos, I am the biggest teddy bear that you can depend on when needing something done. I want to empower others to become the best version of themselves.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people will notice how I poured my heart into every photoshoot, every project I’ve ever completed, I went above and beyond and went days without sleep just to reach my deadlines and that the passion I had was shown through my work.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/mannydelossantosphotography
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/mannydelossantosphotos
- Other: https://Facebook.com/mannydelossantosphotography
