A Portrait From Behind The Lens.

Brief description of age, name, hometown.
My name is René Calvillo. I am a 23-year-old Latinx photographer from Los Angeles, California. My main focus is portrait/editorial photography on film & digital.

What started your love for photos/photography?
I don’t know what kicked off my love for photography. It would be hard to depict a certain point in my life where it was apparent; I do remember craving some sort of creative outlet and it happened to be photography.  

What are your inspirations?
My inspirations are drawn from several creatives that have single-handedly transformed whatever medium they’ve dedicated to. Some of which are Dorian Ulises López Macias, Annie Leibovitz, Chuck Grant, Luke Gilford, Ruthie Brownfield, and of course Solange.  

Where do you see your art/career in five years? 
I see myself in New York working on my craft. I’m currently in a university studying business management and digital marketing. As soon as I finish, I plan to save enough money and fly to New York. The editorial scene is big there. I also see my portfolio growing, I’ve kept it growing steadily over the years, but I’m dedicated to enlarging it vastly this year. 

What feelings or though do you hope to evoke through your art?
In my craft, I hope to invite the viewer into the world of the image and let them become synchronized with the space of that image. I’ve recently gotten into more documentation photography on film as it does a good job of bringing forth that experience that I’m trying to provide. I also hope to capture the persona of each individual through portrait photographs, making sure that every photograph fits my style while still capturing that individual’s rawest self. 

What is the hardest part about what you do?
The hardest part is maintaining consistency in the production of my work. I’ve gone weeks without shooting and I’ve gone weeks with back to back shooting. Trying to make art in a capitalistic society and trying to survive is not ideal. 

What is the most rewarding part of what you do?
Seeing the art completed. There is so much work goes into making the idea come alive or trying to evoke a certain emotion into the photograph. It is immensely satisfying when I’ve managed to capture whatever thought or emotion on camera as I pictured it in my head. 

Any specific goals you plan to accomplish soon? 
Ahh – I have so many goals. So. Damn. Many. Sometimes I wish I would’ve taken the traditional route of just having a 9-5 cause my dreams are so damn big and complicated. I hope to publish a zine or book soon, but only once I’ve had enough collective work of one project. I’m also going to be offering other photography services apart from the editorial-style I regularly do, just to fund any personal projects I have the thought of executing. Ultimately, my goal is to work for major publications worldwide. 

Extra goodies...
I’ve provided some of my favorite (semi-recent) photographs I haven’t published anywhere (yet). They’re a mix of digital & film. Portraits to the documentation of human experience.  
More of my work is available at www.renecalvillo.com & you can reach me through contact@renecalvillo.com