Taking The Steps Behind The Lens
Taking iconic photos is just one of the many things multimedia artists can do. Talent and skills are the foundation of becoming a great artist. Geraldine Gallardo, a Bachelor of Multimedia Arts graduate is now taking her step towards her dream. This 21 year old young woman took her degree at one of the best schools for the art, De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde.
“My life as an MMA student was really challenging because not all of the fields in MMA are my strengths.”
Gallardo shared how difficult it is to become an MMA student. This college program
doesn’t really have one specific major hence the reason you should be able to manage them all. In other words, students are expected to be the classic Jack of All Trades but should master all the things they need to do. Otherwise, academic failure will be on its way to add more challenges and inconvenience.
“The struggles I had were not having knowledge on how to draw, paint, and sculpt. I also had several times when I experienced an art block wherein I couldn't conceptualize my plates because I was overwhelmed with a lot of homework and project.”
The hardships she went through is just a process of becoming a professional photographer she is now. Gallardo considers her experience as a photographer a fun and wonderful journey. She meta lot of friends, did a lot of event shoots, and
even had certain connections in the media industry.
“My great experiences in this field started with my first shoot with a local watch brand. It
was really my first product shoot and it tested my creativity since the shoot had no shot lists nor layouts. It was on the spot.”
Gallardo had her first memorable project with an abrupt preparation and creativity. This just proves that MMA students were trained to be globally competitive and ready in the real world of the creative industry.
“Second was the Pyrolympics, it was really hard to capture fireworks on the camera since it wouldn’t be repeated again for me. I had my settings set before the event but I had it trial and error when the event was ongoing. But I learned a lot on this shoot!”
“Third was the PhilFrance Fashion Show conducted by the Embassy of France. This was my first fashion shoot with a runway and the approach of it was different since the focus was the clothes worn by the models.”
“Fourth was the grand opening of Duty-Free Subic. It was a great experience since this was my first shoot outside of Manila and I had a great time with Filipino celebrities; Paolo Avelino and Yeng Constantino.”
“Lastly was my experience at the Penshoppe Fancon, wherein I got a chance to shoot my favorite kdrama actor Nam Joo Hyuk and kpop star Sandara Park! While fangirling, I took shots of them and had an all-access pass on the whole event. It was also fun to look at what’s happening backstage.”
Undeniably, Gallardo is far away from being successful but right now she’s obviously
living every photographer’s dream. Meeting a lot of prominent people and learning a lot with her fellow artists. It’s indeed wonderful to be in the career you enjoy doing while making money to support yourself.
Finally, Gallardo left a piece of advice for young creatives who aspire to be like her.
“My advice to all young creatives out there is that you should never stop reaching your goals. There will be a lot of discouragements on your journey that can be a lot of people are better than you’ or ‘you can never be rich with your profession’, but the truth is you should never stop to reach your goal, have faith in God, and have the determination, and you’ll be successful.”
She talked about how paths can be rough and that’s okay. Failing is part of the process
of success.
“Also, try new things! When you are studying you will find your art style but when you are in the real world of the media industry, you should follow what the client likes! Thus, don’t be afraid to research and
discover different art styles, so that it would be easy for you to adapt when you get a job. Lastly, accept criticisms. It is hard to accept criticisms with your art because it can be really beautiful to you but to the client or professor, it still lacks something. If you are a college student, be open to what other people say about your art and take it as a motivation to improve on your next works. You can do it! Being a Multimedia Artist is challenging but you can make the process fun!” she added.
Aside from being a professional photographer, she’s currently a web designer at a digital marketing company, a marketing head of her own family business, and a content creator on her social media accounts. All of which revolves around the world of Multimedia Arts.
