Insta Fav #67: Riva Ramos

Follow: @rivaramos

Where are you from? How does that place influence the way you photograph?
I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines and moved to South San Francisco, CA about four years ago. Living in an entirely different culture and environment has made a big impact and influence on my photography. I love how I can be in the city, at the beach, or in the woods or mountains in less than an hour. It definitely inspired me to be more adventurous and explore what’s around me.

What are your favorite environments to shoot in?
As a portrait photographer, I always look for good lighting. Either outdoor or indoor, as long as I have good natural light, It works for me. I prefer photographing during golden hour. For indoor, I use window light. I also lean towards unique and simple, clean spaces to shoot my subject in.

What are the strengths of shooting primarily mobile? How does this affect your imagery?
The biggest strength for me is the accessibility it provides. It’s very fast and spontaneous. It’s easy to capture moments without thinking or planning. Though it has some limitations and you have less control, it’s better than no picture at all.

Who and what are the things that inspire you?
Finding beauty in everything I see. I love the beauty and rawness of simplicity. Also people. There’s something about looking through their eyes like they’re telling you a story, capturing emotions like they’re frozen in time. It’s a beautiful captivating moment. I’m planning on doing a portrait project and wanna commit to doing it for a year. It could be a portrait of someone I know, a stranger, anyone. This is a good way to learn and challenge myself as a photographer.

Favorite Instagrammers?
@alice_gao, @jelitodeleon, @josevilla, @stephanie_somebody

Which Apps do you use to edit your pictures?
I use VSCOcam.

Tell us a little about your everyday.
(I work as a preschool portrait photographer but I also do my own personal photography on the side) My typical weekday consists of waking up early, going to a school, and photographing about 50-90 children at that school. My work is physically demanding, which results in me usually just going home after work, resting, lounging or doing some editing for my personal photography work I did over the weekend. Sometimes, I end up exploring different places with my husband or friends as well.

If you’d like to become a future ‘Insta Fav’, follow @ignant. We’ll look into it.