Elizabeth Trujillo sat down and chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about her respected career in photography and how the medium shaped her into who she is today.
Annie Leibovitz once said: “When you are younger, the camera is like a friend and you can go places and feel like you’re with someone, like you have a companion.” This quote applies to acclaimed photographer Elizabeth Trujillo.
For Trujillo, photography is about far more than capturing a nice image… it is about being present for the milestones, celebrations, and stories that shape people’s lives.
From discovering her passion for photography as a teenager to building her own company, BlushPix, Trujillo has spent more than 16 years turning her creativity into a career centered on connection, resilience, and making others smile.
In this candid yet informed interview, she opened up about the experiences that shaped her entrepreneurial journey, the daily motivation she finds in her clients, her vision for the future of BlushPix, and the lessons she has learned along the way.
She also reflects on success, overcoming adversity, working with talent in the vertical drama space, and the advice she hopes to share with the next generation of photographers.
Daily motivations as a photographer
On her daily motivations, she shared, “I am inspired by making people smile for a living, I am just really fortunate to have such amazing clients who treat me with so much love and respect, and every day is so different. “
“So, I know there will be a never-ending amount of people that are accomplishing great things, and I just really want to be there for them every single moment,” she admitted.
“I’ve had clients who I’ll take their boudoir photos, engagement photos, wedding photos, maternity photos, and then I’ll take their family photos because now they have a family. I love following people through their lives,” she elaborated.
“I keep going because everyone else keeps going, and the world keeps spinning,” she added.
Idea to start her own company
On the idea to start her own company, she remarked, “I was 14 years old. I had gone to private school for most of my life. My father was dying of lung cancer. My mother had three jobs… She was in education and worked at several colleges. She wrote a medical college textbook for billing and coding.”
“My father was in the oil business, and he had a consulting agency. He also had a tile business that spanned over multiple countries. He passed away when I was 13, and his dying wish was for me to essentially start my own business,” she said.
“It was either to learn Spanish or that, so I went with the more difficult route,” she said with a sweet laugh. “It was so uncanny especially with the timing. At 14, my mother was assigned an internship program at the school she taught at, and she asked me to help her students get jobs by putting them on YouTube and taking pictures of them with the business owners.”
“My mother asked me to shoot 60 internship videos of the students with them and the business owners within 30 days. So, I had to learn everything within less than a week to be ready by the end of the month. At the end of those 30 days, we were going to present these videos I shot, filmed, and edited to be shown in front of their parents and the business owners and the kids would go up and get a certificate of completion. The business owners came up to me and said they liked the photos at the end of the videos and hired me at the end of the ceremony to photograph their businesses. Maybe that’s why I still mainly work with large companies and production companies to this day,” she elaborated.
“My mom’s internship students had all these high aspirations of what they wanted to be such as chef, home builders, or truck drivers. There were just so many different industries that these kids were interested in, and it was so amazing. I told her that in order for me to do this she had to buy me the best camera and the best video camera. I learned Sony Vegas Pro, Audacity, Photoshop, and all these other programs. I learned all these things at such a young age,” she said.
“Everybody clapped for every single video that we made, and some of the kids got offered jobs right then and there from all of the business owners and the ceremony was done and they all came up to me with various offers for their own projects,” she noted.
“So, I’ve done so much just starting out. I ended up having to be homeschooled the rest of my high school career that was about to start because I was working so much… and that’s how BlushPix got started,” she explained.
When asked what she envisioned the childhood version of herself doing at this point of her life, she shared, “My father’s dying wish was for me to start my own company, as well as to make a name for myself, help others, and grow my business to the point where I can make friends and get clients any time that I would walk out my front door.”
Future plans
On her future plans, she shared, “We are definitely always trying to expand, and scaling is always the goal.”
“I think building a team would make an insurmountable difference because it’s essentially always been me who has done it all for the business,” she elaborated.
Career-defining moments
On her career-defining moments, she shared, “That is really difficult for me because every day is so different.”
“I just feel like I’ve been able to pivot and adapt to any situation,” she admitted. “I can’t pinpoint a specific moment, but I could say that, you know, throughout every day, like, if we pay attention, you know, we could help shape tomorrow as easy as that is.”
“As a business owner, I think you will find these little holes in your own foundation. I think if you are not filling the cracks, then you are not growing. I think that I find so many little moments every day that define me because I am constantly being molded every single day to be a better owner and a better client-facing person,” she elaborated.
“Things have happened… I have been doing this for 16 years. There is always bound to be some sort of adversity, but I think just overcoming that and not being reactionary is truly all you can do, just make people happy at the end of the day,” she added.
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she revealed, “The Reformation.” “This feels like my renaissance,” she said.
Advice for young and aspiring photographers
For young and aspiring photographers, she said, “The biggest thing is to learn the business side and really not think small. Educate yourself on the craft and the arts, and realistically ask yourself: ‘What do you want to look at for six hours at night, sitting at your desk.”
“We stay with clients for long periods of time for weddings and other special events, and we have a four-day turnaround, but retouching can mean we are working with a client for weeks,” she said. “I would ask them, ‘What do you like shooting?’ and ‘What are you happy to see every day?’ I think a lot of other photographers focus on, ‘Oh, that’s our creativity. This is our style. Look at these followers and everything.’ That’s all wonderful and helpful.”
“But I can tell you, to make it through all of the storms and seasons that photography holds for us, you need to have systems in place. This is why I really, really stress having a customer relationship management tool, or CRM, in general. Put systems in place. Put your invoices in your system. Write your contracts so that they clearly address things like how your images can and cannot be used. Make sure you have protections in place for things like AI use or repurposing your work in ways that could harm you down the road,” she elaborated.
“I remember I shot for a politician, and they used my photo on a billboard. In that moment, I realized I didn’t have those terms and conditions in my contract at the time. And I thought, ‘I’m going to have my lawyer add that to the contact.’ Again, these are the everyday things we learn,” she acknowledged.
“You also need to realize that financing and equipment are costly, travel is costly and managing your time costs time. If you really, truly want to do this, understand all of the business aspects of it,” she added.
Working with vertical actors Kyle “Kiki” Fragnoli, Eric Guilmette, and Luke Charles Stafford
Trujillo had great words about working with such actors as Kyle “Kiki” Fragnoli, Eric Guilmette, and Luke Charles Stafford, all three of which are at the top of their game in the vertical drama space.
“When I was shooting Luke Charles Stafford at this premiere for ‘Against the Wall,’ I love how he gave all his fans the individual attention that they deserved. He is still as humble and genuine as when I first met him. He will look you deep in the eyes and have a real conversation with you, and be there for you every second, and be as considerate as he is,” she elaborated.
“I remember when Eric Guilmette first came to Los Angeles,” she said. “Eric is so educated and smart beyond belief. Eric is just as genuine too and he is real and authentic. I hope to forever call Eric a friend because he is somebody who will always be there for you. I just really respect him; if anyone is going to make it, in this space or any other, it’s going to be Eric.”
“Kiki is wonderful too,” she admitted. “Kiki is an awesome person, a talented actor, and someone I am honored to call him a friend,” she added.
Success
Regarding her definition of the word success, Trujillo said, “My heart is full of so much validation. I have had so many five-star reviews, I think almost 300. I’m not a materialistic person. I feel that success is really a moving target.”
“I take pride in achievements, and for me, I think a big compliment is that most of my clients say that every that single photo is usable. I’ve always thought that such feedback is amazing,” she noted.
“Success is simply doing what I love and making people smile for a living,” she explained.
Message for her followers and supporters
For her followers and supporters, Trujillo said, “First and foremost, thank you! It really takes a village. What is ironic is that I don’t really post that much, so I appreciate it any time when people show their support.”
“So, if you are a fan of mine, please message me and reveal yourself, because we need to chat more,” she said with a sweet laugh. “I would love to support them back in their work too.”
“I think reciprocity is one of the most important things in this industry, and that’s something I definitely want to keep going. In the vertical space, everyone is so supportive of each other, and I think that is rare to see in Hollywood right now, and I have a lot of appreciation for that” she acknowledged.
“Success is not success unless it is shared with others in life,” she concluded.
To learn more about esteemed photographer Elizabeth Trujillo and BlushPix, follow her on Instagram and visit her official website.
