Featured Photographer - David Mendoza

Hi! I'm David Mendoza III, but most people call me Doza. I'm an international wedding photographer based in Santa Barbara California. I love my job, living by the ocean and a good taco night.

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HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY?

I was in a dark place and battling depression after losing my job as a UX Designer and seemingly losing my community. I needed something to look forward to every day so I created a photo project for myself called “A Daily Portrait.” I would take a new portrait of a new person every day for as long as I could, and then post them to my instagram account. It manifested itself into a beautiful collection of over 100 portraits and friends, strangers and acquaintances. Because of this personal project I started to get inquiries and get hired for my work. But it wasn’t until a website client of mine had reached out and asked if I would shoot her secret elopement in Bali that I took wedding photography seriously. I booked out my year with weddings and secretly traveled to Bali to capture one of my favorite photos of all time.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?

Vibrant, Romantic and imperfect. I grew up watching all of the Disney movies (the 1990's were the golden years … fight me if you disagree) so there is a part of me that seeks out the idealized magic moment. The kind where the skies open up and beams of light shine down upon a gentle kiss. The other part of me knows how messy real life is so I try to strike a balance between them both.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN AN IMAGE?

Simply put, I look for moment, light and composition. Whether it's the couple’s joy that bursts through their portrait session, finding a beam of light that is perfectly placed, or composing my shot and waiting for the right person to walk through, I want to come away from every session with a set of photos capturing the soul of the time we had together.

WHAT INSPIRES OR MOTIVATES YOU?

There's always something new to learn from the people you surround yourself with and the environments that you find yourself in, so that's what I draw from. More specifically, I've been so inspired by Marlies Hartmann's romantic portraiture and Two Mann Studios’ photojournalism. Both have transformed my work over the last 12 months and I'm so thankful to them. I've been lucky enough to photograph all over the world over the last 2.5 years of doing photography full time. Drawing from the energy of a bustling city like NYC to finding quiet moments of awe in Yosemite have been great sources of inspiration.

WHAT CHALLENGES YOU?

The biggest challenge is being able to consistently deliver a set of images that represent the body of work that I showcase. Having a systems of posing, stying and editing really helps to to drive that consistency that I'm looking for so that my clients know what to expect going into a session.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT OF A WEDDING?

I'm a big fan of tears. It's the body's way of expressing an emotion so deep that it creates itself into a tear. Those moments are always so powerful and can be all of a sudden so it keeps me on my toes.

OF ALL YOUR IMAGES, DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ONE?

Yes. This one. (bali photo in the cave) The entire morning was rainy and gloomy and as soon as the sweet couple walked into the waterfall the skies opened up and we got these amazing light beams. It felt like a Disney moment and something I'll never forget. Shooting at a waterfall is so tough, and I had to constantly wipe my lens with my shirt so that i could get a clean shot but it was all worth it.

ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DAVID?

While my given name is David, most people I know these days call me Doza. My family even calls me that as a joke from time to time. I also love surprising people and creating these magic moments of unexpected joy. It makes me so happy to see people smile so I try and create those moments daily.

TELL US ABOUT DVLOP

DVLOP has been the best thing to happen to my editing! It speeds up my workflow and allows me to create images how see them in my head when I’m photographing. The way they have created a system that can be custom mixed, creates the perfect editing cocktail every time and I never feel stuck. It's so easy and such a joy to use.