Meet Estevan Morales | Videographer/Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Estevan Morales and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Estevan, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risks played a huge role in my career and in life because when i first started becoming interested in videography/photography i was working a demanding 9 to 5. I started to become burnt out and thought i had a ceiling and i was curious like what would happen if i put some more time & energy into this. At the time, i really needed my job because i had no other income coming in so putting video ahead was a scary idea. How would my girl feel me leaving my job for something i grew a love for? Will i still be able to provide for my family? I prayed for some kind of sign that i need to move into that direction or do i need to just suck it up and stay at my job. i got those signs in full view and i took a leap of faith and quit. despite the risk i proceeded put my full time & energy into it and its taking me places & put me around people i never would of met regularly. if i would have never took the leap i would have never found my peace.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from others is my ability to catch every scene or as much footage as possible & still render a good quality in difficult situations. I’m most proud of my latest camera because to me it was a long grind and journey to get to where i’m at today. I started off managing a strip club and the owner would often complain about the lack of promotion. it was dated and basic looking so i bought a camera took some shots and learned some editing, to my surprise he actually liked it so much he invest into a better one for me to use. Every week i would shoot promo videos and special events the club was having. The more i would post the videos and content, the more customers would come and become a part of the action. Over the course of a few years with the company i had completely built my brand up enough to sustain itself separately. It took alot of long nights and early mornings to get it off the ground but the end result is definitely worth it. Lessons i;ve learned are to value yourself and know your worth, don’t let people put a price on you and tell you what your worth. Also, knowledge is power and i mean hand of than0s power because if you learn the skill, you can add it into your bag of tricks that others can’t or just dont do and you dont have to outsource and wait. Lastly, communication and relationships go hand and hand, you have to be a good & consistent person for people to communicate and reach out to you for events. i want the world to know that i came from a hard upbringing with minimal opportunity and had to make gold from close to nothing but i did it and stayed at it and learned the lessons needed to make my art authentic with no training or schooling. nothing but a camera and dream

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would literally take them straight to the Turtle Races at Whiskey Garden on 7th Street in Fort Worth. We would have a good time drinking & watching our turtles win and take full advantage of the brisket tacos. The host DJ Toro keep us hype and laughing as well. Next morning, we’d have to go to Hurts Donuts for the ultimate donut experience, they have all kind of out of the ordinary donuts like cereal on top or candy coated. My personal favorite is the cinnamon rolls cause they’re HUGE i mean HUGE HUGE. Later, we would go to La Hacienda for the authentic Mexican buffet experience, not like Panchos, Real Mexican favorites & cuisine. Next day, to work off the food from the previous day, we go to Urban Air Trampoline Gym to practice on tramp-jumping and walking up the wall. Later that evening, we would go to El Chingon on 7th Street for the paleta shots and good fajitas & street corn. Thursday we would go to Trinity Park Duck Pond feed the ducks and walk around to get the cardio going. Then we head to Hibachi Teppanyaki & Sushi for the best Hibachi around, and your definitely getting full there. Friday is a late day because we go get haircut and people on the same page because we go to the strip club Pandoras Mens Club, I know it seems like a unlikely place to hang but in my line of work relationships are key and ive done alot of business and have gotten crazy connections just from bumping shoulders with the right managers of artist even the artist themselves. Plus it furthers the brand because the dj and staff know me personally so they shoutout me out and shoot me business. Saturday we go to 7th street club Varisty or Texas Republic for the nightlife vibes and Miami-style partying. Sunday is nothing but recovery day

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I gotta give a shoutout to God first & foremost because He literally took me and broke me down for what he needed me to see & built me into the man he wanted me to be. I cant thank him enough. My mom deserves a shoutout because she kept faith in me throughout the whole journey

Website: www.shotbybando.com

Instagram: @shotbybando

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shotbybando

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoL3h833U2vSnBK9qjIMQJA

Image Credits
Shot By Bando