Meet Jennifer Cholula | Photographer

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

Hi Jennifer, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born in Dallas, TX and have lived in Texas my whole life. My parents are from Mexico and I feel like I’ve always struggled feeling like I am from the U.S. or from Mexico. People in the U.S. view me a a foreigner and tell me I’m not American enough and when I go to Mexico they tell me I’m too white washed and that I’m not a true mexican. I am very proud of my heritage and always try to incorporate it into my art work. I feel like it’s important to use our platforms as artists as a voice for other people who can’t.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In my art I always try to incorporate my heritage. My family is from Mexico and I feel like even though I didn’t grow up there I know that it was very hard for my parents to decide to come to the U.S. and leave everything behind. For that one decision my parents made I am now able to have a very privileged life which I am very grateful to have. I currently am a student at UNT where I am getting my Bachelors degree in Studio Arts with a concentration in Photography and minoring in Art History. Right now I am in my senior year and plan on graduating in the Fall semester of 2023. In the course of those 3 years that I have been in college I have been slowly building up my portfolio to become a Fashion Photographer. I started to become interested in photography since I was 15 and really fell in love with fashion photography until I was 17. I bought my first DSLR camera from my quincenera photographer as she was getting rid of old gear. At first I only really shot on automatic and only took pictures of objects and landscapes. It wasn’t until I was 17 when I asked a friend to do my first real photoshoot. I kept taking pictures of my friends for fun at parks and kept experimenting and having fun. I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do landscapes or portraits until my photography teacher from high school Mrs. Carl encouraged me to take more seriously taking portraits. I’d like to believe that she saw something in me that I still hadn’t. With the help of her and the class structure I was able to learn more about photoshop and do photo projects which helped me to grow more. After I graduated I found that it was really hard to keep creating especially if you are not surrounded by people who create art all the time. My 1st year of college I only took basic courses so I wasn’t taking any art classes. My motivation was really low at this point and wanted to give up until I saw that there were creatives were doing meetups for photographers/ models / stylists/ makeup artists so I decided to go. I’ve gone to any meetup that I’ve been available to go since 2019. I love that other creatives in the dfw are creating a safe space for people to create and have fun. I’ve learned that not everyone is going to like what you create and that you can’t be to hard on yourself by comparing where you are to others. One of my many dreams that I eventually want to accomplish is to have my photograph on the front cover of a very well known magazine and showcase my culture and heritage from Mexico. I want people to know is that I am proud of where I come from and that I want to create photographs where there are people that look like me in magazines. Growing up there wasn’t much representation of people of color in magazines. I grew up in a place where there weren’t many Hispanics so I was always trying to fit in by trying to look like them even though it never would’ve been possible. I don’t want younger girls to feel the same way I did growing up and by creating images where it showcases my culture I hope to have other little girls say ‘mom that girl /boy looks like me’.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Some places that I would recommend to go out to eat are Joes Mexican Food which is located in a Valero gas station across the Beach at Little Elm Park. Me and my family always go there to get some authentic tacos as they make tortillas by hand and have a range of other Mexican authentic dishes. Another place I would recommend Is Mad for chicken, if you’re ever craving some crispy chicken and flavorful fries this is the place to check out. If we want to get something sweet we always go to somi somi to get some ice cream. Some places that are fun to go check out in the dfw area is grandscape, DMA, and freeplay.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank my family for always believing in me when I didn’t believe in my self. You guys are my #1 supporters.

Website: https://jenncholula.myportfolio.com/jennifer-cholula

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jennis.photos?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Image Credits
Jennifer Cholula