Meet Andrew Bramasco | Photographer & Videographer

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

Hi Andrew, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?

It’s been a wild ride. I started shooting professionally back in 2006 and founded my company in 2012. It was and still is a grind. When I first branched off to work for myself, I felt like there wasn’t ever a second of down time. If I had a moment to spare, I wanted to be shooting, editing, networking, or learning. It didn’t matter as long as I was being productive. Eventually my wife, Melissa started working alongside me and we both fell into the work spiral. It caught up over time though and we both took a step back and realized that we shouldn’t be dedicating every waking moment to the business.

So, we started to travel and with that came a new dream of freeing ourselves from all of it.

These days, I spend a lot more time at home with Melissa and the kitties. It’s still a grind, but I allow myself to breathe a lot more. We recently moved out of the city to the desert to put an actual distance between work and living. It made it so scheduling anything outside of 2-3 days a week isn’t really possible. It’s added a new level of positive mental health and I feel I’ve grown more in my craft in the last few years than ever before.

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.

I’m an architectural photographer and videographer. I photograph structure and space in a creative team up with my clients and people.

It’s been a long road getting here. I began my career as an in-house photographer for a real estate group in Newport Beach back in 2006. I had no idea what I was doing and it allowed me the opportunity to learn a totally new (to me) field of photography. There are so many elements to shooting architecture. It’s an ever evolving industry.

It didn’t feel hard moving up, but I also lived and breathed it. I loved getting out there and seeing new homes and new places every day so it never really felt like work. I’ve always felt lucky to be able to see these places and I still do. When I look back on things, I realize it was an uphill battle. I was able to stay ahead of the curve by being mindful of up and coming media outlets that made sense for my industry. When drones became a thing, I was in the sky. When video popped up, I was recording. It was a nice addition and made things a lot less stale.

I still photograph a lot of real estate. It’s an industry that never stops so the work is always there and it’s nice to have a steady rotation of gigs and I work with some amazing people. Last year I was even awarded Real Estate Photographer of the Year by the Photography for Real Estate Conference.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

This one’s a little tough because I’m still new here. I live in Morongo Valley which sits right in between Palm Springs and Joshua Tree.

We’d start with a day or two of hiking and sites in Joshua Tree. I could spend all week there, but this is more than a tour of the park. I love Sky High Pie right outside the park too. They have excellent pizza.

Afterwards a trip out to Anza Borrego to hit some of the off-road trails and get a bite to eat in Borrego Springs. There’s a little Mexican restaurant there called Los Jilberto’s Taco Shop that has some excellent Machaca. We could camp out for the night and hike around to see the Ocotillos, statues, and Fonts Point.

We could hit up the art museums and Sunnylands in Palms Springs. Go for a walk downtown to see some of the permanent art installations and some of the old Desert X sites that are still around town. Maybe get some Indian food at Monsoon.

We’d spend some time at my place stargazing out on the deck chatting about life and catching up.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

When I was 9, I met Jonathan Waiter. He was my best friend, mentor, and big brother throughout my childhood and early adult life. We both became photographers together and he showed me the importance of a positive attitude and helped craft my will to never settle. I learned so much from him both in life and art. I can’t even tell you how lucky I was to grow up with a best friend like him.

Later in life I met Steven J Magner who’s been one of the most inspirational photographers and people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and one of my very best friends. I’ve learned an incredible amount with him and he’s always giving me a nudge to do better. To never get comfortable and remember how important it is to pursue greater things. He also sends me smoked brisket in the mail so bonus points.

My biggest shoutout goes to Melissa, my wife. She’s been the most incredibly supportive, loving, and all around wonderful human being I could have ever asked to meet and I’m so lucky to be able to call her my wife. We shoot together now and learn from each other every day.

Website: www.andrewbramasco.com

Instagram: @andrewbramasco

Image Credits
All images were shot by me, Andrew Bramasco