Meet Mark & Soraya Ramirez | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark & Soraya Ramirez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark & Soraya, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
At the beginning, when you start your business, having a full time career is very challenging. The work life balance seems to sway to more on the work side at first. I feel like that’s how you have to see it. You have to give it your all even if you had a bad day at work or even a bad week. If you want to succeed you have to be willing to make sacrifices. Once you put the work in and find a rhythm to juggling it all, that’s when your work life balance begins to change. One soon realizes that it’s a life work balance and not the other way around.

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.
One thing we are trying to do is grow our business and clients. We have the talent and the work ethic. It’s just getting our names out there. That’s why magazines like Shoutout SoCal are so good for young entrepreneurs. We are a fairly new company. We are just getting started but we look at every day with an optimistic view. Whatever challenges we face along our journey will only make us better. What we want the world to know about SOMAR Collective is we are just aren’t photographers, we are creatives. We love to create different kinds of photo shoots, host trips to exotic places, create travel packages, and incorporate film and filmography into our work.

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.
First I’ll take them out to PB to Breakfast Republic for a good hearty breakfast. We are lucky enough to  live so close to Balboa Park so next, I’d take them to explore it. Sunset cliffs for sunset and finish up with Montebellos for dinner.

The second day we can wake up and go for a nice hike at Torrey Pines, grab some brunch at Morning Glory. If it’s a Wednesday night go to Panama 66 at Balboa Park for some drinks and live jazz.

The third day would entail enjoying the morning over a great cup of coffee at Communal Coffee. Exploring Old Town would be a blast; we would visit the shops and have some refreshing drinks and delicious food.

Day four we could wake up early and trek up Cowles Mountain and enjoy the view for sunrise. The rest of the day would be spent at the San Diego Zoo. Then for dinner, one of my favorite places to go to, Mongolian Hot Pot. If everyone was up for it, we would finish the evening with a drink at Raised by Wolves.

The morning of day five is spent at the Little Italy farmers market. If it’s baseball season, there is absolutely nothing better than a great Padres game. We can end the night with a night bar hopping at the gas lamp.

The last day would be the most relaxing. We can spend the morning at Mission Beach. We take the afternoon to get some bikes and cruise around, lastly visiting Bay View Park in Coronado.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The book “The Alchemist” had a major influence on my ambition. Santiago had the tenacity to follow his dream and fulfill his destiny. He was a dreamer and a seeker like a lot of us who start a business. Another big influence is the support and encouragement from Soraya. At first I was just doing photography as a hobby. After meeting So and finding out we shared the same ambition, for what we wanted out of life that’s when we started to hustle. She holds me accountable and challenges me to be better than I used to be.

My mother Patricia bought me my first camera; she was always my biggest cheerleader, my biggest supporter. She recognized my passion from humble beginnings and she continues to support my dream to this day. It is impossible to imagine where I would be without her.

Website: https://www.somarcollective.com/

Instagram: Somarcollective

Twitter: @SomarCollectvie

Facebook: Somar Collective

Image Credits
Photo credits to Somar Collective photographers : Mark & Soraya Allen