Meet Leslie Mireles | Photographer

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

Hi Leslie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My junior year of high school I took 12 classes to finish my senior year a whole year early to chase my dreams. I did not know exactly what to do, I just knew I love film and anything that has to do with a camera, I went straight into the workforce after graduating in 2019. Luckily I lucked out from the 2020 covid chaos my senior year however working in a minimum wage photo studio in Jcpenny during a pandemic was not fun at all. I was taken advantage of but I did not know what to do as a 17 year old freshly out of high school at the time. Later on I became co-owner in a lil photo studio in my hometown. That is where my puppy Kovu grew up going everyday with me to be my co-worker I saved up money and traveled to Europe twice. I had not learned how to use manual mode on my cameras I had purchased prior of the trips. With the absolute stunning views and beautiful architectural buildings in Switzerland, Paris , and Hungary I had to learn how to use my camera. When I came back home I lost the little photo studio/shop we had. After being inspired with the photographs I captured out in Europe I decided to start my own freelance photography business. It’s what made the most sense to me. I began to photograph small business/entrepreneurs. I slowly began to understand the fundamentals of starting a business and it is began to grow everyday, It’s not always rainbow and sunshine everyday but that’s the fun part of it

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 began photographing in manual mode when I first traveled to Europe. Everything about the architectural and ambiance has inspired my photography. My goal in capturing everyones moment is to make it look as if you’re watching a movie. I tell a story with every photo.

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.
My cousin just recently visited me from Mexico and I took her everywhere around town. One day we took my doggie Kovu to Harveston Lake to walk around. We then all headed for a stroll Old Town Temecula where we went to look at all the cute little shops. We grabbed coffee at The Press as well as some protein shakes from Old Town Nutrition Shop to take home.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I had no idea how to start my own business, I found High Society Shave Parlor and began photographing the barbers there. I gained a lot of experience and new skills capturing their moment. I am beyond lucky I have now began capturing photographs and videos for my favorite gym clothing brand RPE. As well as where I get my hair done with Nicolasd.hair at Our Hair Spa. I have gotten to photograph so many wonderful families and couples and each one has made a huge impact in my photography journey. I can not wait to see what the future holds and am so happy I have the best support.

Website: kovugraf.com

Instagram: lesliemirl and kovugraf

Facebook: kovu Graf

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LeslieMireles/videos

Other: tik tok: lesliemirl & Kovu.the.schnauzer