Went From Being Homeless to Becoming a Commercial Photographer 10 Years Later

Hi. My name is Scott and I'm a photographer based out of Los Angeles, CA. I'm best known for my landscape and street photography and now working with major brands from all over the globe. I'm also known as the Instagrammer @losangeles.

So where do I start?

I wasn't always into photography. I dabbled with it in High School, but it wasn't a real focus for me. High School was sort of a blur. I didn't get the best grades, I hung out with the wrong crowds, and developed a substance abuse problem at an early age. 2007 was rough for me. By the time graduation came around my parents had kicked me out because of my drug problems. I couchsurfed and hitchhiked to different cities and my lowest point was actually living on the streets. I used to sleep in bushes because I was afraid of someone recognizing me. I felt ashamed.

Eventually I went to the East Coast where I had started to get my life together. After a failed stint in NYC and Boston, I moved to Baltimore where I found a job as a server at Mimi's Cafe. It was great! I was 20 and had found independence. Sure it wasn't a career, but it beat sleeping with strangers. I hadn't kept in touch with my parents much, but one day I got a call from my mom. She told me she had cancer again. It was her 3rd time fighting. She also told me that my dad had left to Brazil with another woman and had filed for divorce. Even though I never had the best relationship with them I still had to see my mom. I didn't know if it was going to be the last time seeing her.

Coming back to LA was emotionally draining. My dad was real douche and my mom was dying. It was 2010 - I didn't have any friends and I didn't know what I was doing with my life. I had a shitty job working at a grocery store and living at home sucked because I had to deal with what was going on. So I got an apartment downtown. I loved it there. It was cheap, the people were weird, and the architecture reminded me of the East Coast. It was like I had never left my happy place in Baltimore. I had just discovered Instagram and was taking pics all over my neighborhood. Most people think of LA as a beach haven with palm tree lined streets, botox shops on every corner, and with celebrities finding themselves in new scandals. But Downtown LA wasn't like that. It was old and forgotten with a ton of history. And in my free time I would sneak into the abandoned, dilapidated buildings, everything left as untouched since they were closed to the public. People on Instagram were loving it. Who was this guy exploring this lost side of LA? But really, it was my way to forget what was going on in my life and using my curiosity to learn more about my neighborhood.

I got dubbed an urban explorer. I was hitting every roof, I was finding abandoned places, I was helping to set the trend. I'd go to any lengths, any height, whatever it took to get that photo. I had to do it for the gram.

At this point, urban exploring was a real trendy thing. I mean honestly, you could only do so much of it in LA. People in NYC were getting wayyyy more attention for it which seems to be a thing regardless if they're not the pioneers behind it. There were stories of people falling off buildings or getting arrested. It just didn't seem like something it was worth risking anymore. I mean, I did it already. Why do it more? So, it was time to start a new trend. Quit doing it for the likes, start doing it for a career. Little did I know that I had some established industry people following me. An editor at Los Angeles Magazine and been keeping up with my work and hired me to shoot my first assignment. My first real freelance job!

Well, it wasn't really a job. I did it for free, but the exposure helped a bunch. Next thing I knew I was on Univision. I was on national television over pictures. Crazy right?! I mean I was just homeless a few years ago. It's 2014 and I started to feel like I had purpose again. What was once something I was doing for fun was helping me find new opportunities.

I did a bunch of other stuff for free or for little pay, but I was getting experience and it would eventually help me get to where I wanted to be. I met my mentor a year later who worked as a consultant in social media and advertising. Having her around really helped sculpt an idea and find a direction I wanted to go in. Once I had more concrete plans I started finding opportunities with larger clients. I worked on a social campaign with Shell Oil, I produced artwork for a Coors Light billboard, and I even worked with Tyler, the Creator.

I started coming up with rates for myself but I wasn't quite where I wanted to be. I learned that even though my specialty was landscape photography, it wasn't helping me get the jobs I was looking for. Tough lesson to learn, but just because you're Instagram famous doesn't mean you're hirable. I started interning with a well known shoe customizer named The Shoe Surgeon. I would his projects and in return he would let me experiment and gain experience in product and fashion photography. Eventually through him I would become connected with one of my dream brands, Adidas. Working with him taught me that if you try hard enough and you're willing to build relationships with people you can get somewhere. I created a portfolio and started pitching my ideas to people.

You know, when you're first starting out people don't tell you how small the industry is, but it's really small. A lot smaller than you think. My Coors Light job came from being suggested by the agency who hired me to do the Shell Oil campaign. And I learned that it was absolutely true that people keep tabs on you and you should always be chill with people. Most of my jobs come from people just recommending me. I still hang out with my clients till this day. We'll go out for drinks or grab dinner and it's really all about maintaining relationships. And when they hire you make sure you exceed their expectations. Don't ever let them doubt that you're great at what you do and that you're an amazing person to be around. Just be yourself.

I'm still not quite exactly where I want to be. My dream is to run my own creative agency someday. I don't think I'm the most creative photographer out there nor will I pretend to be, but I do think I'm ambitious and a hardworking individual. I set goals, I make plans, and I execute to the best of my abilities. I want to help find creative individuals who might not have social media clout, but are extremely talented and provide them with a platform where they can make a living doing what they do best. Instagram has been wonderful because it help me learn that I was capable of doing more with myself. I hope if anyone reads this that they find inspiration and to never give up because you really don't know what's around the corner.

My name is Scott Reyes. I'm a photographer based out of Los Angeles, CA. My clients include Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, and GoldenVoice. I'm also the Head Photographer at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall near USC. You can visit my website at www.4thandspring.com.