Chapter 3: How I Became the Photographer Everyone in the Community Knew
Before the bookings… before the Bar Mitzvahs… I was scrubbing toilets. Then one day, still in my janitor uniform, I knocked on the synagogue director’s door and made a $50 offer that changed my life. No ads. No planners. Just grit, hustle, and straight-up initiative. This is how I went from invisible to booked solid — and what you better learn from it.
NO REFERRALS. NO ADS. JUST INITIATIVE AND A CAMERA.
You want the truth?
You want the real story?
Not that Instagram-filtered “how I found my passion” fairy dust. I mean the real grind.
Cool. Buckle up.
Because I didn’t start in a studio with natural light and plants hanging from the ceiling.
I started in a goddamn janitor closet.
And I didn’t get discovered. I dared someone to notice me. This is how I truly went from a 11$ hour janitor, to the New York Times calling me “Montreal’s Bar Mitzvah photography king”.
THE PITCH (STILL SMELLING LIKE BLEACH)
I had just finished scrubbing piss off a toilet seat when I marched my tired ass down the hallway of the richest synagogue in the country. Janitor uniform still on. No shame.
Knocked on the director’s door like I owned the place.
He looked up.
I said:
“Let me shoot all your events, every single one. Purim, Hanukah, concerts, whatever. $50 flat. Whether it’s 30 minutes or 4 hours, I’ll be there. Period.”
He blinked. I stood there like a statue with a camera-shaped dream and bleach still on my shoes. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Him saying no? Hell, if there’s one thing I now, is that if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
And somehow, he said yes. He. Fucking. Said. Yes.
But I wasn’t done.
That same building had two schools.
So I hit up the directors and made the same pitch. Same energy. Same price. Same janitor uniform. Let me say it again for the photographers in the back: same damn uniform.
They said yes too.
WELCOME TO THE LOOP: SHOOT, CLEAN, REPEAT
This is where most people fold. Where the dream dies because “it’s hard” or “not sustainable.” Hell, if it was easy, everybody would do it right? I am one of the few. Snd if you stick with me, so will you.
I cleaned for 8 hours a day. Then I changed shirts, picked up my camera, and photographed events into the night.
Kids’ concerts. Conferences. Candle lighting. Clown shows. Torahs and tambourines.
Then came back the next morning to clean up the juice spills from the party I just shot.
You ever mop the floor under your own tripod marks? I have. And I did it with pride. Still sucked tho.
No ego.
No whining.
Just mission: get seen, get booked, or die trying. Repeat. I’ll sleep when I die.
THE BUSINESS CARD GRAVEYARD
Every event, I handed out business cards like I was Oprah giving out cars.
“You get a card. You get a card. You too, here’s my card”
Did most of them end up in trash bins? Hell yeah.
Did I care? Absolutely not.
I wasn’t looking for everyone.
I was looking for one.
One parent to see me.
One person to keep the card.
One call that could crack the door open.
Seven. Freakin’. Months.
Seven months of showing up, handing out cards, getting nothing.
Then my phone rang.
And the parent on the other end said something I’ll never forget:
“I’m planning my son’s Bar Mitzvah”
Boom. All that showing up repeatedly in every event, finally paid off.
And after that the occasional birthday party, sweet 16, family session. But nothing big enough yet to really make me stand out. And then it happened.
THE BIG ONE: GRADE SIX OR GO HOME
A year and a half in, I got a call from one of the schools.
They were planning a graduation for the Grade Six class. 48 kids.
And if you know, you know: Grade Six = Bar Mitzvah breeding ground.
This wasn’t a job.
This was warfare.
A six-hour event.
One portrait of each kid.
One DVD delivered to every single parent.
That’s 48 DVDs for those counting, and yes, I burned them myself like it was 2003 and I was bootlegging Jay-Z albums.
I charged $1,000. Which was stupid cheap.
But I wasn’t thinking about profit. I was thinking about positioning.
That night, I was everywhere.
Fast.
Funny.
Loud.
Directing parents. Hyping kids. Telling jokes. Working like I was auditioning for SNL with a camera in one hand and a lightstand in the other. I was an Apex predator and that was my hunting ground.
I wasn’t just shooting. I was owning the damn room.
Out of those 48 kids?
I booked TWENTY Bar Mitzvahs.
TWENTY.
No Instagram ads.
No planner referrals.
No influencer shout-outs.
Just hustle, personality, and a reputation I built with my bare hands.
AND THEN I SAID…
And that, my friends, is how I climbed the damn mountain,
planted a flag with my name on it,
and yelled:
“This bitch is mine now.”
WHAT YOU BETTER LEARN FROM THIS
1. Get in the Room, Even if You’re Mopping It First
You can’t win the game if you’re not even on the field. Be around people. Proximity creates opportunity. Knock on doors. If those doors don’t open, try again tomorrow. Quitting isn’t an option.
2. Stop Waiting for Perfect. Start Doing Shit.
No one cares about your logo or your website font when you are starting. Take the gig. Build the rep. Refine later.
3. Play the Long Game
Seven months before one call. You willing to play that long? Or you quitting after two weeks of crickets? Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself that question. Every single day.
4. Every Event Is an Audition
I didn’t shoot like it was “just a school event.” I shot like Spielberg was watching. in this case, 48 Spielbergs and three families.
5. Be Unforgettable
You don’t need to be the best. Be the one they remember. Make a mark. Create an impression. Be “the one”. don’t be afraid to “be special”
Final Word
You say you want to make it in photography?
Cool.
But don’t talk to me about gear, or presets, or Instagram reach, until you’ve handed out 200 business cards and picked your soul back up off the floor after the 199th gets ignored.
Hustle isn’t cute.
But it works.
Now get back to work. Because this?
This is the Braulio Way. And if I made it, why can’t you? What’s stopping you?
– Braulio Rocha
The Braulio Way™
Along the way, I made many mistakes that cost me years and money. Not everything was pretty. In my next chapter I will talk about things you should do (That I didn’t, out of ignorance) so that your journey isn’t as hard as mine was. It really doesn’t have to be. We will dive more into marketing and the business of event photography, and how you make real money in a shorter amount of time, than me. Stay tuned, and as always, don’t forget to drop a follow on my instagram for its reels, as well as subscribe (free) to my YouTube channel. Links below.
Instagram- www.instagram.com/rochastudio
Youtube- https://youtube.com/@thebraulioway?si=sfPVOylgY2244dZX