By day he’s a project manager in the oil and gas industry. When the workday is over, Floyd Gonzales grabs his camera and heads to the streets.
Growing up, Floyd was the “techie” of the family, snapping photos at family gatherings and events. Now his photo portfolio extends from Toronto to Manila.
By shooting almost daily, Floyd improved his photography skills and gained a following on Instagram, with over thirteen hundred followers as of today. By varying his subjects and by practicing his craft, Floyd’s body of work grew.
Over the past year, Floyd has taken his photography from a hobby to a side hustle and his pictures can be found from GQ to Rolling Stone Magazine – and locally with banners for Local Laundry (a local clothing chain) hanging up in Market Mall and Crossiron Mills.
Floyd says “photos show that you’re in the right place at the right time”. Even when he isn’t shooting for a client, he typically carries a camera with him anyway – and it pays off.
He’s even had Canadian indie rock band Mother Mother repost one of his photos to their own Instagram page – and all because he happened to capture the right moment.
Floyd credits Instagram as a key part of his success. Hashtags, tagging, and collaborations with other creators are great opportunities to get your photos onto other people’s feeds. Most importantly, it is a way to have your work do the talking for you.
In short, Floyd’s keys to killing the Instagram game are simple: shoot often and share your work.
Check out Floyd’s work @the_floyd_g on Instagram and watch the interview we took with him.