Faces Of New Bedford – #38: Carlos Araujo

Meet Carlos Araujo, 19-year-old photographer who spent his entire life in New Bedford.

His passion for photography came about one day when his cousin Kathy asked him to do a photoshoot for her and her boyfriend. She placed a camera in his hand and, with no prior experience, started shooting away. Although they weren’t the best photos she saw that he had a very great eye for composition and told him he should look into getting his own camera.

After saving for a few months, collecting all that he could form his checks from McDonalds, at the age of 16 he bought a camera and started taking pictures of his friends around the city. Soon after, he started making a business out of his photography, traveling to Boston and networking with photographers across the region. During the week he would balance school, soccer and his job and spend his weekends growing and perfecting his craft.

By 18, he had graduated high school and even started attended the New England School of Photography. One night, with no money or ticket in his pocket, he attempted to get into RCA Recording artist Los’ show, to hopefully photograph and talk with the rapper. He was able to get in and send the photos to Los, who loved his style and asked him to photograph the rest of his tour. The two became really close and Los offered him the chance of a lifetime, to come out to LA and become his personal photographer.

In the time between then and now, he has had the chance to work with artists such as Jeremiah, Lucas Coly, Justin Combs, P. Diddy, and Justin Bieber. He feels like the support he has back at home, from his friends and family during this journey have pushed him to be able to get to the places that he has at such a young age. He is constantly encouraged by the local artists and photographers, providing constant fuel for him to put New Bedford on the map as an emerging creative force.

“Knowledge is King!”

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com

Follow Colton on Instagram: https://instagram.com/simmonscolton