Photographer Spotlight: Ginger Unzueta

Ginger Unzueta is a mother of three and part of a Marine family living in Central Florida. Ginger’s passion for life shines in her photographs, which capture some of life’s most precious moments. Her family and child portraits are stunning thanks to fantastic work with natural light, but it’s the photos Ginger snaps during military family reunions that simply leap from the screen. My first camera was… A point and shoot model I had as a child.  I really don’t remember a time in my life that I didn’t have a camera. My first “real” camera was a Canon SLR. I was enamored with all of its capabilities in comparison to a point and shoot. After we had our first child, we bought a DSLR Canon Rebel. I currently shoot with a Nikon d700.



I got started in child and family photography because… I wanted to share this God given talent with other parents. I realized not all families had the resources or time to capture the everyday moments of loved ones. I cherish these moments because time with our children goes by much too quickly. I feel like it is so important to record these events with your family and to “get in” the pictures, too. I need to be better about that myself. I wanted to become a photographer because… I don’t remember consciously ever deciding to become a photographer. I feel like it has always been a part of who I am. After we had our first daughter, I knew that I didn’t want to forget all of the milestones and amazing every day moments. I knew I had a lot more to learn to capture the type of images I was longing for. I began reading and studying and shooting as much as I could.

I would describe my style or shooting philosophy as… Real, authentic, and a bit nostalgic. I am a lover of gorgeous light. I love sun and haze. I want my photographs to tell a story. I want them to evoke emotion and to inspire families to continue to make such loving memories together. Some of my industry role models are… This question is hard. There are so many amazing people in this industry. I can’t say that I have studied any one photographer and dream to be like them, rather, my hope has been to evolve into my own style. Over the last year, I’ve been involved with a forum called the Bloom Forum. I can’t say enough wonderful things about the moderators and members. It is an awesome place for growth and encouragement. In addition, I recently participated in a workshop called Finding the Light. This was an amazing two months for me. The techniques and knowledge I gained on natural lighting were phenomenal.

I think photography is important because… We never get today back. It is a way to save all of those memories and, in an essence, re-live them over and over again. One family I photographed that I’ll never forget was… My friend’s reunion with her husband after his 10-month deployment to the Middle East. I knew firsthand the feelings she was experiencing. There is such a surge of emotions from nervousness, relief, and thanksgiving. There are not enough words to describe the surge of emotions both the deployed loved one and the family that’s been home are feeling. Capturing such a “real” and “intimate” reunion will allow for them to reflect years down the road on this life-changing experience in addition to sharing with generations of family to come. It is pretty amazing!

The one thing I want my child and family photographs to communicate to deployed mothers or fathers is… I want each photo to be a vivid reminder that family members are back home waiting for them and that, most importantly, they love and support them. Throughout my husband’s several deployments to the Middle East, he always cherished receiving photos of our family. No matter how difficult or busy his days were, seeing photos of the children and me made “everything” just fine for a short few moments. Although thousands of miles away, he was with us again as he viewed each picture…priceless! A dream gig would be… My husband and I have always said we’d love to go on a mission trip together. What a privilege it would be to capture photos of families in other cultures. There are so many people around the globe that have never seen themselves through photographs. This would be an incredible gift to share.