Mariel De La Cruz
1st Recipient of Level Up – a program of the APASF Diversity Committee
“Pan dulce, stuffies, toys, morning bevvies and cuddles. This image is often seen in marketing and almost always has a straight couple. Our beautiful little family here is meant to give our queer community a tiny slice of visibility.
The shoot was centered around family, our daily lives, and food. Because we drink almond milk too! I hope in my career moving forward I can bring representation to families of all different colors and languages and faiths, different gender identities and expressions.” Mariel De La Cruz
Level Up
Level Up is a program created by the Diversity Committee of the American Photographic Artists and its San Francisco Chapter (APA SF). The mission of Level Up is to create content development days for photographers who are underrepresented, traditionally marginalized, or who may struggle with access to professional crew and resources to make their ideas a reality and develop their photography portfolios in meaningful ways.
We were thrilled to be asked to help cast the first project awarded through this program, and our hearts warmed by the response from talent who offered to lend their time for this project, the amazing sponsors, crew, and of course, the photographer!