BEFORE I EVEN KNEW IT
PHOTOGRAPHY WAS ALREADY THERE
I've always noticed things that often go overlooked: a flower along the roadside, a particular shade of blue in the sky, or the way someone laughs when they forget anyone is watching.
I think that's why, long before I ever considered becoming a photographer, I was already taking pictures of whatever caught my eye: friends, places, food, and everyday details. I wasn't trying to become a photographer. I just liked holding on to a little piece of those moments, knowing that things wouldn't always stay the same.
As I write this, I remember something from about seventeen years ago. On one of our first dates, my husband asked me what I loved most. Without giving it much thought, I answered: photography. A few months later, while we were walking through a book fair in Havana, he came across a magazine about Tina Modotti and gave it to me. He told me he hoped that one day I would follow that dream and become a great photographer.
He saw something in me that I hadn't quite recognized in myself yet.
Today, I know photography had been there all along. It just took me a little longer to understand how much it meant to me.
When my daughter was born, taking pictures began to mean something different. I photographed her first days, the first time she sat up on her own, her first steps, and so many everyday moments I thought I'd always remember.
Years later, when I look through those albums, I find little gestures and expressions I'd forgotten. I don't just see how much she's grown; I also rediscover what our lives were like at each stage.
I couldn't stop her from growing up, and I wouldn't have wanted to. But those photographs held on to details my memory might have let slip away.
I think that's when I realized photography wasn't just something I enjoyed. It was also a way of paying attention to the life I was living.
The truth is, the name was around long before the business. For years, I kept hearing the same thing from friends and family: "Hey Lisbeth, can you take a picture?"
When it came time to name my photography business, choosing those familiar words just felt right. I didn't want anything complicated or overly elaborate. I wanted something simple, friendly, and genuinely connected to who I am.
And that's how Hey Lisbeth Photography was born.