Kyle Serrano is a photographer here at Chaffey College encouraging community among photographers, and encouraging new photographers to pursue the art.

By Consuelo de Veranó

Kyle Serrano has a dual role here at Chaffey College. This Spring was Serrano’s second semester as a student, but he is also Photography Apprentice at the Rancho Cucamonga photo lab. His role there is to help maintain the lab and answer students’ questions regarding all things photo printing and darkroom.

As a teenager, Serrano started out by just taking photos on his smartphone. He noticed how much fun he had going around and taking photos and decided to invest in the art further. He saved up his money and bought himself a digital camera.

Even though Serrano started out in the world of digital photography, in the year 2020 he found himself gravitating more and more toward analog, also known as film photography. He began watching YouTube videos of analog photographers working with their craft, and he became intrigued by their process. He saved up once more, but this time for a 35-millimeter film camera, and he never looked back.

Serrano says that slowing down has been his biggest learning curve in analog photography, it is also one of the aspects that he appreciates the most. “When I was shooting on digital, that button was so accessible,” Serrano said, “you have the image right in front of you so you see what you’re getting. With analog, you actually have to stop and compose well…because you are not going to see that photograph until you develop it.”

Developing his photos in the darkroom will never get old for Serrano. Watching his photographs appear in the trays as the chemicals flow over the paper fills him with excitement. Serrano says that time flies by when he is in the darkroom and that he can spend hours working on his prints without realizing how long it has been.

Along with the peace of printing, Serrano also greatly appreciates the community built in the photo lab. “There’s a sense of peace and tranquility in there [...] community too. People are encouraging you on your work and just helping you grow as a photographer and as a printer. If I were to go through a darkroom by myself, I don’t know if I would be the same photographer as I am now.”

The importance of community goes beyond just being around people with similar interests for Serrano. He believes that for artists, it is detrimental to not have people that will critique and encourage their work. Both of those elements are key to growing as an artist and Serrano says that for him, he has also grown as a person.

Outside of the darkroom Serrano has noticed that he is much more observant of his environment because of working with analog. “In digital [photography], since you have the screen, you’re just shooting, shooting, shooting, you never really get to appreciate what’s in front of you. Now with being exposed to analog photography, I think I’m moving through my spaces with more hyper-sensitivity or awareness of what’s around me.”

Serrano mostly works with portraiture, so when photographing, Serrano says that he aims to “capture the essence of that person in whatever they’re wearing, in where they are photographed. So I mainly do environmental portraits and [capture] a peek into their soul.”

When it comes to scouting models, Serrano is drawn to people with a unique fashion sense. “Whether it’s someone who dresses like they are back in the nineties or back in the seventies…I think that is the first thing I am drawn to.”

Serrano, along with three of his peers are currently planning to open a community darkroom in Orange County, although Serrano stated that the official location has yet to be determined. All four of these photographers and darkroom printers are thrilled to open this community darkroom so that more people find and fall in love with the art of photography. “I want everyone to experience not only the darkroom, but the community that comes with that and the joy that comes with that too.”

Serrano encourages anyone who has an interest in analog photography to try it out. “It is a scary and expensive hobby, but it has been the most rewarding and life-giving hobby and art. I found myself growing as a person through it. I found myself loving people better through it. I highly, highly recommend it to everyone.”

Serrano believes that anyone can pick up a camera and learn the skill. The art of photography is not an exclusive one, and Serrano invites people from all walks of life with an interest to delve in and explore the craft.

Humans of Chaffey: Kyle Serrano