With her evocative portraiture taking up space with attitude, Cruz Valdez has articulated her visual perspective while building an impressive portfolio shooting for Purple, Dazed, and Interview Magazine. Born in California, Valdez created a fashion blog as her main fashion outlet until the magnetic force of New York City brought her east – a move that continues to inform her photography career and growing creative community. As she’s fostered connections, her photographic practice has evolved, primed by her experiences operating in downtown New York while navigating the ever-changing landscape of the industry. Varying from vivid colorscapes to monochromatically contrasted, her work has elevated conscious queer beauty and trans expression in high fashion spaces. Valdez sits down with Models.com to discuss the importance of energy and working with her community in front of and behind the camera.