I photograph what time
would otherwise take away.

Hi, I'm Idaly — and getting here was anything but a straight line.

I grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico, spent nine years studying and working in business administration, and built what looked like a perfectly respectable career. I sat behind a desk from 9am to 7pm every day, surrounded by spreadsheets and paperwork — and I drove home crying more times than I can count. That life looked fine from the outside. It was slowly breaking me on the inside.

Then, almost by accident, I bought a camera.

I started watching YouTube tutorials, just curious. And somewhere between learning about light and composition and spending hours behind a lens, something clicked — not just in the camera, but in me. I felt like myself for the first time in years.

I took my savings, flew to Barcelona, and enrolled at the Institut d'Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya to study photography properly. I fell in love with the city and stayed for a couple of years, working as a photographer for travelers and tourists. I won't pretend it was easy — for a long time I felt like an imposter, someone who had abandoned a real career just because. I wasn't sure I was good enough to make this work.

But my clients told me otherwise. And slowly, I started to believe them.

I spent the pandemic in Barcelona, and when the world opened back up, I came home to Playa del Carmen — where I've been living and shooting professionally since 2020. Last year, I fulfilled another dream: I opened my own photography studio here.

Traveling changed how I see this work. I've visited more than 18 countries, and I know firsthand how hard it is to come home with photos that actually capture how a place felt — always asking strangers, always getting the same selfie angle, never quite getting it right. That experience is a big part of why I take beach and travel sessions so seriously. I want your photos of this place to feel like the real thing.

I wish I had more photos from before — before I lost my grandparents, before time moved the way it does. That feeling is part of why I show up the way I do for every single session.