By Christopher Pimentel, March 17, 2026
Going into his senior year of high school, Cal Poly Pomona student Thadeus Santos decided to take a photography class as an elective, not knowing the final project would help him find both a passion and a profession.
Santos has always loved cars and attending car meets in Northern California, so he decided to make his final project about car photography.
When Santos, who is majoring in kinesiology, isn’t in school or working toward his major-related job, he shoots photos of cars. At first, it was just a hobby, but once his work caught attention from car companies like Toyota, it became one of his professions.
“At some point, it became sort of therapy,” Santos said. “I get to be creative with what I shoot. I get to color how I want. It’s become my art.”
That freedom Santos described is what he said keeps him going every single time. When he is taking photos, he is the one in the driver’s seat since he can take any approach and be as creative as he wants.
Although Santos never sets any standards for himself, he said if there was one goal he wants to achieve, it would be to feel free.
“The photoshoot was very chill and relaxed,” said computer information systems student Matthew Gonzalez. “He took hundreds of photos and had many angles to shoot from, even if he only chose like 10 photos for the final product. That’s how you can tell he really cares about the quality of his final product.”
Even though Santos charges people for his time and effort, money is never the most important benefit of this hobby, he said.
“It’s more so about how I like to build connections,” Santos said. “I like to just have fun and just talk to people.”
Santos said he has been able to make connections through his work with many people he still talks to and hangs out with even after the shoot. According to Santos, these are a moral duty for him. He believes people need other people in their life they can trust and who bring joy to their lives and wants to do that with every person he works with.
“Thadeus is very calming and a friendly person to talk to,” said Keith Ma, a CPP alumnus. “He is very patient with his friends and clients and is able to chat about anything regarding cars or other hobbies.”
Not everything brings joy and creativity into life, so when pursuing a personal hobby, surrounding himself with people who bring the same uplifting energy is important, according to Santos.
By surrounding himself with the right people, he said he has been able to build his confidence. Even then, since Santos uploads his photos to a dedicated public Instagram account, he receives comments from people he doesn’t even know who also make him feel appreciated and recognized.
A comment Santos mentioned really boosted his confidence and solidified his hobby as enjoyable was from Toyota. Santos also said it felt surreal seeing all the comments he gets from other companies, such as Nissan, looking at his account and leaving something he can remember forever.
“Everybody knows these brands, and it’s like, ‘Oh shoot, out of the 1 million people that post photos of cars, they see your one thing,’ and it kind of gives you a spark,” Santos said.
Even with Santos’ newfound confidence, he understands photography is all about perspective, and there is always room for improvement. When looking at his journey and how he could help others along the way, he said it is important not to compare yourself to others. Everybody has different experience and natural skill levels.
“You got to learn to love learning, and you just got to love to learn the journey,” Santos said.
