When I meet Yaril Rivera, the owner of Yarol’s Photo Studio, he smiles warmly after I immediately butcher his first name. Growing up in his native Puerto Rico, the idea of a photography career never crossed his mind. “I joined the Army at 26 and began as a pharmacy technician,” Riviera says. So how did he end up a photographer? “When I was in Korea I bought a nice camera – a Nikkon Z50 – and started taking pictures and fell in love with photography.” Since those early military days, he has become a Black Hawk helicopter pilot and is now a Warrant Officer. When he completes his military career, he will turn his attention fully to photography.

Yarol’s Photo Studio was established in May of 2023. Rivera’s photography is identifiable by his composition and clarity of shots. “The way I work with lighting is what separates me from other photographers in the area,” Rivera says.

He is now popular in Fayetteville for capturing the perfect headshot of all kinds of clients ranging from business owners to models. “I like to freeze the moment in my photography – an expression or a fashion statement. You can see feelings,” he says, “like the happiness felt at the time the photo is taken.”