Carmen Polanco Lugo has been photographing since she was a child, and she has always had a camera in her hand. Her grandfather gave her her very first camera, which was a basic automatic point-and-shoot model. Her family was overjoyed and willing to pose for her; they struck poses that made the photos appear candid, they willingly posed for birthday photos, and they struck every other imaginable pose! Polanco's encouragement from her family was instrumental in her decision to pursue photography.
Planning vacations to national parks on the East Coast was a summer tradition at the Polanco household.. Carmen would be eternally grateful for these trips because they not only brought the family closer together, but they also instilled in Carmen a passion for nature photography that she would never forget. Carmen recalls these family vacations to Acadia National Park and Biscayne National Park with fondness.