Almost anybody can take a decent picture. Especially today with the latest camera phone can somebody create art. Which is why I have no problem with the fact that professional photography has evolved. The word "professional" is often confused with "hobbyist." Putting in the time, investing in your craft, credentials and history are what sets apart the professionals from the hobbyists. That said, I'm happy to get into how I fell in love with this type of art so many years ago and you can decide which of the two I am.
Colorado 1996, my dad bought me a disposable camera for Christmas. We developed the photos and whoa was that a high price to pay for a series of junk. I think there were two or three photos of my fingers covering the lens. I learned from my mistakes though and before I knew it, we were developing 4 and 5 cameras at a time. So my dad bought me a Polaroid camera. At $10 for 10 photos, that was short lived. That's when I learned to work with actual rolls of film because I could be trusted with a real camera. Hours spent in ad dark-room in college developing my own film by hand, I got a taste of what it means to be a photographer because my heart went into my work. I owe that beautiful experience to Social Documentary photographer Karl Dukstein. Fast forward to today and my experience has taken me to some amazing places and of course I now work with more state of the art equipment.
In my mid-twenties I spent a winter in New York City as a Studio and Communication Assistant for MikeRuiz.com. Mr. Ruiz mentored and showed me everything I know about studio lighting, fulfillment, managing talent and creating fashion & beauty pieces of work. He taught me how to be creative in not only Photography but also Marketing. After getting to photograph on the runway for some amazing Italian Designers under the Mercedes-Benz Fashion week tent, I decided it was time to move from NYC and try my hand in La La Land.
In 2013 I moved to Los Angeles, California where I still worked with Mr. Ruiz and assisted him in productions and working with amazingly talented professionals such as the music sensation Karmin, solo artist Christine W and actresses such as Marcia Gay Harden, Megan Hilty, Betty White and Katherine McPhee just to shamelessly name a few.
By 2015 I had moved back to Colorado and since the Beauty and Fashion scene was a little less live than NYC and LA, I knew I could bring a lot to the table if I started shooting more weddings, seniors, babies and commercial subjects: Food, Hotels, etc. Since moving back I have been commissioned to do work in Australia, Mexico, Canada and the Philippines. I love what I do and until now have I only worked by referrals. I want to take photography to the next level and photograph everything that I love to see through a lens. Some of my favorite photographers include David LaChapelle, Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, Bill Cunningham, Mary Ellen Mark, Gary Winogrand, Imogen Cunningham, Cindy Sherman, Diane Arbus, and Alfred Stieglitz. Just to name a few ;)
My goal using a photography as a way to express myself is simple: Feel what I felt when I saw what I saw. As a professional, I strive to create work that evokes emotion from my clients. I'll never forget after I photographed at Colorado Fashion Week when the father of a model that I photographed came to me (this guy was huge, looked like a pro football player) and said "I'm not going to lie, I saw that picture of my little girl and a tear may have rolled down my face. My little girl was a beautiful woman. Thank you for capturing that." - Shit, a tear almost rolled down my own face in that moment lol. Three quotes that keep me going are "He who seeks beauty shall find it" - Bill Cunningham, "Your first 1,000 photographs are your worst" -Henri Cartier-Bresson and finally "I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed." -Gary Winogrand.
-Eli Rodriguez