Meet Alfredo Hernandez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alfredo Hernandez.

Alfredo, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My Photography journey started 13 years ago. I was traveling through the United States for a job I had, I would see some beautiful places and meet all kinds of different people, personalities. So I started to buy recyclable cameras, the type that was 35mm film. I would shoot about 35-40 photos and then take them and get them developed. That’s when I decided to buy my first digital camera. I started with an Olympus E-3. It was perfect for my entry into the digital age of cameras. I began mostly shooting Landscapes and Sunsets. The best thing about living in Southern Arizona is there is no shortage of beautiful Sunrises and Sunsets! After a couple of years of primarily shooting Landscape, I wanted to start shooting portraits. I remember when I was traveling that I would meet so many different types of people and I would ask to take their pics. And surprisingly, they would say yes!

So I began asking family and friends to pose for me. At first, I was a Natural light shooter. Then I came across a YouTube video where Joe McNally was doing a tutorial on how to take Natural light looking photos with Flash? This blew my mind and it started me on a journey the would eventually lead me to where I am now. I never took photography classes, So everything I knew or learned was self-taught.

This presents many variables and obstacles that I had to overcome, but through lots of patience and a lot of Trial and Error, I began to understand how light falls and where it comes from and how it lights a subject. This enabled me to be able to manipulate light and eventually start to shape it and use it how I would want it to look in the photos I take.

These days I primarily shoot in the studio, but occasionally I still get out and do natural light photos because the client’s needs and wants are what I cater to. And knowing being able to use light to my advantage has helped me to achieve the look my clients are looking for.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
To say the road to where I’m at now has been smooth, would be a huge exaggeration! My biggest obstacle in learning photography was and sometimes still is time. When I started, I worked a full-time job, and I would love to say it was a Forty hour a week job, but it was almost always Fifty plus hours a week. So the free time that I had was shared between photography and family. There were times that I would not touch or even pick up a camera for months. I would make time and learn when I could through tutorials. I also joined Workshops and Photography clubs and Meet-ups to help me get in contact with other photographers that would inspire me to continue learning and cultivating my craft.

In 2017 I decided that I was going to cut the hours to 40 at my full-time job and have weekends free so I could dedicate more time to photography and start building a client base. Being in such a small market, because the City I live in has less than 70,000 residents proved to be more difficult then I realized! That led me to start shifting my marketing to the Greater Phoenix area and Tucson. This also had it’s disadvantages due to the market being saturated with fellow photographers. Using social media helped somewhat, but paying clients were far and in-between. I tried shooting the fads that were popular on social media, but that just made me blend into what was already a very niche style. By this time my work with Models was getting recognized so I began shifting my focus on building and working in that genre of photography.

Pease tell us about your work.
I am a Portrait photographer, first and foremost. I specialize in Portrait, Boudoir, and Fitness photography. My portrait work is, by far my favorite. It allows me to be creative and work with like-minded creatives in creating unique and individual works of art. Fitness and Boudoir are special to me in a different way. Through these genres, I help people, sometimes come out of their shells and discover a part of them that they didn’t know existed? The first time I ever shot a fitness session, the client called me after I had delivered the photos and told me that she never realized how beautiful and strong she could be.

To me, that is the highest compliment anyone could ever give me when they see how beautiful they are and I’m able to help them see it, gives me the greatest sense of accomplishment! I have a crew that helps me accomplish my work, to say that It was all me would be excluding the great talent that I use to help me deliver the finished product to my clients that they are proud to post on their social media sites and or Print and hang on their walls! This includes a MakeUpArtist and HairDresser. Occasionally I use Creative Consultants and of course, my assistants that always are helping me with setup and lighting before and during the sessions!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I would have to say that being able to interpret what a client is seeing in their minds and bring that to fruition is essential to my success. When I meet with a client and we discuss what they want their session to be at the end of the session is vital in how I will go about setting up and finding a venue that will lend to their ideas so that they will walk out of the session knowing that they were able to find a photographer that could help them bring their idea to reality. It could be as simple as setting up the studio to do a beauty shoot, finding a location that suits the needs of the client, or bringing in props that will lend to the spirit of the shoot.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 520-705-2313
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alfredo_hernandez_photography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pixelmagikphotography
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/eleganttouchboudoir/

Suggest a story: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.