Every quarter, we’d like to do something special for our registered photographers. We’d like to show our appreciation for their hard work and will be doing so by featuring a talented stock photographer in our blog.
This month, Aaron Hernandez is the topic of our talk; Aaron’s stock photography is creative and bold and he has a really clear idea of what a stock photography portfolio should look like.
We got in touch with Aaron to find out a little bit more about him and his story and were surprised to discover that he actually began his working life as a draftsman. Following a chat with the school’s career counsellor, he was nudged into the direction of technical drawing which offered teamwork and communication. “…The details of the drawings provided a lot of independence and individuality” too. However, as the credit crunch hit, Aaron was made redundant from his position in 2010.
After chatting with a friend just before being laid off, the term “stock photography” popped up. He was renowned amongst his friends for never being anywhere without a camera and had jokingly mentioned a few times about becoming a professional photographer. This conversation was pivotal in Aaron beginning to take photography more seriously.
And now? Aaron loves doing what he does and feels calling it a ‘job’ is insincere. Here’s what he said when we asked him how he felt about being a stock photographer:
“I enjoy the work I do tremendously because it allows me to be driven and committed, with the fruits of my labour going directly toward helping and sustaining my family. I am free to use my passions with limitless creativity. Plus, the variety in stock photography is refreshing, and the diversity is fun. I still work the long hours I did as a draftsman, if not more, but I work from home post-production and can still have a valuable and meaningful conversation with my wife and adult children.
To date, stock photography has given me precisely what I sought for so long in my career: variety, my own work schedule, opportunity for growth, many learning experiences, challenges, rewards, no office politics, and perhaps most importantly, joy.”
Aaron, we have no doubt, will have continued success in stock photography because of his talent, his passion and his willingness to continue learning. Thank you Aaron, for choosing Photofolio to support you!
The featured image in this article Scenic Seattle at Dusk is exclusively available on Photofolio as are many of Aaron’s images.