Meet Alejandro (Alex) Martinez | Photographer | D.P.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alejandro (Alex) Martinez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alejandro (Alex), what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
“Those who can’t do, teach.” I hate this saying. Also, it’s incredibly disrespectful to teachers. If you think you are good at something, teach it, and you will quickly discover how little you know.

Years ago, I thought I was a hot-shot photographer regularly shooting on-model for L.V.M.H. That same year, I was approached to teach photography part-time at a college in California. I barely held it together that first week of instruction as I was inundated with great questions and perspectives that I had never considered. If they only knew the frantic googling that I was doing in-between classes. I held that part-time position for four years, and when my time was done, I was twice the photographer I was when I started.

If you think you are good at something, you are morally obligated to teach it. Not just for the next generation but for yourself as well.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a professional photographer who went to college, majoring in Fine Art and Philosophy. My vision was to work as a photojournalist and eventually land a magazine contract or work for the New York Times. And then the digital revolution (are we still calling it that?) made quick work of that career path and gutted publications of their creative budgets. So I had to pivot toward an industry experiencing growth and had a desperate need for photographers; fashion. But let’s be honest, it’s really e-commerce.

My skillset from college and years of assisting actually translated very well to the world of fashion. My brief background in merchandising and marketing from college came in really handy as well as I could speak the language of the clients who needed me and be a better listener.

Today my clients range from medium to large direct to consumer brands. Some you know, and others you will. I shoot fashion and lifestyle, all with an emotional albeit subtle twist. My goal is to blend art and commercial art to help my clients differentiate themselves a grow.

Fashion shots have a history of making people, especially women, feel bad about themselves. I don’t want my photographs to play on people’s insecurity to move product. My work is intended to have a layer of optimism, nostalgia, and even humor. But this was not always the case.

Early in my career, I noticed that every client didn’t care about being different; they just wanted to take the same photograph as everyone else. And what did I care as long as the invoices were being paid right? Wrong. I was a people pleaser with no voice at the table. This is a trap that stagnated my career. Please learn from my mistakes.

That is a bit of a tangent, but an important one that illustrates one of the many strange paths a career can take that changes you. One client wanted to be different, Nasty Gal. I only shot for them twice, so I take zero credit as photographer Paul Tribbiani deserves all of it. Still, after my brief time with that team, I saw how emotionally invested the team was in producing work that you can hang on your wall as art while also growing a business. Paul and his team’s work didn’t bring more customers to the business; it created a fan base, and a loyal one at that. This stuck with me for years.

The creative ground constantly shifts under you. That’s a good thing though highly frustrating at times. The only constant you have is knowing what makes you, you. Why are you different? What do you bring to the table? What excites you to pick up that camera. Students and young photographers obsess over defining their style. I did, too, but now I see that as a trap. My biggest challenge is defining and redefining myself as a person, not my style. Your style is a product of you.

Today I am very picky about the jobs I take.
If a creative brief leaves me no room to be me, I’m out.
If the shot count forces me to cut too many corners, I’m out.
If I am not genuinely excited about at least one shot on the shotlist, I’m out.

If the client doesn’t hear me out, they are not booking me for me; I just happen to fit the budget, live nearby, and am available.

It’s not about the money anymore, and it should have never been. It’s hard to say no to jobs, especially during a recession (been there) and a pandemic (been there too), but you have to draw the line somewhere. Shout out to Chris Do for driving this point home for me.
Chris Do Link {https://thefutur.com/team/chris-do}

The flip side is when I am emotionally invested in a shoot, I move mountains for people. Suddenly, my rate is way more flexible, and the quality of work up and down the shotlist skyrockets. These types of shoots are what I strive for, collaborative creative jam sessions where a 10+ hour day flies by.

Nothing, I mean nothing about working for yourself is easy; I’ll be damned if it’s not an adventure worth taking.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am actually kinda famous for this in my circle of friends. A group of three close friends from New York wanted to visit me in California but didn’t know where to start.
I had them fly into SFO and out of LAX. In between was a week-long road trip down the coast, highlighting the best California has to offer. I even gave them an impromptu surf lesson, which was a disaster (remember what I said about teaching something?)
Our food itinerary included only Mexican food, as NYC is still woefully deprived of though some progress has been made. We saw a live show at Pappi & Harriet’s and got kicked out of a club on the Sunset strip. They learned the difference between a Mission burrito and a San Diego-style one. They learned how overrated winetasting is in Napa and the wonderment that is Joshua Tree. When it was all over, I slept for a month.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This is a tough one. Here are just a few that come to mind at the moment.

1- Producer Randall Todd taught me that no matter the budget, every shoot deserves its due diligence from all parties involved. Money is nothing without focused preparation from the key stakeholders. He also introduced me to a little coffee shop named Blue Bottle Coffee in 2007. Thanks, Randall
https://www.linkedin.com/in/randalltodd/

2- Everyone makes mistakes; few actually own it.
My manager at a custom print lab, Karen Henderson, taught me that if you make a mistake, own it right away without equivocating. Explain what happened and what you will do differently next time. Do this, and your credibility and confidence will sky-rocket.

3- Unrelated to photography is a Director Of Ops named Bernard Miller. Bernie was direct and honest, and he got results while being polite and professional. He was confrontational, but it always came from a “we are all in this together” kind of compassion. Bernie showed us kindness and empathy brings out the best in ourselves and others. He did all this while running a start-up of 300 employees that grossed $1million a week in sales during the holidays.
Today if I encounter rudeness on a project, I see it as the best indication of insecurity and fear…and then I raise my rate. Thanks, Bernie.
https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=bernie%20miller&origin=GLOBAL_SEARCH_HEADER&sid=yW%3A

ersonalAlejandroAlexMartinez__

Website: https://www.photosophic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photosophic/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandromartinez/