Passion to Profession: Elevating Commercial Photography Work

Join us for an insightful discussion with APA member and photographer Stefan Falke! Discover how Stefan used personal projects to elevate his commercial work. He’ll share tips on structuring your projects and navigating the challenges that may arise. Don’t miss this inspiring evening!

Photographer, Stefan Falke

I worked as a set photographer for many years and I credit the time working on movie sets with the most important time for becoming a professional photographer. Besides getting gigs from the film studios in the 90s I started my first long-term photography project about a stilt walking school in the Caribbean titled "Moko Jumbies: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad". The photos were shown at the prestigious photo festival "Visa Pour L'Image" in Perpignan/France and the book - my first - was published in New York in 2004.

My personal interest shifted to the US - Mexico border a few years later where over time I photographed about 200 artists on both sides of the 2000 mile long divide in order to shine a spotlight on the vibrant cultural activities on both sides of this bi-national region and to counter most US politician's and international media's narrative and their sole focus on violent crime and illegal immigration. The book about that project, "LA FRONTERA: Artists along the US Mexican Border", was published in Germany in 2014.

My latest personal body of work about the - almost - empty streets of New York during the challenging year of 2020 resulted in the self published book Keep Going New York !! which won awards from ASMP, Communication Arts, IPA and the Xposure International Photo Festival in Sharjah, UAE, and led to a major advertising assignment in New York City. A wonderful photography project for the Major League soccer club D.C. UNITED (photos here) followed.

More information about at Stefan Falke

My newest personal project is called “Reflecting New York” see more here:

See Stefan’s latest book here: https://www.stefanfalke.com/Projects/Reflecting-New-York/thumbs

All stills are the property of Stefan Falke.

APA New York is the Northeast regional chapter of American Photographic Artists (APA) the country’s leading non-profit advocate for commercial photographers. We organize events, negotiate benefits for our members, hold seminars, promote our members’ work, organize photo contests, and much more. APA’s mission is Successful Photographers.

Our goal is to establish, endorse, and promote professional practices, standards, and ethics in the photographic community. We seek to mentor, motivate, educate, and inspire in the pursuit of excellence. We aim to champion and speak as one common voice for image-makers in the photographic industry in the United States and the World.

If you are a professional/emerging/aspiring/student photographer based in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, or Vermont, get in touch and find out how joining APA|NY can help you and your business. Find out more about the benefits and requirements of joining .

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