I always strive to evolve in my profession
Joan Corominas joined the Westend61 community in 2020 and has delivered stunning stock photography ever since. He loves photography and everything revolving around blend mode and shutter speed. His images often show strong characters and bright colors. We decided to pay him a digital visit and ask him about his work and inspirations.
Hola Joan! Thank you for doing this Interview. To warm up – when did you know you are a photographer, and what made you realize it?
Hi Westend61, thank you for inviting me to this Interview. Honestly, I don’t consider myself a photographer. I have always liked photography, and in 2011, I had to learn how to use a DSLR camera for work reasons. From that moment, I started to play with the parameters in manual mode, and in a few months, I began to study photography and composition.
You say you don’t consider yourself a photographer. Can you explain that further for us?
Of course! Before entering Westend61, I only took family and landscape photos. Once I knew how a camera worked and intended to take more and better images, I started to look into the commercial aspect of photography. When I applied to become a Westend61 photographer, I began thinking more in concepts and took photos of people outside my family. I had the advertising objective in mind whenever I was shooting and started integrating my editor’s advice.
There is more to see right here! Find more beautiful photos by Joan in our Webshop!
I believe that stock photography is not just about finding a model and taking some pictures. The preparation becomes crucial as you don’t know where your image might end up. It could be a sustainable campaign or a car commercial. To produce a good stock photo, you need to come up with a good, suitable location, the according to wardrobe, and finally, of course, understand how a camera works to get the desired result. But the latter is only a tiny part of the whole process.
The question everyone reading this blog is interested in: when and why did you decide to do Stock Photography?
I started uploading images to MicroStock at the end of 2018. I think I submitted about 300 photos. In 2020, I joined Westend61. For me, joining you guys was a turning point. At Westend61, you are not any other contributor uploading images. You are a part of the team as you have direct and personal contact with your editor. You are taken care of in one way, but you also feel responsible for trying to do things right. It makes you grow a lot professionally. I always strive to evolve in my profession.
When we scroll through your portfolio, the colors blue and yellow appear in your images constantly. Is that on purpose? Tell us about how important colors are in your photography.
I try to make my photos beautiful and transmit what I have in mind; colors are a potent tool.
You did a few productions with a young man with a leg prosthesis. There is one photo in particular that blows our minds. He’s jumping into the water without his prosthesis while you took a shot from the back. It’s a beautiful image. Can you tell us a little more about how this photo came together?
Thank you very much for the compliment! I’m so happy you see this image in that way. After finishing the session, I called a friend to share my excitement about the production. In this picture, I portrayed Marc, who is a swimmer. He is a very young person but with great mental maturity. We did the production at the end of September in the late afternoon, which was already very cold. I had Marc jump into the water several times to nail this shot. He showed great passion and courage that day.
Show us your favorite image you uploaded to the Westend61 Portfolio. Why is it your favorite?
I did a more extensive production for the Vista collection. I took advantage of a blocked road in the center of Barcelona to shoot on it. This image is very simple, but often less is more.
Where do you seek or find inspiration for your creative work?
Thanks to you, I have a potent tool to look into for inspiration. Westend61 periodically publishes an exclusive magazine for its collaborators with current and upcoming trends. I also pay a lot of attention to TV commercials to get a feeling for contemporary commercial trends.
Last but not least. We’d like you to highlight a photo or production from our portfolio that inspires you. Why does it?
This photograph by Katharina Mikhrin is beautiful to me. I think it conveys a lot in a very natural and sincere way.
Thank you for this Interview. We’re looking forward to your following images.
