Efraín M. Padró is a full-time professional photographer specializing in nature and travel subjects. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Efraín speaks fluent Spanish and has led numerous photography expeditions to destinations including Spain, India, Morocco and Turkey.
Efraín’s work has appeared in Travel+Leisure.com, Geographic Expeditions catalogs, Frommer’s Budget Travel Magazine, and many other publications. He is also the author of The Photographer’s Guide to New Mexico and The Beginner's Guide to Magazine Photography: Professional Secrets for Fast Results, which ranked as a Kindle best-seller last year.
When not behind the camera or leading workshops, Efraín likes reading about history, art, and philosophy, and collecting antique maps (copies!). As a former bicycle racer, he still exercises every day and follows Le Tour every July.
Today: I travel to beautiful places to take pictures, teach or on assignment. I also teach locally. I am my own boss and enjoy my daily commute to the basement.
Love to: Get up early in the morning when nobody else is around.
Hate: Writers who use fancy-pants words when a simple one will do (For example, instead of “Know All Men by These Presents”, just say “Hey!”).
Favorite book: Selling the Invisible, by Harry Beckwith, was very helpful when I started my photography career.
I’m fascinated by the creative process. I want to understand it so that I can be creative myself and share my knowledge with others. During our photography workshop at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, we talked a lot about photo composition—something that will definitely help to improve your work. But I also encouraged attendees to […]
In 2002, I was in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile over the Christmas holiday. Because of the park’s isolation, changeable weather, and rugged terrain, hotel options are limited and camping is often the only way to be in the right place at the right time—when the light is at its best (first and last […]
“How we spend our days… is how we spend our lives.” — Annie Dillard Before I was a full-time travel photographer, I used to be a lawyer—a government lawyer to be precise. Back then, my former attorney colleagues and I used to joke that there were three kinds of closing arguments you could make to a […]
