Shooting For the Stars:
Celebrity Photographer Fernando Escovar

By Bianca Garilli

What do Carmen Electra, Traci Bingham, Lisa Guerrero, Brooke Burke, Eva Mendes, Pamela Anderson, Eva Longoria, Tom Green, George Lopez, and David Beckham all have in common? They’ve all been shot by Fernando Escovar – with his camera, that is.

Born in Los Angeles of Colombian descent, Fernando is probably one of the most engaging, friendly and creatively inspired people you’ll ever meet.

Growing up with a photographer for a father, it’s easy to imagine that a career in photography was Fernando’s destiny – his genetic fate as some might say. But photography wasn’t exactly what Fernando had in mind when he headed to the esteemed Otis-Parsons College of Art and Design in Los Angeles to major in fashion design. It wasn’t long after arriving, in his first year at school in fact, that Fernando’s future began to reveal itself.

Career Move from Design to Janet Jackson

He laughs at the memory of how terrible he was at his chosen major, “ I sucked at it! I was horrible at everything about fashion design!” Except the taking-photos part. That’s where Fernando showed his true colors; excelling at any project consisting of picture taking, picture developing, and marketing of the final product.

Nonetheless, he pushed forward in his fashion design schooling until the day a visiting instructor, attempting to convince him he was in the wrong field, asked Fernando to shoot her fashion line. The result inspired him to believe that maybe photography was the way to go. From that job he landed another, and another, until his part-time work as a freelance photographer began to develop into a full time career. With encouragement from family, friends and college instructors, Fernando made the decision to leave school and turn his full attention to photography. He hasn’t looked back since.

With plenty of work coming in from the automobile and swimwear industry, he was soon branching out into other arenas. Have you seen the Janet Jackson movie video, When I Think of You? You know that dark shadow of a guy holding her hand and performing some very cool roller-blade stunt sequences? Yep, you guessed it, that’s Fernando!

Fernando has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. There have been quite a few instances where Fernando was hired to perform roller-blading jobs in a music video until the producer found out he was a photographer as well. Fernando would find himself behind a camera on the same set where minutes before he had been performing gravity-defying movements on skates!

Kidding Around with David Beckham

Fernando loves life and his infectious, go get’em, happy-go-lucky attitude affects all who have the opportunity to be around him. I guess you could describe Fernando as a grown up kid. Ironically, that’s the way Fernando describes David Beckham as well.

“ I think that’s why we got along so well,” Fernando recalls as he tells of the time last year when he traveled to Spain to do a photoshoot of David, one of the most famous athletes in the world. “David’s like the Michael Jordon of Europe, or the world!”

Fernando says David was probably the biggest photoshoot of his life. Making things even more interesting, David overrode his publicist by baring his arms and torso, revealing his coveted tattoos for Fernando’s camera. You haven’t seen them? Don’t worry, check out the cover of “Hola” or “Hello” magazine, soon to appear all over Europe––the picture of David in his tattooed glory, snapped by Fernando, will be coming out shortly. A preview snapshot is available at Fernando’s Internet website, www.fotographer.com.

When I asked about his work with hot Hollywood models like Carmen Electra and Eva Mendes, he laughed and recalled the paradox of the whole thing. “You know, when I was in school for fashion design, one of the main problems my instructors had with my photography was that I made the girls too sexy.” I’m guessing that the Hollywood gals standing in front of Fernando’s camera today aren’t too worried about that!

Fernando loves working with people who like to have a good time and work hard. He puts a lot of stock into having fun with his photoshoots and making sure everyone around him is enjoying themselves as much as he is. On assignments, Fernando is known to have pulled quite a few practical jokes, usually on himself, to lighten the mood and get everyone ready for a long, hard day’s work. “The photoshoot always goes better when people are getting along and having fun. We get better shots that way,” he adds.

Tom Green? Well, it’s hard to even hold a camera long enough to get his pictures, Fernando admits. “He’s hilarious!”

Fernando’s work doesn’t just focus on celebrities, although that is a large portion of it. Commercials for automobiles and hair products, movie and television scenes, and lately, some music videos, keep this 39-year-old busy day in and day out.

He keeps his schedule packed by taking on projects with new and repeat clients such as TV Guide, the Mirage, Bellagio and Treasure Island Hotels in Las Vegas, Motor Trend, Max Speed and Max Power magazines. He shoots commercials for General Motors, MAACO, American Racing and Yokohama Tire, in addition to various assignments for automobile-related products.

Dice Films Lands SiTV Episodes

You might find all that exhausting, but Fernando is just warming up. He loves what he does and imagines his career and future becoming even more exciting, active and lucrative– this is just the beginning! Take for example the things he’s doing in his “free time”. Along with partner and producer Earl Crowe, Fernando directs his own television and music video production company, Dice Films. Dice Films started out as a small business but “small” doesn’t describe the swiftly evolving company today. Dice Films just sold the rights to 13 episodes of “Hollywood Hot Shoots” to SiTV.

I asked Fernando how this great opportunity transpired. Fernando jumped into the story, telling me how one day, in the middle of a photoshoot, he took a minute to look around. Hair and makeup artists, special effects crews, high-end equipment, celebrities and him––what a great story! What a great film it would make! “This is historic, me with all these celebs!” he recalls.

Hollywood Hot Shoots––mini-films depicting Fernando’s photoshoots from start to finish along with the fun, mistakes, long hours, and dazzling final shots––was born. As his creation flourished, he began to shop the films around to different producers. It was difficult finding the right company and person to buy the pieces, but one day during a routine photoshoot of Jeff Valdez for Latin Business magazine, a lightbulb went off in Fernando’s head. The rest is history. Jeff Valdez, SiTV’s founder, loved the concept and
bought the episodes. The first segment of Hollywood Hot Shoots is scheduled to air in September on SiTV cable network – don’t miss it!

And the story doesn’t stop here. Right now Fernando is wrapping up a music video soon debuting with Dimelo Records with Chino, famous for his salsa hits. Fernando and his company recently released a DVD called Photographing Cars 1.0 that’s caught the attention of amateur and professional photographers all over the globe. The step-by-step instructional video helps photographers nail the excellent, eye-catching and appealing shots automobile assignments demand. But it’s his soon to be released Photographing Swimwear 1.0 that’s really bringing the house down. Everything you ever wanted to know about capturing the beauty of a model in a swimsuit is in Swimwear 1.0. GQ and Maxim are among the many publications asking Fernando for first shot at running its debut press release.

With a head full of new ideas, better concepts, and enhanced methods for videos and photos, Fernando still keeps it simple by offering easy-to-follow advice for those aspiring to move into the field of film and photography.

“ Believe in yourself and your dreams, and shoot a lot!”

Fashion Predictions for 2006

As Fernando busily gets things in order to head out for a trip to Miami in four hours, I ask him about the latest trends emerging for 2006. After all, he’s the man to ask, working with the crème of the crop in a field of models, celebrities and fashion gurus.

“ Hmmm, well, girls in boots will always be in style. Every year it’s almost the same thing, cool looking skirts, boots and of course, jeans. Jeans are always in style. I know it’s not a great prediction but it just is what it is.”