01 FIRE
This striking image is the cover photo of Roberto’s best-selling book, Picture Perfect Lighting
Lens Schneider 40-80mm f/4.5-5.6 at 55mm
Exposure 1/400 sec, f/14, ISO100
THE TIME in LA is 8:30am in the morning, but Roberto Valenzuela has been up since the crack of dawn. “I have two kids,” he explains. “So, at 5am I’m up and running!” Home for Roberto and his family is Beverly Hills, the fabled address of Hollywood movie stars and a far cry from Tucson, Arizona, where he grew up and studied before moving to the Pacific coast 17 years ago. “Tucson is more like a place where people go to retire,” he says. “It’s a college town and there’s a retirement community, so if you’re not in college and you’re not retired, you’re in this weird between space that Tucson doesn’t really fit.” That said, his years in Tucson were pivotal in attaining the reputation he enjoys today as one of the world’s most influential photographers. While living in Arizona’s second-largest city, Roberto changed careers from high-school teacher to wedding photographer. In those early days, he shot about 70 weddings a year. “Now, it’s probably more like three!” The reason for the change, he says, was simply to devote his weekends to his two boys, who are now aged five and two. “If I spend my weekends doing weddings, I’m not going to have any time with my kids while they’re little,” he reasons. Nonetheless, Roberto is quick to counter any suggestion that he won’t be returning to wedding photography big-time at some point in the future…
02 THE AUDIENCE
Locals formed the extras for this fashion shoot taken on location in Mumbai, India
Lens Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM at 35mm
Exposure 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO100
Only three weddings a year now, aren’t you missing it?
I’ve missed weddings more than I thought I would. I shot a
