Kike San Martín
| Kike San Martin | |
|---|---|
 Kike San Martin in Miami, Florida. | |
| Born | Posadas, Misiones, Argentina |
| Nationality | American, Argentine |
| Field | Photography |
Kike San Martin is a celebrity photographer born in 1969 in Posadas, Misiones Province, Argentina. He has developed most of his photographic career in Miami, Florida, US, where he currently resides since 1995.
Biography
The reputable celebrity photographer in the entertainment industry started his professional career in the early 90s in Argentina. As a marketing student, San Martin was assigned a marketing campaign for a boutique he had an internship with.
This marketing campaign consisted of taking photos of young people in a casual setting wearing garments from the boutique to display in the store’s window.
The marketing strategy had an unexpected social buzz since San Martin was able to display the essence and spontaneity of the young people he photographed. Immediately, he was able to obtain the attention of the shoppers that would look at the photographs and in turn increased the number of clients to the store. The public’s reaction was not just to view photographs, but they were interested in buying them. San Martin remembers an experience that changed his life and introduced him to the magical world of photography: a young lady saw the photo of “the love of her life” on the display window and offered to buy the photo. San Martin accepted and sold what became the first paid assignment of his career. “That order changed my life. If she would have asked me to give it to her, I would have done it and I am sure I wouldn’t be here.”
Professional career
Following, Kike received an offer to work in a newspaper to show his spontaneous photographs in the Sunday supplement, and with the conviction that success comes with commitment and good attitude, he started his professional career. Uneasy and searching of new horizons, in October of 1995 San Martin travels to the United States where he decides to live. The first year was a tough one. He had to work in a factory and in a photography laboratory in Miami Beach. A year and half later pushed by his passion for photography he decided to reinitiate as a photographer and was able to obtain a freelance job in the newspaper “El Nuevo Herald.”
At the beginning he was assigned to cover social events and the glamorous life of Miami. One of the opportunities that were presented to Kike was to become paparazzi for Spanish photography agencies. During that period, San Martin achieved several exclusives. These photos gained him popularity by being invited to television programs and articles in magazines.
Later, Kike felt that his time as a paparazzi photographer came to an end and it was time to explore new areas as a professional; in searches for stability to form a family. He changed his priorities and decided to take a turn on his career and start as a commercial and celebrity portrait photographer, without a doubt a period where he had much to discover. He perfects his skill by taking lighting and dramatic portraiture classes in Hollywood, California and editorial photography classes in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Creative and disciplined, he starts to unfold his talent in every offer with the mindset that his “best job is the next one.”
Following his branding in the entertainment industry, San Martin begins to take more important assignments every time like soap opera posters and shows for international TV networks like Telemundo, Univisión, Mega TV and América Tevé and his powerful magazine covers for People En Español, Vanidades, Maxim, Selecta, Men's Health, H Magazine, Kena, Santo Domingo Times and Venue, among others.
There have been numerous celebrities that have posed in front of San Martin’s lens including: the popular MTV presenter Mario Lopez; the lead actress of "Rush Hour 2" Roselyn Sanchez; Miss Universe Dayanara Torres; the singers Gloria Trevi and Fanny Lú; the actor Eduardo Verástegui; and the singer Luis Fonsi; soap opera actors Mauricio Islas, Miguel Varoni, Catherine Siachoque, Aylín Mújica, William Levy, Jencarlos Canela, Mauricio Ochmann and Gabriela Spanic and the Latin American Idol winner, Margarita Henríquez, among others.
In the music world he photographed several album covers for Ricardo Montaner, José Feliciano, “El Puma” José Luis Rodríguez, Willy Chirino, Karime Lozano, "El Baby de la Salsa" Jerry Rivera, Alvaro Torres, Russian “Pop” singer Slava and the pianist Yanni, in addition to the book cover of music producer Kike Santander.
Considered a guru of Digital photography; along with his team, San Martin produces complex photo compositions of quality beyond measure. Among his selective clientele are Sony Music, Universal Music Group, NBC, Telemundo, Univisión, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Wannado City, Direct TV, Coors, Rafael Cennamo, Big Ox, Wonderfund y Avon, to mention a few.
Additionally, Kike is active in the media, he collaborates intensely as a special visitor and judge for the popular Univision show “Sabado Gigante” hosted by the legendary television host Don Francisco, in a segment titled “Academia de Reinas.” He also appeared on several occasions in television shows for Cristina, Maité and Alexis Valdés, in other channels of the small screen.
Current News
Today, he is a member of "The Recording Academy" and since 2008 he was a judge for the Latin Grammy Awards in the category of Packaging.
External Links
References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kike_San_Mart%C3%ADn
