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.

In his own words:

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.

The Photographer’s Rule Of Thirds — What It Is And Why You Should (Mostly) Follow It

Like many things in life, photography has a set of rules that, if followed, will yield better results than not following the rules. This sounds very strict. However, and fortunately for us, photography’s compositional rules are more like suggestions. What constitutes complying with the rules is subjective… and breaking them once in a while is […]

As a travel photographer, you need to be prepared to work around common travel photography challenges

Bad Weather, Builders On Site, Doors Closed: How To Deal With Common Travel Photography Challenges

There’s a sign at the beginning of a trail in Rocky Mountain National Park that reads: “The Mountains Don’t Care.” In other words, even if you love nature and its beauty, nature couldn’t care less about you—so be prepared for anything. The same applies to travel photography. Even the best laid travel and photography plans […]