fotocommunity Supports Pharmacist Turned Professional Photographer In Launching Successful Second Career

fotocommunity Member Alexander Heinrichs Develops Friendships, Expertise, & Commercial Photography Business Through World’s Only True Virtual Community For Photo-philes

BONN, GERMANY – September 2008 – Photography was always important to Alexander Heinrichs of Aschaffenburg, Germany.  But it wasn’t until the former pharmacist found fotocommunity (www.fotocommunity.com / www.fotocommunity.de) that his hobby turned into an unexpected – and rewarding – second career as a commercial photographer.

“I took up photography in my younger years. Being thrown into the working world to sustain my livelihood, I had to abandon my hobby almost completely,” Heinrichs confirms. 

Encouraged by photographic e-volution
Evolving digital technology in the photographic industry eventually lured him back to his early love.  First, digital cameras came on the scene. While in school, Heinrichs had concentrated on landscapes and flowers; shooting, of course, in analog.  He followed the emergence of the digital medium, but it wasn’t until 2002 that Heinrichs felt the technology had created a truly quality device and was motivated to begin shooting again, this time in digital.
 
“Once digital cameras became better, I sold my analog equipment and began to photograph once more,” he says.

A year later, in search of like-minded people with whom to share his interest, Heinrichs discovered fotocommunity.  The timing was fortuitous. Andreas Meyer, a successful German-based multimedia entrepreneur, had taken a sabbatical in 2000 from his various projects to pursue his own love of photography through travel. When he looked to share his photos online, however, he discovered that even on an Internet rife with social networking sites, there wasn’t way or people with an intense interest in photography to share. So he launched fotocommunity.de in 2001 as a means of fostering discussion among discerning “photo-philes.”
Pursits when Heinrichs registered on the site in 2003, fotocommunity was well on its way to becoming Europe’s largest online meeting place for those with an interest in photography; and, in finding so many others as passionate about photography as he, Heinrichs also found the guidance to move his hobby to the next level.

“fotocommunity really helped me advance my technique and I began focusing more intensely on photo manipulation.  Instead of taking courses, I learned purely by method – self-study and experimentation,” Heinrichs reveals.

Indeed, Meyers and his dedicated staff developed fotocommunity as a social networking forum in which members can easily exchange photos, news, and detailed information about their likes and dislikes. Comments, photo postcards, chats, text forums, and linked pictures and profiles all help the site foster a community feeling.

Showcasing Success On fotocommunity
One reason interest in fotocommunity remains high among all levels of photographers is the site’s integral ability to act as a showcase for new work, a benefit that led to Heinrichs’ foray into professional photography.

“In 2004 I received the first inquiries, through the fotocommunity, from publishers and firms that wanted to use my pictures for their own advertising,” Heinrichs notes. “By the next year, I had set up my first studio.  I began taking small jobs with local and I presented my own personal photography as my portfolio.  I also began participating more intensely in area workshops with help from fotocommunity, which became a very good platform to further my success.  I consequently managed workshops during festivals sponsored by fotocommunity, and I also regularly held workshops on the subject of photo manipulation in my own studio”, he adds.

Heinrichs became so successful that by mid 2006, he began cutting down his hours in the pharmacy. Early in 2007, he moved into an expanded studio and his wife took over the pharmaceutical business entirely.

“I continue to generate much advertising work from local businesses.  At the same time, my body of work has expanded to encompass almost everything, including Beauty and Fashion photography.  Through the fotocommunity platform, my workshop leadership has continued to expand, and in the wake of that success, I also work as an editor for trade journals and publishing houses.”   Heinrichs is looking forward to giving his lecture at fotocommunity’s daily forums at stand B054/D055 in hall A in Cologne, Germany, September 23 – 29.

"Essentially, fotocommunity is responsible for my success and has helped me transform my hobby into a career.  I benefited in that I became able to advance my own photographic development, and also in that I gained recognition by firms and institutions, that I probably would not have had access to, otherwise,” Heinrichs concludes.

To learn more about Alexander Heinrichs, visit his website (http://tinyurl.com/6g68sm) or on fotocommunity where his photos reside (http://tinyurl.com/578fzy)

To learn how you can meet him and attend his scheduled lectures at Photoina, visit (www.fotocommunity.com/info/Photokina2008_program).

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