Hristo Shindov
Professional Photographer

At first glance, one could mistake Hristo Shindov for a famous rock star. His long, curly, brown hair, commanding stature, and deep accent, begs the obvious question: “Hey, aren’t you big in Europe?” The truth is, if Hristo has his way, he will be big in Europe, but not as a rock star. Hristo’s goal, since earning his degree in Professional Photography from Brooks Institute a mere six months ago, is to become an internationally famous rock star photographer.

Although currently based in Los Angeles, Hristo hopes to settle somewhere in Europe, but not likely in his homeland of Bulgaria, where his interest in photographing “rock & rollers” began. Ultimately, his hope is to live and work ‘everywhere’.  “Establishing the work is most important to me now; where I live will be decided later,” he noted. And so far, Hristo’s done a formidable job landing work.

Hristo knows one of the keys to success in establishing a name in photography is making contacts.  In fact, it was his friends and acquaintances in the music industry back in Bulgaria that led to his career choice.

Hristo’s interest in photography evolved first as a business and less as artistry.  He formerly owned a photo processing lab and began to take passport photos to augment the business. Eventually, Hristo’s friends in the music business began asking for help creating their CD covers, posters and related promotional photography. As time went on, Hristo found himself evolving into a full-blown photographer, yet without the necessary training. “Before attending Brooks, I didn’t even know what apertures or shutter speeds meant,” he explained.

That all changed in September 2003 when Hristo left Bulgaria and enrolled in Brooks Institute.  He explained, “My first goal was to learn everything about photography because, I didn’t know anything.” 

During his first year, Hristo was open to all types of photography, although he found photographing what he calls “characters” most interesting. “If you look at most musician’s they’re all pretty much characters,” he said.

Then, following a prestigious New York City internship placement with renowned entertainment and fashion photographer Mark Seliger, Hristo knew his calling too.

He declared a specialty in advertising photography and began to shape his own signature style. Hristo’s work is already garnering notice for his signature use of green screen technology.

This method allows Hristo to shoot his subjects in the studio and then superimpose the image into a dynamic background he’s shot somewhere else, such as a stark desert scene. This technique was utilized during the recent photo shoot for the new cover of Steve Steven’s solo CD. Stevens is a Grammy-award-winning guitarist who’s most popular as the lead guitartist and music writer for Billy Idol’s band.

Hristo’s work with Steven’s is another example of making strong contacts. He met Stevens after photographing the rock star’s girlfriend, who’s also a Playboy model appearing on Steven’s CD shoot. 

Hristo also credits Brooks Institutes emphasis on marketing oneself on helping him to “make it” in the business. (Brooks offers both business and marketing courses as part of the curriculum.) “I use direct mail and phone call follow-ups as one of my main methods for recruiting jobs,” he explained. ”I have to compete with some big names, but it’s starting to pay off.” He was recently requested to shoot Seth Rogan, the lead actor in the new comedy “Knocked Up” for promotional spread in Alternative Press, a magazine which Hristo had previously worked for.

Today with a few famous clients to his credit, Hristo is well on his way. He knows the road is long and the work will be challenging, but with determination and talent he’s convinced he’ll get there. He also stays in touch with his mentor Bill Robbins, a Brooks’ faculty member and now friend. “Bill is basically ‘the man’, I learned more from him than anyone.  I learned to be a photographer.” Hristo credits several other Brooks’ faculty in helping get where he is today. “I am thankful to all of them,” he confessed. So until he’s famous too, we’ll just say to Hristo “Rock On!”

To learn more how you can train to become a photographer, or learn about any of Brooks' programs, click here.

To see more of Hristo’s work, check out Brooks’ online television commercial and his web site at www.shindov.com