Rick Starkman is a professional San Diego commercial photographer with over 20 years of experience. Based in Encinitas, Rick specializes in high-end food, biotech, pharma, product, and fitness photography for advertising agencies and brands throughout Southern California. From his dedicated home studio to complex location shoots, he delivers technically precise imagery that drives engagement and sales.

I can trace my career as a commercial photographer back to a defining moment when I was about 15 years old. I was hanging out at a friend’s house killing time—this friend was a gangly oddball who spent his non-school hours padding around his house in a t-shirt and loose-fitting sweats, an electric guitar slung around his neck like some oversized religious medallion. Our rambling conversation took a turn towards photography when he mentioned that he had just gotten a new Petri camera and asked if I would like to see it.

It was the first SLR camera I’d ever seen or handled. I was immediately seduced by its tactile qualities: its surprising heft, and the polished sleekness of its metal and glass components. It was when I tentatively held it to my eye, however, that the real affair began. I can’t fully explain exactly what I felt at that moment, but I knew something just felt right.

I built my first home darkroom soon after that with a donated enlarger that had seen better days. The first time I took a sheet of photosensitive paper, put it beneath the enlarger, slipped it into the developer, and watched as the image slowly appeared, was magical. To this day, I have never lost that profound sense of excitement, awe and satisfaction when creating an image, and my passion for my craft only grows stronger over time.