‘Chasing success’
Bridgeport photographer/model featured on Vogue site
Born and raised on the east side of Bridgeport, Hector Rodriguez’s image has traveled the world without him ever leaving the tri-state area. The Nutmeg State native’s self-portrait modeling photos have been picked to be featured on a highly-selective global Vogue photography website.
Rodriguez, who now lives in the Bronx, was first featured in Photo Vogue, a platform for photographers to showcase their work, in January 2019. The photo he submitted was a self-portrait that shows Rodriguez with paint covering his face while his eyes are closed. Later that year, three more of his photos were chosen. Today, he has had a total of nine self-portraits featured on Photo Vogue.
“I found out about [Photo Vogue] through word of mouth, through a photographer that I was working with that you could submit your photos online,” Rodriguez said. “I try to submit as much as I can weekly.”
Rodriguez gained an interest in photography through photographer and model networking meetups set up by @thephotoplug on Instagram, around Connecticut around 2017. He serves as the model for his own photos because he wanted to create and direct his own vision and bring it to life, adding that he
goes for a vintage aesthetic and likes to have green and orange tones in his photos. While in front of the camera, he is always thinking of poses and camera angles to make sure the shot is taken correctly with the help of others and using a tripod.
“I know what I’m going for,” Rodriguez said. “You not only have to listen to the shutter of the
lens but you need to come up with poses while being in front of the camera. I have to make sure it is high enough since I’m tall and that’s where the help from others come in.”
Rodriguez noticed that the pictures that have been selected on Photo Vogue have a certain look. He said a lot of his vintage inspired images have been chosen rather than “photo of you sitting on a staircase in the middle of the hood.”
“They want to see that you put in the work behind the scenes before you submit,” he said. “As far as shooting wise, I’ve always liked portraits, landscape views, sightseeing and cities. You can have a whole roll of film and only one picture comes out good. If the sun is too bright or some water hits [it can ruin the shot.] There are so many steps to it.”
To submit a photo, Rodriguez sets an alarm every Monday to meet the 3 p.m. deadline through Vogue.com. “It takes up to 24 hours for them to make a decision or two minutes if they do not like it. At least from what I have experienced,” he said.
Rodriguez kept submitting photos since his first one got chosen — and he’d get rejected. “I went from four photos being chosen in 2019 to not getting a single one chosen for three years,” he said.
But he says his background growing up in Bridgeport gave him “tough skin” and prepared him for rejection in all his career choices. He said he could have felt discouraged but he used it as motivation and would take notes on the pictures that did not get chosen to see how he could improve.
In 2022, his career picked up again. He has had a total of five photos selected since 2019, and this has helped him connect with others in the modeling industry.
A picture of him sitting at a diner wearing a black jacket was chosen “Best of PhotoVogue,” which means it is one of the top looked at and downloaded images from the website.
“Getting chosen for that category means so much,” he said. “I just remember being bullied for being gay in high school and now I am in Vogue for being myself and doing something I enjoy. I am representing the Puerto Rican and LGBTQ+ community.”
Rodriguez takes pride in representing the LGBTQ+ community; a photo of him at The Color Factory in New York City with the caption, “Been the you, you’ve always been proudly” was chosen in February 2023. And he recently did a stock photo shoot for the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
Rodriguez is also an actor, signed by Dave McKweown from Edge Entertainment Management. McKweown has also been a manager for The Jonas Brothers, Dascha Polanco from “Orange is the New Black,” Devin Druid from “13 Reasons Why” and others.
“I have auditioned for shows on HBO and Showtime and have not been selected, but that is not going to stop me from keeping this going,” he said.
For Rodriguez, a “success” story comes from working hard and manifesting goals.
“You have to invest and believe in yourself in order to get to where you want to be,” he said. “I am chasing success.”