Rafael Beer came to California from Wilmington, Delaware, where he studied organic chemistry and received his Bachelor degree from the University of Delaware.

After working as a research chemist Rafael changed careers to photography in 1977. By then his photos had appeared in full-page spreads in the newspaper. Pursuing his interest in landscape and fine art photography, Rafael was accepted to the Ansel Adams photographic workshop in Yosemite where he studied under Mr. Adams himself, as well as some of the world’s greatest photographers.

When Rafael opened his studio he pursued his fascination with sports, attending many competitive events across many sports, Rafael’s unique style and ability to capture action drew the attention of photo editors throughout the world and he was soon published in Sports Illustrated, Time and many other magazines. These assignments also lead to a book contract with Simon & Schuster to produce Kurt Thomas on Gymnastics, a classic study of the daily life of an Olympian.

In preparation for the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles, Rafael invented and patented a new camera that could record the sequence of movements of athletes at very high speed. Rafael used this new technique to cover many editorial sports assignments including tennis, track and field, baseball, football, weight lifting and gymnastics. Rafael’s spectacular sports sequences appeared on three official Olympic posters and graced the cover of the official program, Stars in Motion, featuring world-record-holder Carl Lewis.

In 1992 Rafael founded Jump Start, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to helping inner city kids succeed. The program was very successful and a documentary about it aired on local television. In 2000 Rafael completed the writing of a book on character and goal setting that received outstanding reviews and is now being used by public and private schools nationwide.

With over 30 years as a photographer Rafael continues to be an innovator. One of his new products is a calendar featuring his client’s core values along with action photos of each of a club’s athletes. Other projects include the production of sports slide shows, digital posters, displays for use in a club’s entrance, and spectacular photo galleries.

Over his career Rafael has photographed thousands of athletes in Southern California and throughout the world. His studio is built on a reputation for photographic excellence, good customer service and caring for his client’s needs. Because of this a majority of his customers come through word-of-mouth and wind up becoming repeat customers.

Rafael’s ability to work with athletes of all ages and bring out the best in them is, more than any technological advance, what makes each of his photos clearly recognizable as a “Genuine Rafael.”