Mr. Prado is a native of California and calls NoHo Hollywood his home. Unlike most, Mario was born into the film/TV industry, an offspring of artistic production talent.
Mario’s strength is in lighting and Cinematography. He fits beautifully in the entertainment capitol of the World of Hollywood. Educated at The Art Center College of Design (Lighting) and The Los Angeles Trade Tech (Advertising Graphics) and two years of Architecture at CSUN, including numerous extended courses in traditional photography, have given Mr. Prado a broad base of the art of image making.
He received his grounding in traditional still photography in fashion and product photography – he embraced the new digital media and in 1995 switched to full digital, and has never looked back. He brings with him his education and on assignment experience – he has always looked for a fresh approach in the art of image language and has enjoyed an always positive experience in image taking.
Having worked with People Magazine on special assignment and having the pleasure of working with such notable celebrities as Charlton Heston, Elizabeth Taylor and Funny Man Dom Deluise. To add to the list of 30+ international cover magazines, a series of 12 how to books. Mr. Prado, also played a key role as Lighting Designer for books on celebrities under Robin Leach (Life Style of the Rich and Famous series). This grand opportunity has given Mario a solid foundation in the day to day of image making in Hollywood.
Mario Prado was the cover photographer for Black Belt magazine for many years. He covered a number of tournaments and was the photographer for numerous martial arts books. He is very well known in the martial arts circles and handled the enhancement of the lighting for the Camacho Experiment series whose producers were nominated for an Emmy. He has also worked with Michael Matsuda to help promote the Martial Arts History Museum.
He is currently working on the feature film, The Falcon.
