It all started with an old Kodak Instamatic as a child. A small seed sprouted and as he grew up, his interest in photography increased and more cameras followed. Andreas Palmén got his first apprenticeship after graduating from the photography school in Hemse, Gotland. He worked as a photographer's assistant in Stockholm for studio photographer Christer Carlson. Product photography, lighting against a backdrop, working with large format cameras and darkroom work was an instructive time. Later Andreas went to work as a photo assistant to one of Sweden's best portrait photographers - Jonas Fredwall Karlsson. This was before Karlsson moved from Stockholm to New York and Vanity Fair. The lighting of the portraits was often in the spirit of Annie Leibovitz, which meant that the studio was often moved out "on location". Palmén worked with Karlsson in various locations throughout Sweden and in the United States for two years, mainly on large personal portraits for lifestyle magazines and commercial assignments. As an assistant, Palmén was responsible for setting up lights, loading film, keeping equipment in order and making copies in the darkroom. This was an incredibly intense period for Palmén, who learned a lot about portraiture and the use of studio lighting both in the studio and on location.
After a few hectic years in Stockholm, Andreas Palmén decided to immerse himself in one of his other great interests, namely biology and natural sciences. He left Karlsson's studio to study biology and take an MSc in conservation biology and population genetics at Stockholm University. Palmén was a Nordplus fellow for one year of studies at the University of Tromsø, Norway. He then continued as a PhD student with research studies in population biology at Södertörn University and Uppsala University.
After over 10 years in academia, Andreas Palmén followed his heart and returned to photography. Now the focus is mainly on fine art and scientific photography, but Palmén also takes on other assignments, both commercial and editorial.
In 2023, Andreas Palmén was accepted as a member of KKV Härnösand, a collective workshop for professional artists with, among other things, access to graphic printing, analog darkroom work and digital large format printing. In 2023, he also became a member of Grafikmaskinen, an artist-run graphic workshop in Umeå.
