David Joseph Perez
Interview • Sept 3, 2020 by Scott Marlin
“The images that pushed me forward were the ones that felt like the entire universe gifted me something in that moment, and I was just in the right place at the right time.”
For commercial and fashion photographer David Joseph Perez, images run deeper than composition, color, or lighting. They are the development of a lifelong search for truth and understanding that the L.A. native has followed from the streets, to the halls of his alma mater, to NYC’s Garment District and back to his hometown.
I was grateful for an opportunity to talk with David about his growth as an artist, the role of photography in our changing world, and how images stand to address some of the looming questions facing our culture today.
Can you take us back to when you started making pictures? What initially excited you?
For some reason, when photography became just hobby, my friend and I used to stay up all night till sunrise walking around downtown taking pictures. There was no desire to be or do anything with these pictures, we just felt a strong need to explore an empty downtown area for hours on end… this was before digital. What excited me later was the realization I could make a career through fashion photography.
What were some of the earliest images that shaped your desire to take better pictures?
It was the images that came through my lens not by way of thinking or planning too much, but that were spontaneous. The images that pushed me forward were the ones that felt like the entire universe gifted me something in that moment and, I was just in the right place at the right time.
“Images and arguments both have some type of premise with the hope of providing a strong conclusion.”
Can you talk a bit about how you think of location when coordinating a shoot? Has location always been a big part of your process?
I first think about the light. Light is everything to me, rather it is the main presence in a image or not. It provides for the atmosphere and feeling that the subject exists. Rather unique or extraordinary, it’s important to understand what narrative is created by placing a particular subject in a particular location. From there, I surmise what emotions, aspirations or inspirations may arises from the images created in this setting.
Before you started assisting in New York, you studied philosophy at Arizona State. Is there an overlap for you between philosophy and photography?
The most obvious overlapping I see is how I go about creating an image versus an argument. Images and arguments both have some type of premise with the hope of providing a strong conclusion. Going back to what I said about location, placing a subject in a location is how I set up a premise, then surmise its conclusion(s).
What are some of the questions you consider answering or meditating on in your work?
The overarching concern—what I hope at least some of my work addresses—derives from the metaphysic branch of epistemology. How do we know what we know? I hope to bring up these questions naturally through some of the strongest images I will make, or have made.
There’s a school of thought that claims good photos are precisely chosen moments. Is there a way you see this idea of the “decisive moment” playing out in your work?
A good photo may or may not be a decisive moment, it isn’t necessary.
When you’re working with a subject, what are the distinctions you’re drawing between one moment and the next?
I’m always looking for something that feels authentic. When I feel we are on to something real, I stick with it and let it flow. When I feel we are in a contrived space, I try to do something, or not, to move past it.
“Fashion is at a crossroads of choosing what side of history it wants to be on in race relations and sustainability.”
Since their invention cameras have inspired people. What’s your take on the camera as an object? Tool or talisman?
I’m always up on the latest gear and technologies because it’s awesome to see where it’s going. But, truly, as a photographer, I know every moment I’m reading about new gear is a moment wasted I should be taking photos with my Nikon D700.
Do you personally own many cameras, or few?
I own four cameras. Ricoh GRII, Nikon D700, Nikon D850, and a Phase one P20.
What is the one camera you couldn’t live without?
The GRII is indispensable because of its image quality and size. I’m able to carry it on me at all times, in my pocket. For this reason, it gives me the opportunity to be always “seeing.” By incorporating shooting into my everyday life, there’s no pressure to get great images. This allows for more of an organic growth of my eye.
With COVID, the economic crisis, and the recent public reckoning with the painful fact of racial injustice in America, it feels like we are at a cultural crossroads in this country. From your perspective, what’s the role of photography, art, and fashion in our way forward?
Photography is the language driving the change we are seeing now throughout the entire world. Art will continue to do what it does. And fashion is at a crossroads of choosing what side of history it wants to be on in race relations and sustainability.
When you say “Photography is the language driving the change now” do you mean how images shared on social media are spurring a kind of mobilization on several fronts? Have images surpassed the written word in the ability to communicate broadly?
The phrase “pictures don’t lie” rings true. It may be because the viewer is able to see what may not be believed… It may be the directness and undeniable fact presented in an image that acts as a causal factor for change.
Whatever the case, photography can be transformative by changing or strengthening people’s views and thus calls to action. The written word is a product of the mind, and thus will always have the upper hand in its agency. But in my view, images can pose an unforgettable question and words can answer it.
Although, some questions are meant just to be rhetorical.
About David Joseph Perez
David Joseph Perez is a fashion and commercial photographer based in his native Los Angeles. He has photographed campaigns for brands including Nike, Simon G. Jewelry, and Moncler, and his work has appeared in international fashion magazines like LADYGUNN, Schön, At Large Magazine, and Let Them Eat Cake, among others. View his portfolio at davidjosephperez.com and follow his work on Instagram @davidjosephperez.
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