about me

There are a lot of talented photographers in the Bay Area. Style, taste, and technical ability matter, of course. But beyond that, there’s the person holding the camera.

Photography puts me in rooms with all kinds of people, often at important or vulnerable moments. Being sensitive to those situations — knowing how to read a room, when to engage, when to disappear, and how to make people comfortable — is as important as knowing how to make a good photograph.

I spent a couple years teaching night classes at the Berkeley Art Studio. Over the course of teaching, I realized how often I brought up the importance of being sensitive. We learned about composition, lighting, and the exposure triangle, but I also tried to remind us that we’re people working with other people. There are social sensitivities to our work that go beyond the perceptiveness that so many photographers pride themselves in.

Being culturally aware and comfortable around different groups of people matters. We need to be able to take beautiful photos while also being someone the client is happy to have in the room — and someone they completely trust to hire next time.

I’m from East Oakland, so I was raised in an exceptionally diverse environment. I used to think that part of the sensitivity skill was code switching, which may have been more true when I was younger. However, now that skill has less to do with changing myself based on the social situation, and more to do with being the same calm, kind, and present person across spaces.

In practice, that means:

• Being aware of the physical and visual space you occupy.

• Noting and reassuring people who seem uncomfortable with a camera around.

• Knowing when to let a situation breathe, to back off and stop taking pictures.

• Getting permission from guardians before photographing with children.

• Understanding how implicit, explicit, and ongoing consent relate to photographing various subjects. (No photographer can always get this right, but we can all approach the topic with humility and the understanding that a subject’s personal preferences are always most important.)

I write this because my social awareness is something that sets me apart, and it’s something that I’ve seen reflected in the people I’ve worked with over the years.
If you spend some time with my portraits and client galleries, I think you’ll see what I’m talking about.