In an era where images flood our screens daily, capturing something truly human within a frame is an art form that few photographers can achieve. For this featured portrait and fashion photographer, this art is a journey—a winding path that began with an inspiration found between the pages of Rogue magazine and took shape through small, formative assignments in college. Today, he’s made it his mission to bring life and depth to every shot, finding beauty in both posed fashion scenes and the genuine spontaneity of everyday life.
Background & Inspiration
How did your journey into portrait and fashion photography begin? Were there any early experiences that shaped your creative path?
I’d say that it was in college that I made the conscious decision to pursue taking photos of people as a career, or at least had the realization of what was possible. Back then, I was part of various university organizations as a photographer and, though I was photographing people, it was more in the context of event coverage versus portraiture or something editorial. I have a clear memory though of how something shifted in me when I first flipped through an issue of the now defunct Rogue magazine, and I saw what photos could be and how they could be used as part of stories. Plus, in maybe my sophomore or junior year, I somehow landed small assignments from Young Star Philippines that challenged me to take portraits. My path kind of opened up from there.
Your work spans diverse themes—what inspires you when capturing different subjects, from fashion to lifestyle?
I think at the heart of it I just want a person to feel like a person, or, when there isn’t a person in a photo, that there’s still the sense of humanity in there somehow. And I want the sense that something is happening or has happened. Whether it’s portraiture or documentary work, I’m always drawn to the living aspect. When it’s a person, I like to see the subject interacting naturally with their surroundings, with what they’re wearing, and even with me or the team surrounding us at the shoot. When it’s photos that aren’t of people, I’m drawn to objects with traces of life or spaces that look lived in, which are like portraits in themselves.
Creative Process
How do you approach conceptualizing a visual story? Are there certain elements or narratives you always aim to incorporate?
My ‘upbringing’ as a photographer was in the school of thought that the visual aspect of the story has to be grounded on the story, so I guess my first considerations are questions like: “What is this about, and what are we trying to say about it?” Those follow whatever the subject of the photos is, whether it’s a person, an event, an object, or even a feeling. From this a lot of the visual parts of the story can take shape, from where you point your camera, to how you frame certain things. And then the personal aspect of photographing comes in: “How do I feel about this? What is my experience of it? How do my personal biases and capabilities inform the way I take these photos?” I think this is always important to think about because it grounds the work and also speaks to its uniqueness. And then lastly, “Who are we telling this story to? What is the experience that we want them to have?” I ask these to help me decide my approach, my composition, my treatment, down to the selection for and sequencing of a photo set.
With all of that said, I am also trying to push against how I’ve come to know making visual stories this way, which, while founded on intentions, might be too analytical and rigid in some ways. Over the last few years, I’ve learned that there’s also space in visual storytelling to simply create out of feeling, with results that are even more interesting. Meaning can be found in the unintentional and the unexpected, too.
When photographing a person or a community, how do you capture the essence of the subject authentically?
It’s not easy and it’s not something I can say I always successfully do. But I always want to try. When photographing people, I try to get the subject (and, when it’s a highly produced shoot, everyone in the team) to understand that the photos aren’t only created by me, but by us together. I do this by talking to them, trying to get to know them, and also by opening up to them about myself and what I imagine for the photographs. In many words and actions and vibes, I think I just try to express something like, “Hey, I know this shoot may be for so and so, and I understand how awkward shoots or being photographed can be, but I’m here to capture you as you. Please let me know how we can achieve that together.”
Technique & Style
What role do lighting and location play in your portraits? Do you have a favorite setup or environment?
I actually prefer shooting with daylight or at least light that’s already available in a space, so this also decides my preference with locations. I especially like it when natural light does something interesting, like when there’s a small shaft of light passing through an opening somewhere, or when the light filters through foliage and makes nice shapes and shadows on a wall. I like these conditions especially when it comes to portraits — sometimes I feel like the studio spaces and the big lights and the equipment emphasize the “photoshoot-ness” of a shoot, which can be intimidating or overwhelming for the subject, versus settings where the light is just silently there, so the person may not be as distracted from just being themselves.
Over the years, though, I have been trying to learn to light set-ups artificially also. This has actually benefited how I shoot with natural light, too, because I’ve learned to pay closer attention to how light behaves and how to manipulate it. When lighting spaces I wouldn’t consider myself so technical and fussy; as much as possible, I just try to recreate what I’d like in a naturally lit setting.
Other than that, I’ve also been experimenting with straight-on hard flash. I like how this relatively uncomplicated setup can produce jarring, otherworldly photographs.
Can you share any techniques that help bring out both intimacy and artistry in your images?
Like I said, it’s difficult sometimes to foster intimacy at a shoot, and it really involves working to get everyone (myself included) to a place of ease and openness. Other than conversation, one small, simple thing that has helped me get there is playing music. Music can immediately set the tone. And then I ask the subject what they would like to play or what they’ve been listening to, so that we can listen to it together.
I think in any project, there’s the opportunity for artistry, to incorporate yourself more or attempt new, different things — in shooting, treatment, or editing. In any shoot, even the ones that are meant to fulfill a premade brief, I try to walk away with something for myself and the feeling that I did something that was ‘me.’
What is your editing philosophy? How do you balance enhancement with maintaining the integrity of a shot?
I’m sort of in an interesting place when it comes to treatment. Lately I’ve been experimenting and taking more creative liberties with my photos in post, in terms of cropping and coloring, whereas before I used to be afraid of straying too far from how a photo looks as shot. But if anything, I still want any of my adjustments to feel real and organic somehow. I don’t want it to get in the way of what’s in the photo and what the photo is trying to say.
Career Highlights & Insights
What have been some of your most meaningful or memorable projects, and why did they stand out?
I’m incredibly lucky to have had a lot of very meaningful portrait and documentary projects just this past year alone that really pushed my work in different ways. The ones that stand out especially for me are projects where I felt that I could apply myself more, or where I was challenged to go outside how I’m used to taking photographs. I’ve also been slowly working on a personal, more artistic project about my family and my identity over the last two or three years. In this project, I feel like I’m applying the things I’ve learned about photography while also unlearning them and looking at new ways to approach imagemaking.
How do you balance client expectations with your creative vision during a project?
For client work, it’s vital to be on the same page on the get-go. I’m getting into the practice where at the start something, after getting to know what the story is and what the client imagines for the project, I make my own board jumping off of their references and assembling my own, based on what I have in mind for the photos. I show this to them and see what they think. At the shoot, I try to accommodate the client’s approach first and work to get the kinds of images they need. Once we’re happy with what we’ve got, that’s when I move towards my spin on things. Down to post-processing and editing, I always express my recommendations or preferences so we can maybe meet halfway and make the process more collaborative.
I think it took me a while in my career to develop the confidence to assert my own creative vision more, maybe because I also needed the time to figure out what that is and how to negotiate it. But also there’s nothing better than finding the right clients or collaborators who simply trust you and create generous spaces for your work.
Perspective on Photography
How do you see the evolution of fashion and portrait photography in an age dominated by social media?
I can’t say for sure where it’s going from here. The digital age has made images in general more accessible than ever, which in itself might be a good thing, but I worry about the effects that constant image consumption and production have for photographers. I’ve certainly felt myself at times getting bogged down by how I think my work might appear and be received on social media, and by whether it can keep up. The digital age has kind of homogenized the form in which photos are experienced, but photos have lives outside being someone’s post or just figures on a screen. There are even other media like publications or exhibits where images can be taken in less rapid and more deliberate ways. Whether it’s portraiture or any other form of photography we’re engaging with, I hope we don’t lose sight of the life that a photo can contain.
What, to you, defines a photograph that resonates universally? Are there specific qualities that make an image timeless?
There’s something unique and new for each of us to take away from any image at the point where we encounter them, and maybe in that way all photographs can be regarded as universal or timeless. The two of us can be looking at the same photo but appreciate it or parts of it for different reasons, and those will be decided by our respective contexts. While that’s true, I do think a photograph should be taken with its own context in mind, too: its subject, its author, maybe even its intended audience, and of course the time and place of its creation.
Advice & Vision
For aspiring photographers, what’s one piece of advice you would offer to develop a unique style?
It’s a little funny for me to dispense advice about this because I go through a debilitating identity crisis every few months about my own ‘style’, but here’s something I try to tell myself: It’s very easy to reduce your photographic style to how your photos look, when it’s so much more than that. It’s about what you decide to point your camera at and shoot. It’s about how you decide between a successful image and an unsuccessful image. It’s about where you’re coming from and what your photos have to say. If you know what you have to say, it will transcend your photos’ appearance. It could even transcend the medium! That’s what will help you figure out your ‘style’.
Do you have any upcoming projects or dream collaborations that excite you?
I put a bunch of personal projects and ideas on the back burner but I think I’ve finally found the energy and courage to get them going again. We’ll see!
Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/jljavier/
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