Life & Work with Patcha Kitchaicharoen of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patcha Kitchaicharoen.

Hi Patcha, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, and started working as a photographer after graduating from university in 2008. In the beginning, I was honestly a bit lost—I shot everything I could, tried every kind of job, just to figure out where I fit in this industry. It was a time of experimenting and learning on my own terms.

In 2016, I moved to New York to study at the International Center of Photography. That experience changed everything. It gave me a clearer sense of purpose and helped me realize how much I loved working with food and still life. I’ve always been drawn to images that are thoughtful and intentional—where texture, light, color, and composition come together to tell a story.

After returning to Thailand, I focused more seriously on commercial work. I built my portfolio by shooting for restaurants, agencies, and lifestyle brands, developing a visual style rooted in storytelling and strong art direction. At the same time, I began exploring personal projects that also revolve around food photography.

In 2023, I moved to Los Angeles to grow my career internationally. Since then, I’ve worked with brands like Subway, Louis Vuitton Café, Puma, and Flaunt—and I’m always looking to collaborate with new clients.

These days, I split my time between commercial projects and personal work. Both challenge me in different ways, but the goal is the same: to create images that feel honest, intentional, and alive.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Like many creatives, I started with a lot of uncertainty—trying to find my style, my direction, and how to make a living doing what I love. In the beginning, I shot everything I could, said yes to every opportunity, just to figure things out.

In 2016, I moved to New York to study at the International Center of Photography. It was tough—new country, new language—but it was also one of the most exciting times in my life. I was in school, so I had structure and support. I could just focus on learning, experimenting, and growing creatively without the pressure to immediately succeed.

After I graduated, I went back to Bangkok and things came together quickly. It’s my hometown—I speak the language, I know the industry, and I had built strong connections over the years. Work came naturally. I was leading shoots, directing teams, and felt very confident in my place there.

But in 2023, I decided to challenge myself again and moved to Los Angeles. That’s when everything shifted. I came here completely alone—just me and my dog, no family, no close friends. Suddenly, I was back to square one. Rebuilding my network, trying to prove myself in a new industry, in a new country, and doing it all in my second language. It’s been humbling. In Bangkok, I felt like a leader. In LA, I had to start over as a newcomer.

But I’ve learned so much from that. It’s made me stronger, more patient, and more intentional with my work. Being a first-generation immigrant in this country—especially in a creative field—is a different kind of challenge. Moving across the world isn’t the same as moving to a new state. You leave behind everything familiar to start from zero. And yet, I’m still here—showing up, creating, and carving out a space for myself.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a food and still-life photographer, and I specialize in creating images that are both visually striking and emotionally grounded. My work often blends clean composition with rich textures, subtle color palettes, and thoughtful lighting—I’m very detail-oriented, especially when it comes to styling and art direction.

Most of my commercial work involves photographing food, products, and branded content for restaurants, agencies, and lifestyle brands. I’ve worked with clients ranging from small businesses to large international brands and agencies, and I love collaborating closely with creative teams to bring a clear vision to life. I also take on editorial and documentary-style projects when I can, especially those that allow me to explore food as a deeper cultural narrative.

What I’m most proud of is that I’ve been able to build a career that stays true to my visual identity, even as I work across different markets. I care deeply about the emotional tone of an image—not just making something look good, but making it feel honest and intentional.

I think what sets me apart, beyond my approach and style, is also who I am. I’m Asian and Thai—and my cultural background naturally weaves itself into the way I see, compose, and tell stories through food. It’s not always loud or obvious, but it’s there—in the colors, the details, the textures, and the way I work. I believe that perspective adds something meaningful and personal to every image I create.

What were you like growing up?
I was a loud, social kid—always surrounded by a big group of friends and rarely sitting still. But even with all that energy, I was always curious about the little details—how things looked, how they were arranged, how light moved across a surface. I didn’t have the language for it back then, but I think that early sensitivity to visual things stayed with me.

I didn’t grow up in a creative environment. My dad runs a very successful business, my mom is an accountant, and my sister is a dentist—so choosing to become an artist wasn’t the obvious path. It’s not that they didn’t support me, but helping them truly understand what I do has always been the tricky part.

There wasn’t much artistic influence around me growing up, so I had to search for it and build that world for myself. That’s probably why I’ve always felt like I had to work twice as hard to develop my creative voice. People knew me as the loud, friendly kid—but you could also find me alone in the library, spending hours flipping through design books and carrying ten of them home at a time. I didn’t have creative input handed to me, so I went out and found it on my own.

Even now, I feel like my brain is still wired more on the reasonable, logical side—probably because of the environment I grew up in. But I’ve come to see that as a strength. I think that balance between reason and creativity actually helps me a lot, especially in commercial work. It lets me approach each project with both structure and imagination, which is something I really value in the way I work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.patchaworkspace.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patcha221/

Image Credits
Patcha Kitchaicharoen