Today we’d like to introduce you to Rex Yu.
Rex, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It has actually been a very interesting road to end up where I am in the industry now. I first picked up a camera as just a creative hobby to capture press images for me and my friend’s little music blog. We were covering live music events all around Los Angeles and doing write-ups with images for recap.
It was such a fantastic and exhilarating time in my life where I was interacting with so many artists and eventgoers. As time went by, I realized how much I liked taking pictures of all the interesting people at these music festivals and concerts that I decided I’d take a stab at portraitures, engagements and weddings.
Fast forward a couple of years, I decided I wanted to go another route and really fell in love with creative editorials and working with so many talented creatives that do hair, make-up, styling, and of course all of the beautiful model talents here in LA and I’ve been doing it ever since!
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?
Photography is such a competitive industry here in LA. Everyone can pick up a camera and call themselves a photographer. The entry into being a successful photographer is very daunting, however, like everything, consistency and passion is key.
In any creative field, I think there will always be many challenges, but if you love it enough, you don’t mind putting in the effort and be in it for the long haul. It has been a long road of personal development and great reward.
In the beginning, some of the struggles were just me trying to develop my own style and training my eye to understand what I really liked and emulate. The aesthetic/vision I wanted to bring to the craft and the fashion industry should match what I actually love seeing out in the fashion world.
In the end, the things you shoot have to really resonate with you and you have to be proud of the work you put out not because it’s popular but it speaks to you. I obsess about styling, casting, lighting techniques, and creative direction with unique concepts for each shoot. It took some time to fine-tune. I’m still trying to one-up myself every time I create, which makes it daunting but thrilling at the same time. “You are only as good as your last shoot” as someone famously said.
There are many days where I find my work not at the level I want it to be, but I understand that it’s all part of the process and I remind myself daily to just enjoy that journey and be grateful that I even get to make a living off of doing fashion photography, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I take real pride in my work because of the level of effort it takes to pull off a campaign or editorial. I know it shows in my work and I’m always thankful of the network I’ve created and extremely humbled by all of the great artists around me that inspire me to be better every day. I always feel honored that amazing creatives reach out to me to collaborate. Art really is the universal language, you can say so much with no words, just by what you create and put out; that is so fascinating to me and how, in that way, it connects a lot of the creatives to me and vice versa.
I hope I have added to that legacy of fashion photographers and left some sort of inspiration for others to look up to one day and represent some of the best LA fashion photographers.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My other day job is actually as a business analyst that works for West Coast University/American Career College. I love working in the education industry as well because I’m directly helping a company provide education to future nurses, which we are in need of more than ever.
My heart and passion will, however, always be in fashion photography. I love being able to balance my analytical side with my creative side which I believe has helped me be a better fashion photographer.
Now I specialize in creative editorials, model development, campaigns, portraiture work and even recently doing more press kit images for musicians and artists. I’m most proud of the fact that I can follow my passions while in service of others, which gives me a real sense of purpose. When I work on set with my teams, I try to make sure it’s a very fun and expansive process and the greatest joy for me is to provide amazing images for the whole team that they could be proud of.
What sets me apart from others is the fact that I let the other creatives I work with push their limits. At times, I challenge them to bring the best and most creative aspects of their talent into the shoots themselves. I allow them to take risks and I like to give each creative the ability to contribute what they believe would add to the overall aesthetic of the shoot and it usually works out haha. Also, I believe I bring a very New York or European aesthetic to the LA market.
I would consider my style timeless. I wouldn’t say my work is the most popular or trendy, but it’s what resonates with me and I find my aesthetic still holds up to other photographic styles here in LA. Timeless never goes out of style.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
If I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to take things slow, trust the process, and build more connections, and invest in myself and techniques even more.
I wish I put myself out there more often and taken more chances with working with new creatives, some that I never expected to hit it off so well with have now become some of my deepest respected friends.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rexshooter.com
- Instagram: rex.shooter
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/rexshooter1985
Image Credits
Models: Anastasiia Koval, Lisa Yakovina, Karen Harlé, Marina Romashina, Victoria Brono, Phillip Bruenn Make Up Artists: Sonya Rasova, Teal Druda, Vivianne Raudsepp, Lisa-Marie Powell, Iris Moreau Stylists: Sean Panella, Angelique Salzmann, Hair Stylists: Lisa-Marie Powell, Brittney Ball, Laura Rocha, Agencies: Lipps LA, Industry LA, Elite LA, Ego Models Lighting Techs/Assistants: Jones Crow, Toby Tiet Photographer: Rex Yu
