Meet Frank Nguyen of Frankly Photography in Downtown LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Frank Nguyen.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My journey started about two years when I was lost in the Playa desert at Burning Man 2017, wondering through the desert filled with giant art structures, meeting many people from all over the world, and found a burning fire of creative energy. I captured images with just an iPhone camera at that time to remember the people and art. I was mostly drawn to portraits of people who shared their personal stories; and of course their cool costumes.

Today, I continue to capture emotions and stories as a form of self-expression  – for my love for art, fashion, and telling a story. It’s probably a big reason why I am drawn to “editorial fashion photography” but it is about story telling.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I consider myself still a “rookie” in all aspects of the photography world, so it has definitely been not easy. It has been overwhelming and non-stop photography in the last two years. Honestly, it can really bear down on me physically and emotionally at times, but it still feels like non-stop adventures for me currently. The biggest impact was the tremendous amount of financial investment in photography equipment and major sacrifice of time resources beyond the normal day job schedule – in other words, not much sleep. Leisure time and social events were definitely sacrificed. I am starting to see how trendy Social Media norms can be a trap and pressure to network, self-promote, and continually post updates on Facebook or Instagram. These can be major distractions and time consuming if not carefully managed. Then there is also the technical and creative learning curve which is fun but also demoralizing at times because it just takes time and practice.  However, if looking at the big picture I still feel very lucky to still have a professional day job career to support this period of portfolio building and growth. I am currently where I am exactly meant to be on this new career path with fashion photography.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Frankly Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
As F R A N K L Y – I am a published Fashion Editorial Photographer on Elegant, Vulkan, Cool Singapore, and Flawless magazines. I love meet new face and professional models, makeup artists, stylists, and other photographers to create a meaning story, that is challenging and fashionable. I believe that if F R A N K L Y project teams get emotional and pumped about the concept and believes in story, there is a very good chance something magical will be created.

My goal is to establish a unique photography service that incorporates the fashion editorial look to any occasion or project. I like to say, “Who would not want to look beautiful and be on a magazine cover”, right?  Aside from personal referrals for photography engagements in the Los Angeles region, F R A N K L Y is constantly searching for the hidden talents and new faces for personal editorial projects. I am currently in love with traveling abroad to shoot and have completed two editorial photo shoots in Vietnam and Cabo San Lucas internationally. I hope to learn different fashion photography and fashion styles from different countries and incorporate that into something unique called “F R A N K L Y Styles”.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I cannot think of any particular huge role of good or back luck in photography, professional careers, or life in general. It has been a blessing to not been plagued by any major negative life-changing event.  It has been a steady, slow pace of just old fashion hard work and dedication in most of my areas of my life. This is something I learned from my parents growing up as Vietnam immigrants in the 1970’s. My parents uprooted the whole family of seven kids to start a new life in the United States – we were poor and only had resources to focused on the basic things in life. There was no extra time or money for hobbies, sports, entertainment, etc. Fast forward through all the turmoil, I was lucky to have the chance to go to Burning Man in 2017 – at the right time in my life to light the fire of creativity in photography. It feels like a new chapter, a new journey that is still evolving. I cannot wait to create the next editorial story that may cause you to pause and be inspired. For F R A N K L Y Styles, let us connect, be filled with emotions, and create some magic!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.franklynguyen.com/
• Phone: (949) 394-6317
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankly.100/

Image Credit:
Models: Spencer Danner, Emma Baker, Ivana Ray, Mona Lapur, Elena Rudenko, Julia Copie; Make Up Artists: Desdrith Lopez, Olya Tizer; Stylists: Sean P Styles, Staci Munzesheimer, Mona Lapur

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.