April 3, 2017

Meet Matt Doheny of Doheny Photo in Hollywood

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Doheny.

Matt, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story started with a skateboarding accident when I was 14. I broke my wrist and messed up my ankle and wasn’t able to surf or skate for a little while. My dad got a video camera for Christmas the year before and it was all downhill from there. I became obsessed with the art and started filming and photographing everything. Making surf videos of my brothers Andrew and Bryan Doheny and all our friends. I took photo classes for 3 years in high school and was making documentaries for a surf organization called the NSSA ” Nasional scholastic surfing association”. I would spend days in my dungeon editing videos, going back and forth between which photos I thought was better and trying to find interesting ways of doing it.

After high school, I knew photography was what I wanted to do, and I wanted to do it with lifestyle and fashion. But I had to go to college too cause my parents wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, I ended up going to Brooks Institute of photography up in Sana Barbara “which sadly shut its doors last year” and got my BA in professional photography and I have been after it ever since.

Great, 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?
There’s no such things as a smooth road but that doesn’t mean you have to spill your coffee too. I think they’re challenges in every industry but definitely more in the arts. One of the biggest struggles is standing out from the masses. One of the ways I got through that is to show face and make personal connections with people. Well that was truer before the huge spike in social media usage but I still think that’s the most important thing. If people see you and like you and your work, you will probably be the one they think of when they need photos. Most of my success have come from that model. Of course, I’m always trying to grow and find new and innovating ways of getting new clients and reaching people but that’s always a good place to start. All it costs you is time.

Please tell us about Doheny Photo.
Photography is the name of my game. I specialize in fashion and lifestyle photography for commercial/advertising purposes. I think what I’m mostly known for is my studio work. I love playing with lights and creating interesting looks. What sets most photographers apart I think is the understanding of light and how to use the higher end equipment to really creative your vision. I find that natural light doesn’t always give me what I’m looking for so I have to modify it to look the way I want it to. I pride myself on being a lighting geek and really knowing how to shape the light on my subjects. Even just a simple bounce of light on to the subject can make all the difference, you just have to know what you’re looking for and know how to execute it.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was about 12 or 13, my grandfather Carman Miceli, the man who started Miceli’s Italian restaurant in Hollywood, took me to France with my mom and my cousin to go visit the beaches of Normandy. We went out there to visit his fallen comrades on D-day and pay his respects. He did every year for as many years as I could remember. It was an insanely magical trip. We started in Paris and rented a tiny little car and traveled the coastline down to Normandy. We check out all the little villages and even stayed in a castle that was only accessible by low tide. When the tide came in you were stuck on this little island. Not like it mattered because once you were there you didn’t wanna do anything ells. My only regret is that I didn’t know anything about photography at the time and didn’t take any pictures. Some have asked why I didn’t just use my phone, well phones back then didn’t have cameras on them if you can believe that. Haha

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