Bored of classic beauty? Meet the photographer attracted to weirdness

David Gomez shot your favourite American Apparel campaigns, we spoke to him about what he's shooting now.

May 17, 2019

David Gomez is a photographer we really like. His close-ups, colour blocking and illustrated portraiture marry fine art with editorial fashion, surfacing raw and human emotions to a 2D image. Originally from Spain and now living in LA we asked David about the kind of people he likes to photograph, the cliches he’s tired of and working with American Apparel.

Hey David, tell us about a photographer whose work makes you feel good?

Probably my best friend Juliette Cassidy’s photographs. She is like my soul mate, we have a very similar taste, we share our life in basically in every way and we understand and support each other every day. I’ve seen her grow as an artist and makes me really happy to see how she keeps getting better and better. Coco Capitan’s photos. I met Coco when she was 14 and I already knew there was something special about her. We’ve been good friends since then and her unique vision and aesthetic makes feel good. She’s been always inspiring to me. Charlotte Wales photography makes me very happy too. She’s just simply amazing.

Tell me about working with American apparel? How did that start?

I started working for them in Barcelona 6 years ago and I somehow ended up meeting the creative director at the time. We started working from the distance Los Angeles – Spain until I moved out here to L.A where I am based now since 2013. It’s been a fun and long journey working for them, always ups and downs but definitely a good experience that made me stronger than ever.

What photographic cliches are you tired of seeing?

L.A girl in her bikini at the beach. Hashtag Malibu and 35mm.

What was the last really beautiful thing you looked at?

There was a fire in Santa Clarita last week and it happened that a massive fog of ashes covered the sunset and created a beautiful effect transforming the sun into pink color. I’ve never seen anything like that before. It was kinda scary but visually amazing. Los Angeles light turned into red for two hours. Hopefully the fire season ends soon.

What kind of people do you like to take photos of? what are you looking for?

I like to find the realness and raw beauty on the people. It’s funny how I used to be attracted to classic beauty and that bores me the most these days. Weirdness is very attractive to me now. Always an evolution.