We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Owen Devalk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Owen, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
It’s so easy to think about all the way your parents hindered you or your creative spirit growing up. While my parents and childhood experience were far from perfect, they recognized what ignited passion inside me and fanned the flame.
Looking back, I wasn’t the most talented photographer at the beginning, but they championed my work because it’s what made me happy. I wasn’t gifted in other artistic mediums, but-like other teenagers- still had so many sentiments that needed to be expressed. Photography was the format that best suited me and the only thing I could never get tired of.
My parents saw that deep rooted interest and celebrated small victories which kept the momentum going into what’s now my full-time career
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hii, my name is Owen DeValk and I’m a fashion, commercial and portrait photographer based out of Los Angeles.
I’ve been doing this for the better portion of 14 years and have learned quite a lot from being on set with companies like Snapchat, Shein, Lays, Neutrogena and more.
The most important thing while on set with me is to maintain an uplifting and joyful atmosphere. No one is going to perform their best-regardless of your profession- while feeling like their walking on pins and needles.
I was on plenty of high stress and high pressure sets while starting out that took the soul out of this artistic medium. Real magic happens when everyone is relaxed, able to focus and work together
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
A big part of Photography, especially commercial and fashion work, is social interaction. Be it during pre-production, the day(s) of the shoot, or post-production; collaboration is baked into this career. This gives you multiple opportunities to make someone smile or sigh of relief or chat about something that makes them happy.
The main reason I love this job is because my purpose in life- deeper than taking photos- is to brighten the room. To remind people that making art is fun and connect with them on a deeper level.
When I leave set in the afternoon, the best part is reminiscing on the way I made people feel. That’s what keeps me excited to approach each day
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
When I first began as a photographer in LA, it was with in-studio E-Commerce photography. The backdrop was a white seamless and the lights were pre set; all I needed to do in the morning was turn everything on and press a button.
After two and a half years of this you start to think in rules: leave space above the model’s head, make sure the clothing is perfect, never cut off the bottoms of the shoes. While these principles are great to keep in mind, it keeps you from fully connecting to the emotion of an image. Your thoughts will be on the technical aspects of a photo vs creating an organic moment that means something.
I’ve had to unlearn quite a few technical approaches to photography because they took away from the heart of the photos and kept me from focusing on making something that mattered.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.owendevalkstudio.com
- Instagram: @owen_devalk
Image Credits
Taylor Phillips, Abbie Koopote, Teresa Giudice, Victoria Innocenzi, Francie Tomalonis, Odessa Nikolic, Patricia Morales, Dante Velasquez, Alex de la Silva, Lele Pons, Vanessa, Arianna Blean, Nicole Holmes, Tatiyana Elias, Rene Cortez, Jordyn Woods, Bianca Baranda, Jill Vincent, JJ Geiger