Getting her rep by photographing L.A. cool kids, Daria Kobayashi Ritch is the fashion photographer you need to know. With her name gradually becoming attached to more and more shoots and editorials gleaming with young stars and talents, Daria already has an impressive array of names and designers under her belt, including Solange, Garage Magazine, and Willow Smith, just to name a few. Having also shot Jared Leto for the cover of INDIE’s newest issue as well as a menswear spread in L.A., Daria she talks to INDIE about getting nervous, forming bonds with her subjects – and what all of this has to do with MySpace.
Inspired by the social media that impacted our generation going through our teen years, she tells INDIE that it all started with the beloved social network: “I distinctly remember dressing up and going around town with my girlfriends, taking photos of each other for our profile pictures.” A memory familiar to most of us, but how did that grow into the expansive portfolio she is constantly adding to these days? Well, Daria went on to study Fine Art at UCLA, and then on to art college.
When it comes to vision, she wants to merge “an intimate perspective of her subject with the romanticism of fashion” – a description so concise you can envisage the vibe of her work before even seeing it. She is inspired by subcultural youth movements of the indie music world, and creative youth culture in general: “I feel like the teens in these scenes not only have a cool outward appearance, but, also a sense of depth with a lot to unravel.”
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Daria doesn’t fail to recognise the importance of building a relationship and a rapport with the subject as the biggest challenge on a shoot, due to the few hours you usually get, describing the feeling of “this singular interaction, where you have to be intimate with someone who, more often than not, you have never met.” However, she also recognises this as the beauty of the work she does, saying that one of the big highlights is that “it’s like having a friendship for just a day.”
Balancing in this world of fast paced fashion and fame, while sticking to the artistic vision in her bones, we can’t wait to see where Daria Kobayashi Ritch’s photography takes her next.
Header Image via Daria Kobayashi Ritch
