Artist Spotlight Toky

Toky moved from Mexico to Los Angeles in 2000 to become a professional musician. A trick of fate changed his career to photography. Now specializing in beauty, fashion and editorial portraits, his images are considered strong, sharp and beautifully lit.

Toky's vision is to capture the ideal self of his subjects. He seeks to make his subjects comfortable enough for them to let down their guard and share through their expression or movement a glimpse into the subjects own perception of their ideal self setting each image with an emotive power, and creating photos that are precise, revealing and provocative.

Why are you a photographer?
Photography found me by accident after trying out architecture, music, and design. It's the one thing that I've found that I can work on or think of all day long and feel like I'm not working at all. It's effortless and that lets me know that this is what I'm meant to be doing.

What catches your eye?
Beautiful people that I can see have a different perception of their own beauty. Most pretty people know that they are pretty, but not for the reasons or attributes they think.

How do you choose your subjects?
For personal projects I always choose people that I feel I must meet. They tend to be artists in one way or another so that they are willing to explore the capturing of their image with me.

How do you describe your work?
Futuristic/Timeless. I always try to work with the notion that I'm making my images in the future but I'm trying to do a vintage inspired theme to the current year.

What makes a good photograph to you?
Anything that I haven't seen before is a good photograph. Although, there's nothing wrong with a classic.

Who are your favorite artists? And why?
All starving artists are my favorite artists. Because when you insist on doing something that makes no sense to anyone and you are barely able to eat, and yet you keep doing it... I feel you must be channeling something bigger than you. That, or you are really lazy... but if you are lazy and living life through art, that doesn't sound like a horrible way to live.