Everyone wants a piece of Eric Veloso.
The 35-year-old photographer from Vancouver is a current culture powerhouse, serving as the co-founder, creative and brand director of both a magazine and a creative agency that flourishes, not falters, with the variability of content creation.
A widely regarded arbiter of cool, Veloso’s work encapsulates everything from conceiving high-budget activations with big brands, to providing a platform for talented, but unknown, photographers to share their work and grow their vision.
Adorama spoke with Veloso to learn how he stays motivated and inspired, and manages to balance a lifestyle that has become a career.
Adorama: First things first. What is your gear setup and your usual editing workflow?
Veloso: Currently my go-to, daily camera is a Fujifilm X-T1. I love shooting with a 35mm f/1.4 lens and I usually carry my Sekonic LiteMaster Pro Light Meter on me as well. In studio I prefer to shoot with medium format cameras, and I’ll rent a Fujifilm GFX 50S. Additionally I’ve gotten into the habit of consistently having either an Ilford disposable black and white camera or a Fujifilm Instax with me any time I plan to shoot.
I process and manage all the photographs that I make with Adobe Lightroom. The digital workflow aspects within Lightroom keep all my files and projects organized in a manner that makes it seamless for me to access. In regards to editing: I’ve created a series of customized pre-sets that serve as the foundation for any post production work I’ll do with my digital files.
On mobile I use a combination of the VSCO and Afterlight apps for on-the-go editing.
Adorama: What would you consider to be elements of your signature style (colors, composition, subjects, lights, etc)?
Veloso: My photographic style is known for using a lot of harsh, natural light. I gravitate towards shadows, lines, and reflections, using them as strong composition and design tools within my photographs.
This is also reflected in with my studio work, as I really enjoy experimenting with different lighting techniques that help me emulate the light I find in everyday, outdoor settings.
Adorama: Was there a moment you remember first falling in love with photography?
Veloso: I was always enamored with family photo albums, magazines, and trading cards growing up. The walls in my room were completely covered with posters and photos that sparked my visual obsession from a very early age.
In high school, skateboarding lead me to pick up a camera for the first time and I was completely obsessed with capturing moments that I dreamed would make it onto the cover of Thrasher magazine.
After high school I began a deep journey that spanned over a decade and, during that time, I worked in the film industry with aspirations of becoming a Director of Photography. Due to a variety of personal and professional reasons I left that dream behind, and ended up working a regular nine-to-five job.
After a lot of soul searching I decided to take a leap of faith that allowed me to find my way back to photography, and it was the one of best decisions I’ve ever made.
Adorama: Do you have an educational background in photography?
Veloso: I have a Motion Picture Arts Certificate from Capilano University in Vancouver and a Photography Certification from Langara College, also in Vancouver. During my photography program my favorite classes were Art History and Composition and Design. In Art History, I absorbed enormous amount of information about the history of photography and processes. The list of photographers we studied became the ultimate reference tool that I constantly revisit for inspiration. With Composition and Design, I learned to “make” photographs as opposed to “take” photographs. This truly helped me define my own personal style, which is constantly evolving everyday.
Adorama: How do you make a living right now, and how big a role does your photography play?
Veloso: I’m the full-time Creative and Brand Director for Street Dreams magazine and its counterpart creative and media agency, SDVA.
Photography is ingrained into the DNA of everything we do with Street Dreams, and this keeps me involved in everything from shooting campaigns to the creative and art direction behind all of the work we create.
Adorama: How much preparation do you put into an image? Can you give an example of an image or project of yours which required a great amount of prep?
Veloso: I love keeping the moments I capture as spontaneous as possible and I tend to stray away from overthinking the process in order to achieve the connection I aim to create with my photographs.
On the other hand, my work as a Creative Director is built upon a massive amount of preparation. Whether it’s activating a team of 25-plus photographers to cover 100 events in 11 days for the Tribeca Film Festival, or managing a 12-week program for Nike during the 2016 Olympics, or curating a gallery exhibition for Street Dreams—it’s all about teamwork, planning, and understanding how to balance all the variables that will make every project a success.
Adorama: How do you explain Street Dreams magazine to people for the first time?
Veloso: Street Dreams is a Quarterly Print Publication and Creative Agency focused on creating community through showcasing the talents of creatives worldwide.
We represent a global network of storytellers, creators, and new wave curators who amplify ideas across a variety of creative disciplines from concept to completion. Dream with us.
Adorama: When Street Dreams worked on a project with Coach a few years ago, the brand’s marketing head described you as being “one of the cool kids” who draws a “fantastic audience.” How do you balance partnering with brands while retaining a level of artistic autonomy?
Veloso: What separates Street Dreams from the pack is authenticity. We’ve created a brand and platform that represents culture in its purest form, born from our team’s diverse multicultural background and collective obsession with everything related to art, design, and culture.
Our clients don’t hire Street Dreams to work “for” them but rather “with” them because they trust and understand the value we provide. Educated audiences will always know when something is contrived or inauthentic, and Street Dreams embodies a specific point of view that resonates with a wide variety of viewers and consumers.
We’re extremely fortunate to have a ton of creative control on 99 percent of the projects we work on, and our entire business model is built on enabling inclusivity and providing access to opportunity within everything we’re involved with.
Adorama: What qualities get your attention and draw you to photograph a subject, be it a person or architecture or a product?
Veloso: I shoot a balanced amount of architecture, people, still life, and portraits, with the work equally distributed between commissioned and personal projects. I’m constantly focused on capturing the moment in between moments, and finding complimentary colors and natural design elements within everyday environments that create context for everything I photograph.
Adorama: Do you have any tips to share for photographers looking to expand their brand or partner collaborations, but wary of compromising their vision?
Veloso: Diversity. Focus on being as diverse as possible by creating a wide range of photography within your portfolio. Keep it fresh and accessible, and you’ll attract the right type of audience and collaborators who understand your personal point of view.
Adorama: Does your growing up and living in Canada/British Columbia/Vancouver influence your work at all, and in what ways?
Veloso: Growing up in the Pacific Northwest plays a huge part in my creative output, especially in regards to the patience I take with all of my artistic, creative, personal, and business endeavors.
There’s a slow and low pace that is very unique to Vancouver that helped sparked a methodical approach to how I view the world and how I absorb inspiration from various cultures around the globe. Being Canadian, I’ve always been obsessed with observing places like New York, London, Japan, and Berlin because it’s influenced my personality and taste level in a manner that could only be processed by being removed from those environments.
This influence translates itself into everything I create. I’m glad that my family (after immigrating to Canada from Santiago, Chile) ended up choosing Vancouver as the place we call home.
Adorama: What’s your single favorite photo you’ve captured and shared, and can you tell the story behind it?
Veloso: To quote the legendary photographer Imogen Cunningham: “Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.”
Check out Eric Veloso’s full Through the Lens: Canada episode below:
For more inspiration, check out our Through the Lens: Canada-influenced Spotify playlist here:
