Meet Jeremy Pangilinan | Pretty Picture Taker/Movie Magic Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeremy Pangilinan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeremy, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
I believe that the single most important decision that I’ve made that has contributed to my artistic career is that I have always fought for my personal artistic vision and how I would like not to blindly follow artistic trends that don’t align with my vision. We, as artists, can get trapped in a place where all we are doing is chasing what other successful artists are creating. And what I have always wanted for myself( amongst other things ), is to create an artistic style that is recognizably and individually my own. Not that I wanted to create it within a vacuum but I wanted to be influenced by my soul, ideals, my everyday, and the past photographers who influenced me. I found engaging things about Ritts, Demarchlier, Lindbergh, de’ Orazio, von Unwerth, and many others. Their ideologies and style influenced what I came to love about that era of photography and also a backbone to what was to be my personal style in image making. And simply holding on to that, allowed me to create something that was mine without looking at what my contemporaries were doing within their own echo chambers.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
On an every day, I am a photographer that dabbles in directing. I’m slowly moving towards having a longer storytelling format but for right now, I am hired as a commercial photographer. Now being a commercial photographer is a broad term but typically, I use it as a way to encompass being a fashion, entertainment, and architecture photographer. But I feel for me, my life is about my creative process. Sometimes that leads me away from photography and simply being an artist. I’ll create campaigns, I’ll write stories, and of course I’ll want to extend that short 1/60th of a sec. story to something longer and I’ll direct something. I’m more concerned about getting the ideas out of my head than I am staying in my lane of image making in the photography medium. And maybe, just maybe, that is the thing that makes me who I am. In my life, I’ve shot for Vogue, directed music videos, designed shoes, lectured, and I have walked a runway. My life is full of experiences. Tons of ups and tons of downs. And I’ve used those life experiences to create. I think when it is all said and done, I would rather be known as an artist that used imagery as his main medium but concentrated more on his process, craft, and his creations as an artist than making a name or a million bucks. And I can def. be proud of that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Funny thing living in LA, you always have friends coming to visit. And with LA being a constantly changing landscape for entertainment and food, I find that I am always finding new treasures to indulge in. If it was a week here in LA with my out of town friends, I would easily take them to all my current joints. I’m an avid rock climber so when I can’t skip town to climb outdoors, my favorite place to climb is Cliffs of Id in Culver City. It is an amazing indoor climbing gym and I cant express enough that if you are looking to climb, it is the best place in town. I also take my yoga classes there as well and Savina, is an excellent instructor. Every time I walk out of that class, regardless if I have to get out of bed to make it by 7am or if I have to run to it after a hard shoot day for an evening class, I am always happy I did. She is that good. So, I would obviously take them there to try climbing/yoga.
I love the Hollywood Bowl. If there was something cool happening there, that would be a must. I’m a def. bring food and pack it in person and I think that is what makes the bowl so special. The venue itself is lovely but the idea that you can cater to make it want you want, creates a special situation of being a magical experience.
Currently, Go Go Bird in Downtown Culver is the spot for me. Their sandwiches are amazing and go for that but know that the fries can’t be passed up. A win all around for me. It has pedigree as well, the chef is the same chef from Hinoki and the Bird in Century City( also a winner in my book ).
Malibu is a great spot for me. If you are gonna run out to the beach, that is my choice. So many secluded places there that could make it a nice getaway. But also on the way back, I would hit up Reel Inn for some fish food. Such the perfect vibe for after a beach day. Its all good there. Eat everything.
I love the idea of cooking for my friends, so running out to Santa Monica Farmers Market would be a visual feast for them. Tons to look at and tons to purchase if you love freshie fresh things.
Mornings are my jam and I love getting up early and starting my day. So its easy for me to say that Pops Bagels and Sidecar Donuts are popular places for me to enjoy a treat before my day starts.
And talking about mornings, its hard to deny that the Acai Bowls at Hilltop in Inglewood are that good. Ive been looking for an açaí bowl that matches what I had in Hawaii and this one gets as close as it can get. I prefer the one in La Brea vs Slauson, mainly because I love the hangout nature there.
If shopping was on their list, personally, I love the Grove. The mixture of that and the Farmers Market make it a great destination. Additionally, the people watching is incredible. Second would be Century City, mainly because Eatly is there and the pizza upstairs is bonkers good.
I feel like if you were gonna stalk me or if you were gonna visit here, those are some pretty solid recs.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Truthfully, there are a ton of people who I would like to recognize for contributing to any of my accomplishments. Its hard not to express that my family played a huge part in my life. If not for anything other than helping me create and form my work ethic and the ideologies of what would be how I see the world. I can look back to some very important Instructors, Patty Felkner, Jim West, and Roz Mahoney who helped mold and create the artistic mind I have. I have had some influential Mentors who truly helped me understand the business side and fine tune my technical abilities and creative prowess, Melanie, Nellie, and Jeff. But also there are people who are part of my community and loved ones, who quietly support me and just offer me the love that continues to influence and drive my soul towards my goals( way to many to mention but they know who they are but I’ll cheat a little, The Robinsons, The Horners, The Holstads, The Gutierrezs, The Reeves, The Millers, Adam, Wolo, Miranda, and Em and Ron. Ok, that was quite a few but the love of those people fuel me to grow and be a better me.

Website: akafotoboy.com

Instagram: akafotoboy

Twitter: akafotoboy

Youtube: akafotoboy( as well but coming in the fall, look out for that!!!! )

Image Credits
Adam Ambrizz