Running a business in Downtown Los Angeles today requires grit, heart, and a good deal of resilience. My studio, now proudly located in the historic Hellman Building in the Old Bank District, stands among a dwindling yet determined group of creatives, entrepreneurs, and independent business owners still striving to make DTLA a vibrant cultural and artistic center.
“Never meet your heroes—they’ll only disappoint you.” It’s advice we’ve all heard, often with a smirk of world-weariness behind it. But I’d argue otherwise. In my experience as a portrait photographer, meeting—and photographing—my heroes didn’t just live up to expectations; it shaped the very arc of my career.
