Hi, I’m Daniel Bruce Lee.

I’m a photographer in West Los Angeles, and for 12 years before this I was an advertising art director.

Art direction taught me to tell a story in a single frame — not just what something looks like, but what it feels like, and why you’d remember it. I worked on campaigns for Neutrogena, Sony, Honda, Nissan, Johnson’s Baby, and others, and I graduated from Otis College of Art and Design with a BFA in Advertising Art Direction. At some point I realized I didn’t just want to direct the photos anymore. I wanted to be the one out there making them.

That’s still how I approach every shoot, whether it’s a portrait, a product, or a place: I’m looking for light, detail, and a moment that says something true. I’ve traveled and photographed a lot — backpacking trips, climbing, road trips, time in Iceland, Nepal, Norway, all over the American West — and that’s shaped my eye as much as any ad job. I notice places. I notice how people are in them.

As a person to work with, I’m pretty low-key and low-pressure. I’m detail-obsessed about the final image. I shoot and retouch everything myself but I’m not intense on set, and I’m not going to turn a simple portrait into a big production unless a big production is what you actually want. Most people hire me because they want someone with a strong eye who will take the work seriously, and make the process feel straightforward.

I live in West LA with my wife and our two young toddlers. Outside of work I’m usually planning the next backpacking or climbing trip, traveling when we can get away, or building an over-the-top spreadsheet for something that absolutely did not need one.

If you’d like photos with a story behind them, I’d like to meet you.