I have been fortunate enough to work with Charles Lu when we were both starting as creatives back in 2005. He was a newbie photographer, an apprentice of top photographer Marc Nicdao, while I was expanding my horizons from being a writer to producing and styling fashion shoots.
We were still discovering how to convey our messages visually with the photoshoots that we did. In those start-up years, I realized that having chemistry with the people you work with is key to a successful shoot. Lu became our go-to photographer. Lu eventually felt burned out as a freelance fashion photographer in Manila, and that was when he decided to leave everything here and try his luck in New York.
It has been 13 years since fashion photographer Charles Lu left the Philippines for New York. Lu recalls a life of hustling as a photographer in the very cut-throat environment of the Big Apple. “It was filled with excitement, a lot of ups and downs, of learning and facing fears and overcoming struggles, in a very demanding environment, self-exploration, and introspection,” Lu now tells me in our virtual chats.
He got some big breaks when he was able to work closely with top photographers Lachlan Bailey and Steven Klein. “It was a high-pressure environment with high stakes, surrounded by models, celebrities, and photographers that you grew up watching and admiring from afar.”
“Treat a photograph as if it was a painting”—this was one of the best lessons he learned from working with Steven Klein, Lu recalls. “It was in 2012; I remember him saying about a picture we were working on of Kate Moss that the red was too ‘happy,’ and we should remove more yellow from the red, as if he were a painter choosing his palette.”
‘Photography involves a process of discovery, and nothing is certain from the very start’
The same year, Lu was in a job again with Klein, this time for Lady Gaga’s perfume, Fame. It was a four-day shoot, 15 hours a day, in Los Angeles. “I was compositing the male characters that we photographed on a 10-ft-high, 30-ft long white plaster statue of Lady Gaga lying on her side, like a Greek goddess. I imagined that the men crawling, crowding, and vying for Gaga’s essence were overwhelmed with desire. In the end, everyone liked the composite direction, and it went on to become the final print ads.”
Lu explains that It wasn’t so much the importance of a single photograph, but the concept behind the final image, the painting, that was important. “Photography, and all the related art disciplines, involve a process of discovery, and nothing is certain from the very start.”
Lu’s experience collaborating with Lachlan Bailey made him realize the subtleties of lighting, color, and mood. “His eye and sensitivity were admirable, as was his drive to pursue his vision. I was with him, shooting for the cover of Muse magazine with Edita Vilkevičiūtė in 2011, that I first encountered photographers shelling out $20,000 of their own money for a two-day shoot to produce their own editorials.
“I discovered that they take their time to carefully plan shoots, and on the creative process—from choosing the theme, the models, the hair and makeup artists, to the lighting technicians, retouchers, producers, props, locations, references. Everyone had an important role to play, and I was able to elevate the quality, look, and colors of the photographs and develop my skills for future projects with Vogue, W, Harper’s Bazaar. It was a very humbling experience, learning that we are all in the process of learning, all the time.”
Lu learned to ask himself, ‘What are you trying to say? What do you like to shoot for yourself? How can you make it better?’
Lu was constantly asked, and eventually learned to ask himself: “What are you trying to say? What do you like to shoot for yourself? How can you make it better?” It was in New York that he first learned to shoot and work with analog cameras and film, and be more intentional in what subjects he photographed. “It was there as well that I was given the chance to refine lighting and retouching techniques from collaborating with other experts in the field, which I am truly, truly grateful for.”
And just like for everyone, everything stopped when the pandemic happened. “I was expanding my photography projects in NYC, and then everything ground to a halt when the pandemic hit. It was quite isolating. The streets of New York became so empty, and there was a lot of fear and uncertainty all around.”
But there was a silver lining for Lu, who started playing jazz and went back to playing classical piano—two things he wasn’t able to prioritize due to his photography career. He also took French lessons, and one of his French teachers eventually became his wife—“although it took us more than a year to meet in person because of the travel restrictions during pandemic.” Lu is now busy preparing for his civil wedding in New York.
As he ventures into this new chapter with his other half, what has he learned from living in New York? “I definitely feel more like myself now, more open and caring, in life and with my photography. Also, I want to try more experimentation and trust my instincts, going with what interests me and what makes me afraid.”
Which means he is not slowing down. “I want to expand my craft and take on more projects and be even more creative. To take on even larger and bigger endeavors that challenge the imagination. Hopefully, to be able to marry my love of piano with visual projects that could move and inspire people.”