Cody Guilfoyle

New York City, New York

When did you get your start with photography?

The summer of 8th grade my family took a trip, we went to Honolulu Hawaii. My grandmother brought her 35mm Canon Rebel along on the trip and decided to let me use it to capture everything. I shot over 25 rolls of film, from there I was hooked. Shortly after that trip for Christmas I received a Nikon d40x.

How would you describe your photography style?

I would describe my photography as documentary, storytelling and spontaneous. My work has a lot of range, so you will see these aspects in my work depending on the platform you are viewing it on. My Instagram has more color specific based work mixed in with portraiture. My website has my documentary and storytelling work.

Where do you draw inspiration for your photos?

I draw most of my inspiration from traveling, connecting with people.

What has been one of your favorite photo projects?

One of my favorite recent projects was a bit spontaneous, I went to a fish market and instantly felt inspired. I purchased a couple of dead fish, grabbed some pastel poster board, set up my lights and before I knew it I had an interesting fish photo story.

Which photographers have influenced you and how did they influence your thinking, photo taking and career path?

A few photographers I often get inspired by are Jimmy Marble, for his beautiful color palate as well as out of the box visuals. Second would have to be Vivian Maier, her street photos constantly inspire me to attempt to shoot strangers.

What’s your favorite lens? Why?

The 40mm has to be my favorite lens, it’s an older mm not as common in the new age of lenses. I prefer that lens because it’s not as wide as the 35mm but not as cropped as the 50mm. To me it’s really the best of both worlds, perfect for portraits and landscapes.

What are some of the challenges you have faced as a photographer?

My biggest challenge both personally and professionally is always curating, or consistency. I have a very broad aesthetic as well as subject. I shoot portraits, to landscapes, to arbitrary composition. It’s never just portraits or landscape, it’s always a mix. I used to not embrace it but now as I’ve gotten more confident I just embrace it 100%.

Upcoming projects?

My new project that I’ve been slowly working on is creating perfect scenes by minimizing them. I shoot very graphic or distracting areas then minimize them in Photoshop, to create an aesthetically beautiful, but unrealistic scene.