Spice of Life

The first time New Jersey-based photographer Dan Komoda worked with a professional model, it was a supermodel. As a commercial photographer, Komoda often works for PR firms that are creating campaigns for large corporations. This time the corporation was Gillette, which was promoting its Venus Embrace razor. The PR firm Porter Novelli hired supermodel Brooklyn Decker for the assignment. “She was talking about her movie with Adam Sandler ‘Just Go With It,’” that day, recalls Komoda, who enjoys chatting up his portrait subjects. That first experience working with a model taught him about professionalism, he says.

“I learned to really appreciate how models are so good at just working with the camera,” he says. “I have done a lot of model shoots since then, but no one like Brooklyn Decker.” What makes a good model is “someone who knows how to use the camera and be themselves and work with me,” he says. Nerves, self-consciousness, reticence—that’s never an issue with a professional model. “They enjoy what they are doing, and I enjoy what I am doing, and it just works out. … It’s a natural process.” 

A BIT OF EVERYTHING

Komoda came into photography via video. Inspired by a filmmaking class he took in college, he launched his career doing video production for PR agencies. But he was drawn to still photography. “I enjoyed that much, much more,” he says. “It’s much easier for me than the video.” Video is a longer process, he says. “There is audio involved and just a little more going on. With photography, you just point and shoot. You are ready to go. And I just picked it up more. I still do video, but photography is my main business.”

His first still photography clients were members of a local rock band he’d befriended in 1993; he created photos for their CD covers. “It was nice to see my work in print for the first time,” he says. That inspired him to improve upon his photography skills by taking workshops at New York-based Digital Photo Academy, where he eventually became an instructor. “I learned a lot from my first photography instructor and friend John Bentham,” who still is a friend and mentor, Komoda says.

Komoda’s website for his photography business, Eyesquid, shows a range of photographic subject matter—from a hand holding a tiny pill to an artful plate of food to a sleeping bat. “As you can see from my work,” he says, “I’m a photographer that does a bit of everything, from portraits, travel, model shoots, and headshots to corporate events and institutional photography.” His clients are big-name companies, universities, publications, and individuals in need of headshots or model sessions. 

“I have a lot of corporate clients,” Komoda says, some of which hire him for corporate headshots. These assignments are different from photographing models, he admits. Unlike models, “Corporate [clients] are like, ‘I don’t like my photo being taken,’” he says. So, what’s most important is to put his subjects at ease. How does he do it? “I think you start with having good conversation to get to know them a little more,” says Komoda. That helps his subjects feel more comfortable and therefore present a better image, and, he explains, in the editing process, he can refine what he’s captured.

One project he’s particularly enjoyed with corporate client Bristol Myers Squibb is what he calls “patient profiles,” where he and a video team visit homes of patients with illnesses who are being treated with Bristol Myers Squibb’s pharmaceuticals. These photos of patients make for inspiring stories the company shares on its website and social media pages. “It is a pretty amazing thing to do, very meaningful,” Komoda says, adding that he appreciates the added bonuses of the jobs: travel and the ability to photograph his own images along the way.

Corporate clients tend to spread the word if they like your work, and Komoda says much of his business is via word of mouth. As a loyal Canon user, he has been thrilled to work with Canon doing headshot sessions and events at the company’s financial services office. “What is cool about that is that they had the CEOs come in from Japan last year, so that was good to meet them,” Komoda says.

LIFELONG EDUCATION

Komoda is perpetually learning, experimenting with new techniques, and photographing new subjects to add to his portfolio. For example, food photography is not a large part of his client work, but he loves doing it. So, whenever he’s at a corporate event with food on display, Komoda takes advantage of the opportunity to photograph it. “I try to collect as many images as possible for my portfolio,” he says, especially in areas like food photography in which he wants to expand. He also grows his model experience through photo sessions with Model Me Photography, a company run by his friend Laura Geltch that brings aspiring models and photographers together for photo sessions and to network.

It’s that networking and connecting that Komoda says are his favorite parts of his photography business. Whether it’s professional or aspiring models, nervous corporate headshot subjects, or people at high-profile events, he approaches them all with the same enthusiasm. “Everyone I work with is incredibly nice and it’s very enjoyable,” he says. “It’s a fun job.” 

Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.