Private Photo Sessions

|| About the Artist ||

D. Keith was born in 1952, in Los Angeles, California. He studied at U.C. Berkeley, Edison State College, and U.C.L.A. As an art director and creative director, he has won over 200 national and international awards for his work. He has also published seven books, one of which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. D. Keith is included in Who's Who in The World and Who's Who in America. Much of his work has been sold through Sotheby's Auction House.

Over 40 years ago, D. Keith began his career as an art director and ultimately creative director for some of the largest ad agencies in the world. He has created and developed work for some of the largest companies in the country, including Jaguar Automobiles, Hyatt Hotels, Microsoft and American Express and has won over 200 awards for his work over the years. As an art director, D. Keith has had the opportunity to work with some of the most skilled and famous photographers in the world. Ultimately, almost 30 years ago, he became deeply absorbed into the art of photography as a fine art outlet.

During the past 30 years, D. Keith has directed his efforts toward building his fine art photography, and specializing in the genre of nudes. Yet, his background as an art director helps him create images that are unique and stunning. One of the few fine art photographers who is experienced as an art director, D. Keith brings a strong conceptual approach to his imagery. His images are built around a strong story and creative intent. They evoke a message to the viewer that goes far beyond a mere picture alone. Most photographers have a style of work, which often produces repetitive imagery. They have a look, a style of picture taking.

D. Keith’s work is not bound by a specific style, but rather is defined by an overall quality, which allows him to stay loyal to his vision, yet produce art of varying styles. His work has a simple quality to it, and the artistic intent is always foremost. His image style varies to suit the individual work, yet there is an overall unique quality to his imagery. His images evoke emotion; they bring feelings to life. They are all unique and suited to the message of the specific work. His work is identifiable, but not formulaic. It’s intricate in its simplicity. It’s pure, honest and direct in it’s message. It’s more than just a picture of people; it’s a statement.

Film vs. Digital

Today, digital imagery is the norm. It’s instant gratification. It’s quick, easy, and simple. But there is a difference in the quality and look of an image produced on film from that of one produced in a digital format. Granted, digital imagery can be captured and printed within minutes. But that’s not what art is all about. Art is all about the final product, and what makes the most striking image. It’s about quality and integrity and the time that goes into creating and producing it. Digital doesn’t have the depth or quality that film imparts to an image. It looks synthetic and overly sharp. There are not the subtleties in digital that can be achieved with film.

While most photographers have gravitated to strictly digital photography, D. Keith maintains a film-based style. His belief is that film has a quality and a romance that cannot be achieved in a strictly digital medium. No matter how much manipulation is done in Photoshop, digital imagery doesn’t have the depth and feeling of film. All of D. Keith’s work is ultimately produced using film. It’s all hand printed by the artist himself in his darkroom on museum grade archival fine-art paper. His work is not about speed or ease. It’s about creating the most intricate, dynamic and powerful image possible, and that can only be accomplished using film.

The mere tactile presence of working with imagery on film imparts a quality that is absent with digital photography. The process of handling, manipulating and touching the film, materials and print paper imparts a human dimension to the final imagery. A dimension that is missing with pure digital photography.

D. Keith spends considerable time in his darkroom manipulating and printing his fine art images, one at a time. A huge part of the image-making process missing from digital is the amount of creative control available in the printing process. The artist often spends hours in the darkroom working with prints and techniques that he alone developed and perfected. All to create a look that is unique to his vision. And unique for his clients.

To learn more about how the artist works today, see "Working With Film in a Digital World," click here.

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