Daniel Boud
arts Photographer
Photographer Daniel Boud’s self portrait with Lulu.
Interview by Janne Ryan | Photography by Daniel Boud
As a young adult, Daniel Boud documented everything – parties, gigs, friends – but never imagined himself as a photographer. Then, out of the blue, a paid commission, followed by a chance meeting with a publisher changed all that. A self-labelled introvert, and one of Australia’s leading arts photographers, Daniel shares how he overcame shyness by stepping outside his comfort zone.
WHAT DO YOU DO and why?
I am a photographer, working primarily in the arts scene. Why? I can't imagine doing anything else, it's just what I'm driven to do.
Where does that drive come from?
When I was younger, I didn’t ever imagine that you could be a photographer – professionally. I didn't really understand that it was a real job. I knew that people took photos, but no one in my family or in my orbit was involved in the arts and that sort of thing. I did a communications degree at the University of NSW and began working in web design. It was only then – in my spare time – that I started to really connect with photography. I got a digital camera and became obsessed: I went down a rabbit hole of taking pictures all the time. In my social life I was going to a lot of rock gigs and parties. I took my camera and photographed my friends and bands and everything I was doing at the time, that’s when I started digitally documenting that scene. That was only for fun really, but that evolved into getting the odd commission, eventually evolving into a full-time career.
Katherine Sonnekus, corps de ballet dancer withThe Australian Ballet. Photo: Daniel Boud
“I fell in love with the imagery around rock music.”
Music gigs inspired you?
I was a music obsessive in my teens and early 20s. I went to heaps of shows and posters of bands all over my bedroom walls. I grew up in the wave of 90s alternative music – Radiohead, Oasis, Blur, U2, Nirvana, Pearl Jam.
So the scene became your obsession?
I fell in love with the imagery around rock music – it wasn’t just about the music. I was familiar with a lot of photographers at the time like Anton Corbijn (Dutch) who photographed all the U2 album covers, David LaChapelle (American) who did some amazing shoots with Marilyn Manson and Eminem and Courtney Love, people like that. I used to buy Rolling Stone magazine all the time. I also loved the American photographer Mark Seliger who is famous for his portraiture, and also his covers for Vanity Fair and GQ magazines.
Kevin Parker, singer, songwriter musician, producer of psychedelic rock label Tame Impala. Photo: Daniel Boud
On becoming a photographer:A chance encounter?
A friend of mine had a job at a street press magazine (3D World). She’d seen me taking photographs at a lot of parties, and one day said: “Can I hire you to take pictures at this party we’re throwing?” That was my first paid commission to shoot anything. It’s such a tiny thing in hindsight, but at that time (in 2004) it was huge for me, because someone was actually going to pay me for doing this. It was a nominal fee, $40 or something, but I took it really seriously and went out and bought a proper flash and actually ended up seeing my pictures in print in the street press. That was a huge confidence booster for me, a validation.
Dance Rites, Sydney Opera House: Jannawi Dance Clan. Photo: Daniel Boud
The Game Changer?
One of my first photography jobs was taking pictures at a party in Sydney called Purple Sneakers, thrown every week at Sydney’s Abercrombie Hotel (in Chippendale). One night I met this guy, Angus Fontaine. I took a photo with him and his girlfriend and we got chatting and kind of became friends because of the photo. We stayed in touch and then about a year later, when he was starting up Time Out Sydney magazine, he asked me to join as full-time staff photographer. Time Out had a big heritage in London and New York, but we’d never had one in Australia. It was huge for me, because this was my opportunity to embrace photography full-time. It was hugely scary too. I felt a bit of a fraud, but Angus saw something in me and took a chance. That was a real turning point.
Hamilton at Sydney Lyric. Photo: Daniel Boud
Do you still feel a fraud?
I still suffer from imposter syndrome I guess. I remember when I got the job, I actually enrolled in a short course at the Australian Centre for Photography (in Paddington) because I’d never had a formal photography education. But on doing the course I realised I knew a lot of the things they were teaching.
Your strengths & weaknesses?
A strength is that I try to understand my client’s needs, respond to a brief, and adapt the style to the client. But, then, that potentially is a weakness too, because it means you could look at my body of work and say: “Oh, he does something like that… and then he does something like this… and they’re all very different, and we can’t see a cohesive aesthetic there.”
The cast of Drag Race Down Under at Sydney Opera House Photo: Daniel Boud
“One of the great joys of my job is collaborating.”
Is your work evolving?
Absolutely. I find it pretty boring to just find a style and keep doing it on repeat. One of the great joys of my job is collaborating with other people – whether it’s with an art director who has a great vision, a hair and makeup artist, or stylist. It can be the subject of the photograph, an actor, a dancer. I just love exchanging ideas. I give them the seed of an idea and they come back to me with something informed by that, often it’s even better than I could’ve imagined.
So you trust in collaborations?
Yes. I think that’s a good start. I used to be wracked with anxiety about not having a finished idea in mind when I walked into a shoot. Now that actually kind of excites me.
Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre. Photo: Daniel Boud
How do you find clients?
They generally find me. I’m a freelancer, so it’s good to have some consistent clients.
Arts clients include Sydney Opera House and The Australian Ballet; other clients include Airbnb, Samsung and a host of local and global musicians, actors, dancers, drag queens, athletes, chefs and artists.
From Dark Emu, Bangarra Dance Company. Photo: Daniel Boud
Do you have goals as such?
I don’t have clearly defined goals, but I’m ambitious to keep getting better, to evolve as a photographer, and grow my business.
What role does risk play?
I’m a pretty risk-averse person. I like security and I don't like confrontation. The fear of failure is probably a big motivator. But in terms of my photography I’ve had to force myself to take risks.
“I don’t have defined goals, but I’m ambitious to keep getting better.”
How do you push through difficulties?
I’m good at adapting fast. So, if something’s not working, I’ll be like: “That’s great. Let’s move on and try something else.” I can shift the dynamic quickly with a change of lighting or minor location adjustment.
YOUR HARDEST LESSON?
I’m naturally quite a shy, introverted person, so I’ve had to learn to get over that. With the camera in hand, I feel emboldened to be quite probing.
What keeps you awake at night?
COVID keeps me awake because I can’t work when restrictions are in place. So as a freelancer, I have zero income during these times, and that’s quite alarming. I’m in the prime of my career in the sense that I’m working quite a lot and I have lots of clients that I really like, but that can’t last forever. I won’t always be flavour of the month, so I have some anxiety about the long term.
Artist Ben Quilty. Photo: Daniel Boud
“I’m drawn to portraiture because it throws me into uncomfortable situations.”
Electro-soul, baroque-pop singer Moses Sumney at Laneway Festival, Sydney. Photo: Daniel Boud
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
I’m really drawn to portraiture because it throws me into uncomfortable situations (for an introvert) – meeting and talking to strangers. But I enjoy that process and want to keep doing portraits. I love working with creative, artistic people like dancers, actors and artists. They’re interesting subjects and they usually respect the process and the art of what I do. They also recognise that they have to play along in some sense, and collaborate.
Ariel view of Laneway Festival, Adelaide. Photo: Daniel Boud
