Enrique Leyva

I am based in Oaxaca City, Mexico. I started in the photography world when I was 16, my first camera was a semiprofessional Kodak, my first steps were into the documentary photography inspired by Álvarez Bravo, Graciela Iturbide and Flor Garduño works. When I went to study industrial design I continue this journey with my canon camera but now experimenting in the portraits world then a fashion photography contest select me to be into the fashion week to learn more about the fashion photography world.

During this time I had a lot of questions and doubts about how the fashion world worked in Mexico. I noticed discrimination and a lack of inclusion for people of color, I didn’t feel welcomed or represented in the industry so I decided to change this. I went back to Oaxaca and I started to find models of color to introduce the rest of the fashion industry here to Mexican culture and our their indigenous roots.

When it comes to your photography, how has your heritage found your way into the composition?

I am like a kid while I am taking photos, people use to tell me “hey relax” because I run for things that I am finding in my way while I am taking the photos, mostly I tried to make some examples in my head and tried to draw what I am imagining but when its time to take the photos I forget the basic ideas and try to select the right things that I need for my composition.
I always tried to show Mexico within my composition through our colors, textures, Streets, and Mexican architecture. For example the worn walls in the little towns, The rural landscapes, the everyday life where I grew up like markets, old streets, the stores with old fonts with specific Mexican labeled. I believe there is beauty in everyday situations.

Normally I reference documentary photography tendencies within my fashion work, photographing models near their home. This helps them feel at ease in their natural environment and also makes it a more realistic portrait.

I love to play with the natural compositions that an environment gives me in the right moment, If I found 5 plastic colorful chairs in the street I try to do something with that composition or with the cars, the flowers, and the architecture.

What advice would you give to photographers on giving yourself the creative freedom to play?

A lot of my best photographs aren’t planned in advance, they happen through observation of the moment. For example when I notice an old car parked in a street, or the composition of flowers or fruits that a lady is selling in the middle of the street, I take advantage of the moment, knowing every moment is temporary. This often causes me to play, to create in the moment with the elements presented to me.

What Role does color play in your work? How do you use it to draw the viewer in?

The colors are so important for me, I know people relate vibrant colors to Mexico. I like that but I try not to heavily saturate my work. I try to balance the brightness of the colors with the model’s skin tone and their clothes.

I think the viewer is attracted by the colours but also the textures, for example the walls, the floor details, the brown skin tone, and also the real Mexican colorful elements that represent a lot of our culture, like the houses painted in three colors, or the cars vibrantly painted with phrases. The colours of the abandoned mud houses or the warm landscapes and the organic natural elements all draw the viewer in with their beauty.

To further draw my viewer in I focus on my subject. Representing their soul by capturing their movements, smile, hair and the whole body. To this day I still try to bring the documentary style that I learned at 16 into my photographs. I ask models to act like we are strangers, as if I have found them in the street or market and approached them for their photo. Thats the reason that maybe in my photos models are in straight forward pose, or smiling , closing her eyes or just sitting relaxed. And I think the work that the team does behind this scenes is so important, because you are always looking to make a balance between the fashion stylist and the whole fashion story , clearly stylist is also an art. The construction of a concept with the clothes, fabrics, organic elements etc. make a sculpture in the model body.


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