Video: Leica Stories interview with photographer Jose “Tutes” Tutiven emphasizes the importance of connection in portrait photography

posted Monday, August 22, 2022 at 10:30 AM EDT

As part of the B&H Event Space, B&H uploaded an in-depth conversation with Jose "Tutes" Tutiven. Tutiven is an Ecuadorian-born, New York City-raised portrait and lifestyle photographer, videographer, and producer. He is well-known for his warm, intimate natural-light portraits, and he's worked with many huge clients, including Google, Oprah Winfrey, Lincoln Motors, Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Leica, and many more. The Event Space discussion is part of B&H's "Leica Stories" series. You can see another Leica Stories video with photographer Devin Allen later in the article.

Tutiven's journey with photography started the same way it does for many people, he wanted to capture better pictures of important moments. When Tutiven's daughter was born, instead of paying someone to take photos of her in front of a standard backdrop with artificial light, Tutiven bought a camera kit to take photos of real moments as they happened. As he says, it lit a fire in him. As his passion for photography grew, he was working in the corporate world and found himself taking days off to attend photography workshops. He tried a wide range of photographic genres then and became so fascinated with photography that it felt like a calling. Unable to ignore his drive for photography, he quit his lucrative job and gave himself one year to determine if photography was his purpose.

Given that Tutiven is part of the B&H Event Space, it's safe to say it worked out well for him. He garnered a lot of attention for his work on social media, and it began to snowball. In the discussion below, Tutiven also talks about his personal photography work and the importance of authenticity. Throughout Tutiven's career, a personal connection has been an undercurrent for all his best work. There's no doubt that people can capture technically proficient, interesting images, but to create truly meaningful work, you must have passion and a connection to your work.

To see more of Jose "Tutes" Tutiven's work, visit his website and follow him on Instagram. If you're interested in learning more about natural light photography and are in the New York City area, you can check out Tutiven's workshop through Leica.

If you like interviews with talented photographers, B&H hosted another Leica Stories event earlier this year with portrait photographer Devin Allen. Allen has been an influential photographer since his career started in 2005 and was the first recipient of the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship. To check out more of Allen's work, follow him on Instagram.