Bio
Michael Daks is an English Photographer/Director currently based in London after a 15 year stint in NYC and 5 years in Paris. He has worked as a fashion and portrait photographer for over 30 years with clients including: The New York Times Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, The Tatler, Cosmopolitan, SELF, Redbook, Seventeen, Variety, Rolling Stone, Blender, VIBE, The Source, XXL, The Observer Magazine, The Telegraph magazine, The Independent magazine, The Sunday Times magazine, FHM, Maxim, Sportswear International, Brill's Content, TV Guide USA and Germany, House & Garden US edition, World of Interiors, BLITZ, iD, The Face, L'Uomo Vogue, Vogue Hommes International, RITZ, SONY records, BMG, RCA, Vidal Sassoon, MTV, Levi's, Van Heusen, BELSTAFF, Drizabone, Arcadia, Burtons, Energie Jeans & GAP.
The cover image of his book of nudes JUST GOOD FRIENDS was featured in the Sunday Times magazine 'best of world photography' section. His work has been exhibited internationally, most notably at the 'Europ - L’Art sans frontières' exhibition in Paris in 1992 curated by César Baldaccini, The Milk Gallery in NYC in 2005, the Proud Gallery in London in 2010, the Pavillon des Lettres in Paris in June 2014, Biblioteque Chateau D'eau, Favela Chic & Paris College of Art in 2015, and iconoclastes gallery Paris in January 2016. In 2010 he turned his attention to directing fashion films & music videos. His video installation TARA DANCING was showcased in Paris as part of the Untitled Magazine exhibition at the Visionaire's Gallery, and his fashion film WISH YOU WERE HERE was shown at the soiree du Louvre benefit, 2011. His fashion film GIRL FRIDAY was shown at THE BIG SCREEN PLAZA in Midtown Manhattan and during the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. His short film THE BUTTERFLY COLLECTOR has now been viewed over 1 million times on youtube.
Michael's portraits of Dennis Potter & Kenneth Branagh are in the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery in London. His fashion work for BLITZ magazine was exhibited at the ICA in London, and published in the book 'AS SEEN IN BLITZ - FASHIONING 80's STYLE' by Iain R. Webb.
He was an International juror at the 2016 Istanbul Fashion Film Festival and at FashionClash in Maastricht in 2017. From 2012 to 2017 he was Professor of Photography at Paris College of Art (formerly Parsons Paris) and taught on their MA fashion Film and BA Fashion Photography programmes. He has been a guest speaker at many international Universities and conferences and is currently working on several book projects and exhibitions.
Images are available as archival pigment prints in a limited numbered edition.