INSIDE THE CREATIVE MIND OF DAVE ROMERO

Welcome to the L0kiverse: Inside the Creative Mind of Dave Romero

Dave Romero is an artist living a double life. By day, he’s a photographer whose candid, cinematic style captures the raw soul of New York City, from high-fashion editorials to intimate proposals. By night, he steps onto the stage as a stand-up comedian, transforming his sharp observations into the universal language of laughter. This unique duality gives him a perspective that is both deeply artistic and refreshingly real. ShutterSpire Magazine’s Tommy Butler recently sat down with Dave to go behind the scenes of one of his most stunning recent editorials—a fashion shoot in Dumbo, Brooklyn—and explore how his two creative passions intersect, influence, and ultimately define him as an artist.

ShutterSpire Magazine: The shoot you did with models Stephanie and Jack in Dumbo—I’ve admired it for a while. It's just so amazing how well they model. In fact, when I first met you, you told me you had these incredibly talented friends, and I was skeptical. But after working with Stephanie myself in February, my mind was blown. Then you released the Dumbo set. So, let’s start there. How did that shoot come together? What was the secret sauce?

Dave Romero: Shout out to Jack and Steph; they are two very kind individuals and very talented models. That shoot was actually a part two to a shoot I did with them in my office about two years ago. Fashion Week was happening, so I hit them up and said, "Let's get the band back together." They had shows to do, so we met up early on a nice, sunny day. I’ve always wanted to take pictures in Dumbo, and I knew a couple of cool spots, including the carousel. It’s just a really nice place to shoot with the bridge and the river in the background. It wasn’t too packed that day, so it all just worked out.

ShutterSpire Magazine: Let's rewind. How did you meet them in the first place to even have a "Part 1" shoot?

Dave Romero: I met them through connections I made at a fashion show a few years back. I photographed them on the runway, and after seeing them a few times, Stephanie and I really hit it off while we were both part of a group trying to produce a show at Terminal 5 here in New York. We decided to get together and shoot in my office, and they were totally up for it. That first shoot was actually on a Super Bowl Sunday, I'll never forget that. We met up at 8 in the morning—before the game, don't get excited!—and I was a little hungover. We went into an empty office space in my building and just went to work. I even had two buddies from the UK on vacation who I invited to shoot, too. That was one of my favorite shoots. They did their makeup here, changed into their outfits, and I just used all these empty offices as my little makeshift studios. We just hit it off from there. I even put them in a refrigerator for a shot.

ShutterSpire Magazine: That was a very editorial look! So for the Dumbo shoot, what kind of direction did you have to give them?

Dave Romero: None. No direction at all. The reason I love working with them is because I just have to pick up the camera and shoot. I’ll tell them where to go based on what I want in the background, but they are there just doing their magic. Not once did I have to tell them, “Oh, do this, do that.” They just know. They work off of each other’s energy wonderfully.

ShutterSpire Magazine: That’s been my experience too. When I worked with Stephanie, I was struggling to keep up with all the art that was happening in front of my camera. It’s a rare talent. And you’re always out there creating, I see you recently had a proposal shoot go viral?

Dave Romero: Yeah, I had a proposal to shoot for one of my buddies at the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park. He proposed to his girlfriend, who I found out two days later is an anchor or correspondent for a news channel. My buddy hits me up and says, “Your photo’s going viral.” He sends me the Twitter link, and it’s got, like, 500,000 hits. I was like, “Oh, awesome!” Then, because she works in the news, they did a little clip about the engagement and said, “...and the photo was taken by Dave Romero.” I was like, “What?” It was wild.

ShutterSpire Magazine: That's fantastic! You also do commercial work, like the food photography you’ve been posting. How has that been?

Dave Romero: It's a different challenge. The last one was in a restaurant, and I wanted to use as much natural light as I could from their balcony, but the sun was going down way too quick. The shots I got outside came out really good, but then inside, the lighting had that yellow, hot nastiness that I just hate. I had to use a flash, but it wasn’t ideal. I feel the pictures would have come out better if I could have shot earlier with that natural light. The first food shoot I did this month, I was 1000% happy with. This one I feel I could have done a lot better if I’d anticipated the lighting situation and had more equipment with me.

ShutterSpire Magazine: Let's shift gears to your other passion. You’re not just a photographer; you’re also deeply involved in the comedy scene. Tell us about that journey.

Dave Romero: I’ve always had the idea of wanting to do it, and one day I just decided, “Heck, let’s do it.” My buddy hosts an open mic in the city and invited me to come out and do five minutes. In retrospect, you think five minutes isn’t long, but when you're trying to make people laugh—and if they're not laughing—it is the longest five minutes of your life. I still have the recording of my first set, and it’s wild to see who I was a year and a half ago.

But it’s been cool. One of my goals this year was to do as many shows as possible, and I’ve lost count now. I'm on a show every Saturday in Brooklyn, which has been fun. I’m basically bartering photography for stage time. I tell my buddy, “Hey, I’ll take pictures of the show if you let me do a set.” And I’m going to be in the New York Comedy Festival this year, which I’m really excited about.

ShutterSpire Magazine: You’ve told me before that you do it for the love of the art and that making someone laugh feels like your soul lights up. How does that feel in the moment?

Dave Romero: You know, Robin Williams said something to the effect of, “Some of the saddest people tend to be the funniest.” I have a lot of internal stuff that I deal with, and it’s nice for me to get on stage, look into the audience, and see them there just to watch a show. If I can get them to laugh… there’s just something about making a room of 50, 60, or 100 people laugh together at something you said. That vibration of laughter, it just… I don’t know, man. It’s a drug. You’re not on your phones; you’re just present. I can look out and see smiles on people’s faces, and that’s the reward. That’s what makes me feel good.

ShutterSpire Magazine: In those moments, you’ve built a perfect community. It’s amazing how you can bring a group of strangers together. How do you think that intersects with your photography? What of comedy do you bring to your visual art, and vice-versa?

Dave Romero: They are two different sides of me: there’s Dave the photographer, and then there’s Dave the comic. Because I’m so annoyingly observant, having a camera in my hand is so much fun. When I'm out taking pictures in the street, it's a very peaceful moment. I have my headphones on, I'm listening to music, and I'm just looking for the right light, or really dark spots of shadows, and looking for someone who's wearing something weird or doing something interesting. I think I'm more artsy with the camera in hand. With comedy, I get to be more of my degenerate self. It’s crazy, like I’m using one part of my brain to be like, “Oh, that looks good,” and the other part to think of, well, crude jokes. It’s two sides of the same coin.

ShutterSpire Magazine: If someone wants to see Dave the Comic or contact you for photography, how can they find you?

Dave Romero: Just follow me on Instagram, @WelcomeToTheL0kiverse (the 'o' in Loki is a zero). I post show dates there. My page is mostly for my photography, but that’s the best place to find me for either. You can also email me for photography services at capturesbyromero@gmail.com.

LINKS

Photographer, Dave Romero @welcometotheL0kiverse on Instagram

Professional model, Jack Mayer @withlovefromjack on Instagram

Professional model, Stephanie Baltrus @stephaniebyourself on Instagram