Each time I did assignments or editorials, I realized that I wanted to do something more. I saw that it wasn't just about the clothes.

And what excites me most is the type of public, the fact that the Parisian people have a broader cultural understanding than many Americans do.

It's important to let your subjects be themselves.

I'm pretty selective. I generally edit the contact sheets and then do work prints. Because I have my own lab and printers, I can afford the luxury of going through the contact sheets for black-and-white, making up work prints, seeing them big, and honing them down.

I always enjoyed art history because, growing up in California, my exposure was limited, and it was a new experience. To learn the history of art opened up certain things to me, made me see. It intrigued me.

Coming from California and growing up where I did, I've always had a fondness for and innate sensitivity to light, texture, and warmth.

Generally, the French highly promote culture and the arts, and photography is in their blood.