Sam Comen talks about the evolution of his career as documentary photographer — from a job at his college newspaper to shooting celebrities to his current work, which shines a light on the inequity of the essential worker experience (and which includes a photograph in the National Portrait Gallery). Sam discusses that by using the same style and tools that he once used to photograph celebrities, he’s able to elevate the stories of working people, with a focus on members of immigrant farming communities. 

Where to see Sam’s work: 

• Working America
• Golden Hour: California Photography, in-person exhibit through Feb. 2022
• “The Longest Shift,” a documentary based on his photographs of essential workers. 

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Bio: Sam specializes in shooting environmental portraits of everyday heroes as well as leaders, actors, musicians, and artists for national publications. Most recently, the portrait "Jesus Sera, Dishwasher” from Comen’s series Working America was awarded Second Prize in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s triennial portrait exhibition The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today (on view 2019-2021). His photographs have been collected by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and private collectors, and he is regularly commissioned by brands and magazines internationally. As a native Californian (and Angeleno), Sam has used his home state as a muse throughout his career, and often looks to the places that define us for inspiration. He’s most notably brought this site-specific approach to his series Lost Hills, which captures contemporary issues of immigration and labor in a small farmworker town in California’s Central Valley.