Michael Rababy is a documentary/street photographer and filmmaker. Michael studied art history at the University of San Diego before spending some time in Paris. He draws inspiration from the work of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Michael loves taking pictures of people, particularly when he can capture their emotion. In fact, Michael looks for emotion even if the scene in front of him is devoid of people. Most of all, Michael enjoys taking photos, something he hopes viewers can sense in when they look at his images.

We spent most of our interview talking about the art of curation. Michael recognizes that many photographers struggle with curating their own work. Michael’s advice? Look at a lot of work from other photographers and force yourself to be critical about your own images. In addition to curating his own work, Michael curates for books and art shows. He shared how he makes decisions when choosing images for a project. Listen in to gain some insights on his process that you can apply to your own work.

A Selection of Michael’s Photos

Interview Links

• Michael’s website
• Michael’s Instagram
• California Love: a Visual Mixtape – Arcana
• California Love: a Visual Mixtape – Hennessey Ingals
• Michael’s favorite films