Dana Scruggs

These images are so special. I want to shoot more fashion. Period. @gianninaoteto x Me for @sonyalpha featuring their AMAZING new camera: the A7R VI. We shot this in near dark and every shot was tack sharp. Stylist: @ragedrevenge MUA: Annie Mayo #SonyA7RVI #gianninaoteto #danascruggs

I rarely ever shoot at night. And even more rarely get the opportunity to create work in gorgeous, wide open nature. Sony provided me with the opportunity to do both, while shooting with their INCREDIBLE new camera: the @sonyalpha A7R VI. I’m in love with these images. @gianninaoteto x Me. Stylist: @ragedrevenge MUA: Annie Mayo Special Thanks to @suebrycephotographer for this incredible dress ❤️ #SonyA7RVI #gianninaoteto #danascruggs

Shot in my living room with a single, small, continuous light. You don’t need a ton of gear, a studio, and a full team to make work. In seeking perfection, sometimes that reality can be forgotten. @Averypie @fordmodelschicago x Me #averypiepenburg #danascruggs

Haruki Murakami x Me for the @nytimes . He signed my copy of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage ❤️ I’ve been given the privilege to be able to photograph so many people who inspire me - people who I never even dreamed I’d be able to even meet. I’m so grateful. Special Thanks to @ericaackerberg for the assignment 🙏🏽 Assistant: @vintage_fiasco Shot on my @sonyalpha A7R IV #harukimurakami #danascruggs

Feeling Nostalgic. Shot on my Mamiya RB67. I used to really want an RZ. When I finally could afford one, it took me a while to admit that the RB takes better pictures. More expensive or newer doesn’t always equate to better. Nyadhour Deng x Me. @nyadhuor #rb67 #Mamiya #rz67 #nyadhuordeng #danascruggs

It’s very easy to lose perspective when life doesn’t go the way we want it to - regardless of if that divergence is big or small. Being uncomfortable is not something that should be avoided. It makes you grow. It holds up a mirror. It allows you to see that you may be getting in your own way or amplifying seemingly negative aspects of your life and diminishing the positives. It allows you to live in real reality. More and more, I’m just living in gratitude for life and friendship and family and discernment. New Work: String Theory x Dana Scruggs Stylist: @solangefranklin Model: @aoifesmcguire  @ Heroes Hair: @hairbyromorgan Makeup: @tiffanyleighpatton Manicure: @ajackdannie Casting: @missdionnenyc Location: @splashlightstudios Photo Assistants: @vintage_fiasco & @catkiller___ Shot on my @sonyalpha A7R IV #aoifemcguire #danascruggs

The GOAT x Me. For the second time. @simonebiles for @stylistmagazine Photography Director: @tomgormer Editor: @alixkwalker1 Photo Assistant: @korypowell Hair: @byjustinrevenge Makeup: @deythamua Film Processed x @cswfilmchicago Shot on my Mamiya RZ67 #simonebiles #danascruggs

I grew up taking the bus because we didn’t have a car. A reality that embarrassed me at the time because I just wanted to not be perceived as poor - even though we kind of were - and because I wanted to be like all of my other friends. I spent a lot of my childhood waiting for the bus with my Mom. I would get impatient when the bus would take too long. In order to gauge how long we’d been waiting, I’d ask my Mom what time it was. Dryly, she would say “Time for you to get a watch.” I would always get so mad and she would always laugh. Having my work displayed on bus shelters in my hometown of Chicago - as well as New York and Boston - is a full circle moment. A moment that feels poignant and timely and special. Thank you so much to @publicartfund & @jcdecauxna for including me in “On The Flip Side” and providing me with the support to make this work. Special Thanks to @jeneedaria for her curation and kindness. You can view this work on bus shelters in the cities mentioned until April 5th. Model: @tylermichealhendrix_ Assistant: @vintage_fiasco Shot on my @sonyalpha A7R IV ✨ #publicartfund #tylermichaelhendrix #danascruggs

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is one of my favorite books. At times in my life, I’ve tied my identity and my self worth to my friendships. Sometimes, when those friendships ended, I didn’t know who I was without them. The fear of losing my friends, which is rooted in being an only child, not having many friends during childhood and being bullied - made me choose to bend myself in ways that were antithetical to my own standards and values. Those friendships ending forced me to build a life that was lived for myself. It was a lonely road and still sometimes is. That’s why this book continues to resonate so much with me, because I’ve experienced much of what the main character Tsukuru experienced - losing yourself in the loss of friendships and then finding yourself again. It was an honor to photograph the legendary Haruki Murakami for The New York Times. A pinch me moment. During my early struggle years in New York, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki was one of my very few possessions that I carried with me from place to place (I moved 13 times during my first 18 months). Photographing Mr. Murakami was a full circle moment for me. Special Thanks to @ericaackerberg for the assignment ❤️ Assistant: @vintage_fiasco #harukimurakami #danascruggs

When I’m testing ideas and concepts, there’s usually a point where I want to stop. It starts to feel too complicated or there’s a disconnect between what I’m directing my subject to do and what they are actually doing - or I just get tired of trying to create a visual or a feeling that isn’t working. It becomes enticing to just move on. That’s the point where, if I have the time, I’ll convince myself to keep going. Oftentimes, there will be a breakthrough. Sometimes, the breakthrough will come one, two, or 10 shoots down the road. But, trying is always worth it because I learn something new every time. New Work: String Theory x Dana Scruggs Stylist: @solangefranklin Model: @aoifesmcguire  @ Heroes Hair: @hairbyromorgan Makeup: @tiffanyleighpatton Manicure: @ajackdannie Casting: @missdionnenyc Location: @splashlightstudios Photo Assistants: @vintage_fiasco & @catkiller___ #danascruggs #aoifemcguire #pentax67

I fell into the habit of rarely shooting personal projects, and when I did - I would feel overwhelmed. The process of selecting really overwhelmed me. Then, I would retouch 20 or 30 or 60 different color grades of a single image - and still not feel like it was finished. Ultimately, I would just shut down and revisit the project every few months or after a year - most of the time when traveling by plane because then I didn’t have any distractions and felt more pleasure in the process. But once I stepped off the plane, I would lose my motivation. It’s easy for me to finish commissioned work b/c I have other people depending on me to deliver. If I’m the only client, it’s easier for me to spiral into perfectionism and anxiety because finishing begins to feel like an almost insurmountable feat. I have several bodies of work that I’ve wanted to release - if I could just finish them. I’m working on honoring their preciousness while learning how to not be overly precious about them. New Work: String Theory x Dana Scruggs Stylist: @solangefranklin Model: @aoifesmcguire  @ Heroes Hair: @hairbyromorgan Makeup: @tiffanyleighpatton Manicure: @ajackdannie Casting: @missdionnenyc Location: @splashlightstudios Photo Assistants: @vintage_fiasco & @catkiller___ Shot on my Pentax 67. Film developed by @lti_lightside #aoifemcguire #danascruggs

When I first started posting on Instagram, it was normal for me to talk about my life and my process when I posted my work. In the last few years, I’ve retreated from that more and more. Part of me felt like I just wanted the work to speak for itself. The other part may have just been tired of talking because that felt like more work. I hit a point in my career where my fire for making was at a slow burn. It used to be ferocious. Dreaming about what I wanted to make and achieve was more fun and easier than just doing it. A lot has happened in my life recently. A lot that has changed me. It’s made me ready to start building my fire again. I don’t know if it will ever be as ferocious as it was before, but I’m willing to push myself to find out. New Work: String Theory x Dana Scruggs Stylist: @solangefranklin Model: @aoifesmcguire  @ Heroes Hair: @hairbyromorgan Makeup: @tiffanyleighpatton Manicure: @ajackdannie Casting: @missdionnenyc Location: @splashlightstudios Photo Assistants: @vintage_fiasco & @catkiller___ Shot on my @sonyalpha A7RIV & my Mamiya 67 #aoifemcguire #danascruggs