My Journey

My parents recognized my creative spirit and gave me a camera at the age of four. I'll never forget snapping photos of family and neighbors. By ten I had set up a darkroom and was processing my own film. Eventually my hobby became the foundation for a career in art and advertising. 

In university, I studied marine biology but always had a camera close by. Despite my love of science, I decided to pursue a career in photography. I started out shooting small fashion gigs until I eventually landed a job as an assistant photographer. My career blossomed and a few years later I opened my own studio in San Francisco. There I shot award winning content for Apple, Adidas, Levis and many others. I also began to direct music and commercial videos. Later, I relocated to Los Angeles to take advantage of all the great production resources. After that I accepted a position managing photography for Amazon Fashion in New York. 

Today, I make Miami my home and collaborate with a global community of artists, agencies and organizations. Between projects I am writing a book that chronicles my learnings during the Great Recession of the late 2000s. In the midst of the 2020 pandemic I founded David Casteel Gallery, an online destination to buy art prints of some of my images.   

Learn more about my professional career on LinkedIn