The 9 Best Editorial Photographers in San Jose, CA

Among the cultural center of Silicon Valley, San Jose packs a powerful creative punch. The city is home to the most talented photographers and writers in the country, and when they join forces, amazing things happen. Editorial photography is a broad category, traditionally referring to any photography meant to accompany an article in a publication—though editorial images can also stand on their own in a publication. Experienced photographers use the skillsets of many other photographic niches, from photojournalism to fashion photography and fine art. These noteworthy San Jose editorial photographers are as versatile as they are artistic, and you’ll love their work.

1. Dai Sugano

It’s impossible to discuss San Jose editorial photographers without mentioning Dai Sugano, a world-class, award-winning photojournalist and senior editor at The Mercury News. His work has earned a national news and documentary Emmy Award and two National Edward R. Murrow Awards—to name just a few accolades.

In addition, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature photography. Sugano’s work has a dramatic, cinematic feel, largely due to his lighting. Sugano’s subjects are often softly lit amidst an otherwise shadowy space, drawing the eye directly towards the intended focal point. 

2. Shae Hammond

Shae Hammond is one of the most versatile San Jose editorial photographers working in the field today. Like many of the best editorial and documentary photographers in San Jose, Hammond works at The Mercury News, where she wears many hats.

Flipping through the publication’s pages, you might find your eye caught by a dazzling sports photo, a heart-pounding concert shot, or a gorgeous portrait—only to find her name credited on all of them. Whatever she’s shooting, her color choices are natural, bold, and beautiful and her composition flawless. There’s a sense of movement and liveliness to most of her work—a story in every shot. 

3. Jose Carlos Fajardo

For three decades, Jose Carlos Fajardo has been serving up some of the Bay Area’s finest frames, one snap of the shutter at a time. You’ll usually find him on the sports beat. In that capacity, he’s able to freeze moments in time that are gone in the span of a heartbeat—small moments that tell big stories. Whether it’s the intensity in the eye of a competitor, the anguish of a loss, or an expression on a player’s face that perfectly encapsulates who they are, Fajardo is ready. 

4. Ray Chavez

San Jose editorial photographer Ray Chavez has accolades most photographers would die for, including a 2017 Pulitzer Prize win, as well as a 2019 Pulitzer nomination. Like many highly experienced newspaper staff photographers, Chavez has developed a versatility and adaptability that are hard to match.

His photos are vibrant and alive, often distilling chaotic scenes and complex topics into one nuanced composition. We love that the work he produces, no matter the subject matter, is bold and bright, eye-grabbing and impactful—the perfect piece to accompany any article. 

5. Slava Blazer

Slava Blazer’s editorial photography is carefully staged and crafted from the ground up to dovetail nicely with the article it’s intended to accompany. His portfolio has a strong commercial feel to it, as if individual shots were stills from high-end TV commercials.

It’s no surprise then that his work has graced the pages of Vogue, Bloomberg Businessweek, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today, among others. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention that Blazer works with a team of several other highly talented photographers with impressive resumes of their own—many of whom operate out of San Francisco. 

6. Karl Mondon

If you make a habit of looking through San Jose publications, you’ll notice Karl Mondon’s name coming up again and again. Another veteran of the newspaper industry with decades of experience under his belt, he’s a photographer for whom producing world-class work is an everyday affair. His photographs are overflowing with personality, demonstrating impeccable technical ability, combined with a flair for the cinematic. He’s an intuitive San Jose editorial photographer, and the Bay Area is lucky to have him.

7. Shmuel Thaler

Shmuel Thaler has been a staff photographer at the Santa Cruz Sentinel since 1987, and as this list proves again and again, experience matters. He has twice received awards in the National Press Photographers Association Best of Photojournalism, and his work has been widely published in publications across the United States.

Thaler has also co-authored five children’s books, and was named Artist of the Year by Santa Cruz County’s Arts Commission. But accolades aside, his work speaks for itself: evocative yet nuanced, often utilizing striking angles. There’s a sense of motion throughout his body of work that draws the viewer in and invites us into the middle of a living, breathing situation. 

8. Jane Tyska

Take a look through Jane Tyska’s Instagram feed, and you’ll find some of the most attractive color correction and some of the sharpest photos you’ll ever see. Ever since shooting at a field trip to the Bronx Zoo at age 5, her skill has evolved, and the results are dazzling. Her work for the Chico Enterprise-Record was part of their 2019 Pulitzer nomination, but the highlights don’t stop there.

Over the span of two years, she crafted a series telling the story of 3-year-old Matthew Ouimet, who was on a waiting list to receive a life-saving liver and kidney transplant. (Ouimet did finally received those organs.) She embedded with a Bhutanese refugee family from their time in a camp in eastern Nepal through their relocation to California. The list goes on and on, but one thing each of her impactful stories has in common is this: a ton of heart.

9. Tomas Ovalle

Tomas Ovalle aims to meld photojournalism and fine art, and the results are dramatic and thoughtful. We find his black-and-white photography particularly compelling, though his color work is just as creative. Ovalle often pushes limits, taking a “safe” editorial shot and putting an impactful twist on an aspect of it—whether that’s silhouetting the main human subject or allowing a slight motion blur to evoke the motion and chaos of a scene. Whatever he’s working on, it’s always gripping, and that makes for world-class editorial photography. 

Clicking the shutter in Silicon Valley

The best editorial photographers in San Jose bring a lot of hustle, soul, and technical ability to their work, and it shows in every shot. But what’s remarkable isn’t just the quality of their work, but the breadth of it. Most of these San Jose editorial photographers have had long and storied careers already, creating thousands of images that have hit the pages of esteemed publications. They’re the collective eyes through which Californians see their city, and we can’t wait to see where their work takes them next.

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