Joyce Lee is a photographer based in Southern California. She splits her time between Los Angeles and Palm Springs. With a focus on narrative and realism in still life photography, Joyce’s work aims to blur the line between found and created moments. Her commercial clients range from Hermès to The New York Times to Google. Her personal work takes her into public and sometimes private spaces in pursuit of her next still life, with a selection of props in tow.

Thanks for joining us, Joyce. How’s everything going?

Wonderful, thanks for asking. I’m excited to be here! I just got back from a 3-week trip to Taiwan and Hong Kong and I’m recharged for the new year (and about to dive into 23 rolls of film that I shot over there!).

What first drew you to photography? Was there a moment or something you saw that made you think, “This is it”?

I first took photography classes in high school and I was hooked. To realize that everything in that rectangle was under my control was when it really stuck. It really was, and still is, the notion that I could create my own world, if only in this small frame. Then I became obsessed with magazines and fashion editorials, especially the Fabien Baron-designed Harper’s Bazaars of the mid to late 1990’s. I fell in love with this world of make-believe and creating visual narratives. Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled Film Stills” was also a huge inspiration for me at the time. I would dress my friends up in thrift store clothing and shoot them around town, mimicking Sherman’s filmic style.

Your portfolio is incredible. How do you manage to balance a client’s vision while still making it feel so you?

My work relies heavily on the environment and I find when I’m able to have input on the location, it’s a much easier marriage between the client’s vision and my own. If I’m brought in after the location is already chosen, I must remember that my lighting and my framing are the things that a client looks to me for. My still lifes tend to be a touch playful and my images rely on shapes, objects and light, and how these elements all dance and interact with each other. These things take time and I have realized I need to ask for and take a few extra moments to really achieve the lighting the client hired me for. I need to pause and find that unexpected angle or perspective on the image that makes it uniquely mine.

(Left and middle) Commissioned work for TWA / Fast Company (Right) Commissioned work for Google

Editor's Note: The images shot at the TWA Terminal for Fast Company perfectly capture how having input on the location helped Joyce create something that feels truly her own. On the other hand, her work for Google shows how she used lighting and framing to maintain her vision, even when the location was already decided.

Your still-life work feels like it tells little stories in every frame. How do you decide what elements to include to build those narratives?

I am drawn to places with an old soul and using objects in my still-lifes that feel like they have stories to tell. I also think the absence of elements helps to build the story up. Remove the clutter and let the main elements tell the story. Sometimes beautiful light hitting the corner of a room and then adding one singular object to suggest a narrative is all it takes..

What’s your process when you’re experimenting with props or materials? Is it more planned out or spontaneous?

It is definitely a little bit of both. I always bring a small selection of props with me when I travel (gloves, a map of the destination, jewelry), but then I will also incorporate local things that I might find. Recently while traveling in Hong Kong, I came across a cool Vitasoy drink in a glass bottle and immediately incorporated it into a still life with some of my other props.

On the personal side, your work feels so raw and exploratory. How does shooting for yourself differ from the mindset you have on commissioned projects?

About eight years ago, I felt pretty burnt out on photography. At this time, I had been restricting and pigeonholing myself in regards to my work. The pure joy of taking my camera out into the world and shooting whatever I came across had been lost on me. I viewed myself as a photographer who only created images, as opposed to one who found images, hence limiting my personal and really, my commercial photography practice. I was in a rut and I decided I would dust off my film camera and force myself to go back to the basics – go outside and take photographs with no agenda other than walk around, watch light, look through the viewfinder. Repeat. The act of finding photographs instead of creating photographs has given me new lease on my love for photography. Now I understand the value of both and how one is necessary to inform the other. I do a fair amount of street photography now when I’m traveling and this is where I can abandon those commercial restraints and play around in a different genre.

Do you have a favorite image or series that you feel really represents where you’re at creatively right now?

I’m really excited about the images that I just took on my recent trip to Hong Kong. Finding a visual rhythm in everyday found objects and scenes is really inspiring to me right now.

What’s a photography “rule” you secretly (or not so secretly) love breaking?

Not technically a photography rule, but breaking out of the pattern of “only shooting in perfect sunny weather” or the weather you were hoping to have for your shoot. I’m most drawn to making pictures with deep shadows and bright light, but I secretly love shooting on an overcast day. The unpredictable keeps you on your toes and presents you with different ways of looking at the world.

How do you like to spend your time when you’re not behind the camera?

I love going to secondhand shops and flea markets to find treasures for my next shoot. I also tap dance with a local dance group and that’s been so fun and rewarding on many levels.

What’s next for you in 2025?

For the past two years, I’ve been working on a short film titled, “Map of the Stars” and it’s finally finished. It’s my first time in the director’s seat and I’m excited to start promoting it and hopefully have it shown at some festivals. The film is set in the 1960’s and is about a woman who is obsessed with Hollywood and becoming an actress. I have also been working on a personal project where a set designer and I have gotten together and recreated Agatha Christie book covers which were originally illustrations, and we reimagined them as photographs. I will be looking for a gallery this year to show the series.