Former The Voice Winner, Jason Dy, picks up the camera as he kickstarts a new career in fashion. Find out more by reading our exclusive interview with the artist.
Related: A Second Chance To Come Out In Glitter
“Wait, is the photographer Jason Dy?” is the question we received a lot after the release of our September covers for MEGAStyle and OneMega.com. To which we replied, Yes. Jason Dy is now an up and coming fashion photographer. More than that, he recently shot two magazine covers with Cornerstone stars, Alex Diaz and Zephanie. The talented singer who won The Voice Philippines Season 2 and sang a duet with David Foster (like its no big deal) is putting down the mic in exchange for a camera. But, do not worry! The singer-slash-photographer has confirmed that he will continue to perform while taking photos along the way. His first love is still singing, but that won’t stop him from pursuing his other interests such as photography.
There may be a lot more questions running through your mind right now. When did Jason get into photography? How did this all start? What’s his photography style? And, can he take photos of me? There’s no need to get ahead of ourselves. We’ve got all the answers right here in an exclusive interview with Jason on his career shift.
MEGA: Where did your love for photography start?
Jason Dy: I’ve always loved photography. I’m a very visual person and I love the whole process of coming up with an idea or a concept and executing it. I love looking at striking images and I’m always curious about what went behind the making of that photo.
To be quite honest, it really started quite selfishly. During the pandemic, I needed new promo photos of myself for a project I was releasing and I couldn’t hire a professional photographer to do a shoot with because of quarantine restrictions. I just thought I’d do it myself at home. Surprisingly, I found myself really enjoying the whole experience.
M: What made you decide to pursue photography now?
JD: After learning the basics and taking thousands of self-portraits, I wanted to venture out and push this new acquired skill of mine. I wanted to shoot other people. I wanted to see where this new skill would take me and what other things I could learn along the way as a photographer.
M: Did you take any lessons on photography? Did you have a mentor?
JD: No formal training but I did take a bunch of masterclasses from Annie Leibovitz, Lara Jade, and Tyler Mitchell and I’m a proud alum of The University of Youtube. I’ve logged a considerable amount of hours of video tutorials.
M: What’s your photography style?
JD: I’ve only been shooting professionally for under a year so I think I’m still in the process of finding my own style but I find that in my own work I gravitate towards colorful, film-like images. I love experimenting with color stories and I love transforming my subjects into different versions of themselves.
M: Which photographers do you look up to? Locally and internationally?
JD: Locally I’m a huge fan of Mark Nicdao, BJ Pascual, Shaira Luna and Charisma Lico. Internationally, Meisel is my number one. Mert and Marcus, Mario Testino, Tim Walker, Nick Knight. I also love the greats. Avedon, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts.
M: What were your favorite shoots from the past?
JD: I love the first “actual” shoot I did (outside of doing self-portraits) with Iñigo Pascual. At that time, I just rewatched A Streetcar Named Desire and I wanted to reference that film with my shoot with Iñigo. I wanted him to look like Marlon Brando.
Of course my first covers will always have a special place in my heart. My shoot with Zephanie for One Mega and Alex Diaz for MEGAStyle.
M: Who would be part of your dream team to work with?
JD: I’m gonna dream big here, because why not? Naomi Campbell as model, Pat Mcgrath MUA, Guido Palau Hair and Grace Coddington stylist.
M: Do you have a muse? If yes, who is it?
JD: I guess right now it would be Zephanie. I shot with her a couple of times and it’s always easy shooting with her. You almost don’t have to tell her what to do.
M: Do you plan to do photography full time or will you still perform?
“Music will always be my main thing and making music and performing will always have my heart but I’m also really passionate about photography now. I just love creating art and I’m always finding different ways of artistic expression”
JASON DY
M: What’s the future of Jason Dy photography?
JD: Hopefully more shoots, more covers. A billboard or two, perhaps. I wish to have an exhibit of my works someday. That would be the dream.
