Carlos Gonzalez (AKA The1point8) is a Los Angeles–based photographer whose work is rooted in portraiture, music, entertainment, and contemporary culture.

His career began in the early 2010s within the world of graffiti, street culture, and contemporary art. During this early period, he photographed some of the most notable figures in the modern art scene while developing the visual foundations and visual language that would shape his work.

That early connection to artists and street culture helped define a visual approach that continued into the world of music and entertainment, both on and off stage. At the same time, his work expanded into photographing social justice issues, including protests, workers’ rights, immigration reform, and politics.

Those early years taught him some valuable lessons—to create images that feel observational, unobtrusive, and honest in both circumstance and emotion, no matter the person or moment. Whether working with an artist, athlete, musician, activist, or the “every man and woman,” his photographs are ultimately about being fully present with the subject, while also giving the viewer a feeling, emotion, or experience they might empathize with and connect with.

Over the years, this approach has led him to work with some of the best-regarded publications in the world, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, ESPN, The Players’ Tribune, and the L.A. Times, among others. On the commercial & advertising side, he has shot national and international campaigns for global brands including Lowe’s, Google / Android, Netflix, American Express, YouTube, and several others.

Today, his work moves between commissioned assignments and personal projects as he continues to expand his practice as a visual artist. At the heart of his work is a fascination with the space between the constructed and the spontaneous – a moment when a person stops performing for the camera and something more revealing, unexpected, and meaningful emerges.

It is in those moments that he believes a photograph can become more than an image. It can become a visual record of something felt, experienced, and hopefully remembered.