Daniel Arnold

About Episode 97

In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, photographer Daniel Arnold joined Sasha for a candid conversation about the upsides and downsides of social media success. Daniel reflected on the joy and fulfillment he experienced during the height of his online popularity, while also acknowledging the need to move beyond curating a public persona. They also discussed his forthcoming book, You Are What You Do (Loose Joints). Though Daniel had a strong instinct to maintain control over his work, he came to appreciate how working with an editor—bringing in a more objective eye—could open the work up to new ideas and take it in directions he might not have pursued on his own.

About Daniel Arnold

Daniel Arnold (b. 1980, USA) is a New York-based photographer whose candid, street-level images capture the unfiltered rhythms of urban life. His recent solo exhibitions include Dante’s Inverno at The Little House, Los Angeles, New York Life at New York Life Gallery, New Yorkand Nothing at Larrie Gallery, New York. Arnold’s photography appears regularly in publications including The New York Times, Vogue, and Interview, among others. In 2022, Elara Press published his first monograph entitled Pickpocket. A new collection of photos entitled You Are What You Do will be released in November of 2025 by Loose Joints.

Which book is a favorite one you continue to revisit?

Never been a ‘favorites’ guy, don’t have them, but I will say that when I’m stumped on an edit or elsewhere, a quick flip through the giant yellow MoMA (Lee) Friedlander retrospective completely changes how my photos look for 20 minutes. He’s a Sichuan peppercorn. I don’t aspire to formal excellence, but I do find it useful for a quick perspective shift.

What advice do you have for emerging photographers / artists?

Brains are for editing. Shoot with your stomach. Work everyday.

Is there an image by another photographer has influenced you in your career?

I was a crazed obsessive photographer before I knew much about photography. But a general thing that always resonates is surreal or misleading (or at least cinematic) documentary work. Winogrand’s laughing dancer lady. Arbus’s Jewish giant. DiCorcia’s fallen businessman. Straight shots of life-as-it-is that double as proof of magic. That phenomenon was my guiding light for a while. Not so much anymore.