The Guy Behind The Camera

Filipino-American Tom Lupton began drawing and creating art after taking a cartooning class in Portland… at the age of seven! He was a Fine Arts major and a stage actor.  He started using a camera as a tool for his art and took pictures of people on the street. He soon found more people who shared his vision to make photographic art.

Tom draws his inspiration from the people he collaborates with. Every concept is essentially a portrait of the subject. The makeup artists, designers, art directors, body painters, and other collaborators join to bring out the power of that subject – which is often someone who has worked through very challenging life circumstances. These are the people with the fire in their eyes, and you cannot fake that – nor can it be ignored in Tom’s images.

When asked about his style of art, Tom says “I’ve shot with people whose stories have deformed and re-formed them. I try to focus the power that’s healed them, and not broken them. This is my favorite thing about my particular brand of photography: “learning about the person I’m shooting with and working with them to craft an idea that represents them at their core.” 

Vlog by Kevin Balmer for Inside Fashion Design

Tom, co-producer, helped create a show that welcomed more than the fashion status quo. Fringe invites designers that don’t fit the mold, models who are breaking boundaries, and pop-up shops for local artists.
Fringe is like no other fashion show in the PNW.
Creating an all inclusive place for the underdogs and the misfits is what Fringe is all about.

Articles & Publications

• Portland Interview Magazine Fashion Edition, March 2019
  Feature in Interview with Sloan White Couture

• Inside Fashion Design, Inside Peek, February 2019

• New Face Magazine, February 2019

• Tear Sheet PDX, December 2018

• Philocaly Magazine, Issue 22