People get devalued in Hollywood when they age, despite all their efforts to stay relevant and beautiful and young. They can’t get jobs anymore. – David LaChapelle
With mania, is it dangerous to ride that euphoric feeling. You feel very animated and creative; I would fill journals with drawings. It feels good and you want it to last, but it can lead to being delusional. The delusions can be as real as you thinking you can fly. – David LaChapelle
I was always painting when I was a kid. But then when I handled a camera when I was 17, that was it for me. I loved photography. I would work 4 or 5 hours a day. It was like a calling. – David LaChapelle
In the fashion world, I was always an outsider, but I made people look good, so I had a career. – David LaChapelle
I went to art high school and thought I’d be a painter. Unfortunately I didn’t finish high school, but that’s always been part of my work. – David LaChapelle
We use fashion for status and to beautify and there’s nothing wrong with that, but when it becomes completely unbalanced, then you’re living a decadent life. And when that happens on a global scale, you’re living in a decadent world. – David LaChapelle
I like thinking about the fragility of the human flesh and our bodies – our decay and eventual death. – David LaChapelle
I’ve never wanted to be part of an inner circle of any scene. I’ve always been an outsider looking to question and subvert. – David LaChapelle
For me, it’s easier to like more things than to dislike them; I’m not a critic in that sense. I find it easier to like more, to be more open and enjoy more things, which has given me more opportunities. – David LaChapelle
Just as Renaissance artists provided narratives for the era they lived in, so do I. I’m always looking beyond the surface. I’ve done that ever since I first picked up a camera. – David LaChapelle
I have this idea that you can use glamour and still have it represent something that matters. – David LaChapelle
My mother taught me a lot about respect for all living things – for plants and animals. I am a vegetarian. I was brought up that way. – David LaChapelle
The tools I learned photographing celebrities, now I want to use them to sell ideas. – David LaChapelle
The adornment of the body is a human need. I don’t see anything superficial about it unless your life becomes very materialistic. – David LaChapelle
I’m a photographer, period. I love photography, the immediacy of it. I like the craft, the idea of saying ‘I’m a photographer.’ – David LaChapelle
I never want people to be repulsed with my pictures; I always want to attract people. – David LaChapelle
As you get older, you think about things differently from when you do in your twenties, when you think you’ll live forever. – David LaChapelle
You work with people who are obsessive about shopping, obsessive about owning things and buying things, like this purchase is going to make them happy. And you want to say to them, ‘You know, no amount of real estate is gonna fill that void.’ – David LaChapelle