Photographer Jacques Burga on Exploring Mystery and Tension

Jacques Burga, Photographer

Hometown: Lima, Peru
Based In: Paris, France, and Los Angeles, California

You studied business before pivoting to photography. What made you walk away from that path, and what does that background bring to your creative life?
Business school was something both my family and I always wanted me to pursue, regardless of where my career would eventually lead. At the same time, I always knew I was naturally drawn to culture, fashion, and music. While I already had a strong sense of discipline and structure, studying business reinforced those qualities and gave me a mindset that continues to shape both my professional and personal life today.

How did you first discover your passion for photography, and what specifically led you into the world of fashion photography?
Almost by accident. It all started while I was studying business and taking photos at parties in my hometown of Lima, Peru. Literally on the dance floor.

How would you describe your work? What’s your trademark?
My photography explores mystery, tension, and emotional depth. The mystery lies in what is left unsaid, because I try to avoid telling the full, literal story. The tension comes from contrasts: beauty and vulnerability, masculinity and femininity, intimacy and distance, Hollywood glamour and loneliness. The depth is emotional. More than creating polished imagery, I try to make every photograph feel like a thought pulled directly from my mind. I have always been drawn to pop culture, Hollywood, and music, but I approach them through my own perspective, in a way that avoids cliché. My work also reflects the way I live my life. I was talking about this with a friend a few days ago. I love being present for major cultural moments, whether it’s a highly anticipated concert, a tennis final, or an event like the Met Gala after-parties. But almost immediately afterward, I feel the need to disconnect completely and disappear somewhere quiet, like an empty beach with no one else around. I think that contrast naturally finds its way into my work and has become part of my visual language. It lives in the balance between intensity and stillness, spectacle and intimacy.

There’s a filmic quality to your images; even the color ones feel like they were shot on film. Is that something you develop in post, or does it start on set?
I shoot on film as much as I shoot digitally. What matters most to me is maintaining a consistent visual treatment throughout my work, which is why the cinematic, film-like feeling carries over to both media.

What do you love most about what you do?
What I love most about what I do is being able to transform my obsessions, cinema, Hollywood, fashion, music, and my personal aesthetics into a visual language. Creating an image feels like expressing something out loud without needing words. It is my way of communicating everything happening in my mind. What fascinates me is that this world does not stop at the image or the project itself. I try to extend it beyond the shoot, beyond the magazine cover, and beyond the campaign published online. The real beauty lives in the people, the conversations, and the energy that exists before and after a project begins and ends. It continues through my relationships with those I have worked with on set: the lunches or dinners we have later that week, the next project we will create together, or the parties we might attend that weekend. It is a circle.

What have you watched, heard, or read lately that has inspired you?
What inspires me most lately does not necessarily come from looking outward, but from looking inward. For me, inspiration often begins with an emotion or a realization rather than a specific film, book, or reference. To be honest, many of the things that have moved me recently have come from daily life or social media, not necessarily from fashion or traditional creative content, but from human, everyday moments. I recently watched someone speak about losing both of their parents at a young age, and it reminded me how fortunate I am to live the life I live today. Not because it revealed something entirely new, but because certain stories have the power to instantly recalibrate your perspective and reconnect you to what truly matters. Social media is often perceived as a superficial or soulless space, and sometimes it is. But hidden within that endless flow of content are unexpected moments of humanity, vulnerability, and truth. Sometimes a random image, a video, or even a sentence can stay with me and become the beginning of something new, a moodboard, a photoshoot, or even a project completely unrelated to photography. I like to stay emotionally open enough to recognize those unexpected, sometimes unwanted, yet meaningful moments of inspiration when they appear.

What’s something outside of your work that you would like people to know about you?
My zodiac sign is Cancer, which makes me extremely sensitive.

Selected Work

Blanca Soler for The Walk Magazine
More than a fashion image, this photograph represents the emotional language I constantly search for in my work: mystery, tension, cinematic glamour, and human complexity existing within the same frame. It also captures everything I love about Saint Laurent under Anthony Vaccarello, a dialogue between masculinity and femininity, power and vulnerability, sensuality and control. The full editorial was for YSL and felt like a personal body of work. My team and I shot this in Barcelona in an abandoned warehouse, and it was also my first time in the city. It ended up feeling like a frozen moment suspended between intimacy and power. Both the beginning and the end of a story that continues in the mind of the viewer, as it does now with you.

TOM FORD by Haider Ackermann The Debut collection
Photographing Haider Ackermann’s first collection for Tom Ford felt deeply personal to me because Tom Ford represents a bold, refined, and highly cinematic vision and has always been one of my strongest visual references. I also love the styling work of Jacob Kjeldgaard, who was part of this collection. This was a special moment not only for me but also for the fashion industry, a milestone and a new beginning.

Clubkid
Sonny Hall brings a special energy to a photoshoot, as every detail and every movement can trigger a great shot. We shot this ARENA HOMME China+ cover in Paris with budget restrictions, yet it ended up being one of my favorite editorial jobs. Today, I associate it with Club Kid, the film directed by Jordan Firstman that premiered at Cannes this May, because it carries the same spirit of youth, rebellion, and shameless self-expression. The chaos, confidence, vulnerability, and freedom of someone building their own identity reflect both my personality and my work today.

Femme Fatale for Vogue Turkey
I had a great time shooting one of my closest friends, Valentina Hites, at an artist studio outside of Paris. We wanted it to feel like a bold, “badass” shoot with a hint of eroticism and chic.As a film director and art director, Valentina and I understood how to build an image that feels cinematic without becoming overdesigned. For me, this is also one of my favorite images because it says exactly what I want my photography to express: desire can be elegant and provocative without screaming for attention.

Vanity Fair France October 2023 Digital Cover
I love disruption and chaos, but I also love old Hollywood glamour with a 2020s twist. Although, this was not my first cover shoot for the magazine, this project felt particularly meaningful because photographing Jonathan Bailey for Vanity Fair France became a collision between classic Hollywood mythology and something modern, as he was wearing Alaïa womenswear by Pieter Mulier. Since I was a child, I have been obsessed with the language and persona of major actors and musicians: the precision, the attitude, and the disruption. This cover shoot allowed me to explore that world through my own vision. We shot this in Marseille, in southern France, as requested by Jonathan. The logistics could have been a major challenge, but we not only enjoyed the process, but we were also very happy with the results. Jonathan has a fresh presence that made the shoot feel like a modern take on old Hollywood.