Meet Miles Caliboso | Portrait and Fashion Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Miles Caliboso and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Miles, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
Heyo!

My name is Miles Caliboso, and I am a Filipino American portrait and fashion photographer, born and raised in San Jose, CA. Being surrounded by an immense amount of culture, I was lucky to be exposed and participate in many communities around the Bay Area. I have recently moved to SoCal and I am excited to learn and be a part of the community here!

Since middle school, dance was a driving force into my involvement with my community and my own personal journey as an artist. Throughout high school, the crew and I (we called ourselves Pikmin Crew, and honestly I think only 3 of us even played that game) would often perform, compete/battle, teach, and overall connect with our communities, meeting more creatives and learning more about the different artistries out there. One event we would often perform at is F.A.M.E., a yearly event featuring fashion, art, music and exhibitions. This event included a market for local brands to host curated booths, galleries by art communities, performances, and a fashion show. Being able to perform for this event multiple times led to my involvement in the production of future FAME events, sparking an interest and curiosity in media production.

After the last large FAME event, I asked one of the producers that ran the fashion show, John Agcaoili, aspect if I could PA one of his shoots to learn more about media production in a professional setting. After a few opportunities and gigs, John and the DSOTM team (creative collective) welcomed me and helped me began my journey in photography and media production. This team and their circle shared knowledge with me constantly and I am blessed to be apart and learn from all of these artists.

Since then, I have been connected with more artists of different mediums. From dancers, photographers, graphic designer, stylists, and much more, the conversations and work we do together have helped me in my growth within this profession and myself personally. I am excited to continue to collaborate with new and old friends and do some really cool stuff all while having a great time!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Dance was my first introduction into the creative realm and has been a strong foundation for my journey as an artist in visual media. Being in the freestyle dance scene, I think a lot of how I photograph and direct comes from that background in dance. Directing and capturing individuals through photography mirrored the feeling of communicating and sharing energy on the floor during a cypher or a battle. Bouncing ideas with the teams before a shoot or on set felt similar to sessioning/labbing with the crew in the garage, parking lot, etc. Once that clicked, I felt like it was a lot easier to learn more about this medium.

One lesson I have taken from dance, and especially my crews, has been the importance of community and the quality of connection with them. While I would like to hope that I am good at what I do, I know that as a dancer, there are even subconscious snippets of my movement that reflect or can be connected to my crewmates and mentors. We share ideas often and practice together often. I used to be constantly worried if I noticed something was similar, but once I accepted that this is inevitable because we grew into this artistry of movement together, I also realized that we would never be exactly the same. Our intents with movement and the interpretation of music and character will naturally have its differences. Now I am not saying to intentionally bite or copy, that is no bueno hahah! Without our sessions, experiences together, and conversations, I would not have grown into the dancer I am. It is because of my crew, the community of dancers I hang out with, create, share with the most, why I have been able to do what I do in dance.

In photography and media production, I have applied the same thing. The quality of my connection with people who constantly inspire and push me is of huge importance to my photography. The genuine care and belief they have given me is seen in how I work, direct, and photograph and their openness with their knowledge and experience have helped the speed of that growth. I think it is cool that when I look back at my shoots/photographs, I can also see the influence of my mentors and friends.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am still pretty new to the area honestly and when I would have to be down here for gigs, I would not have too much time explore. My first week of moving here, I helped my friend with a booth at ComplexCon which was just a portion of a larger collective. I got to meet some of his friends within the creative community and the people and the community really made me enjoy my time there. I think those types of events, even smaller markets are always cool especially since you get to meet the creatives behind some really cool products. One of the friends I have made since moving here constantly sets up at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. While I have only gone once and just caught the last bit of it, seeing the different booths and people, and catching up with that friend was really nice. I think any friend of mine that is visiting would love to meet more people or even just explore the different things artists create/curate within this local community.

My best friend is also a part of my high school dance crew so dance events are always an option. I would see local crews like Gr818ers or Versastyle to name a couple to see if they have any events or sessions going on. There are also dance sessions on some Sundays at Echo Park hosted by SoulfulSundaysLA.

As far as food, I have a couple of spots I have really liked. I really liked Yunomi Handrolls and La Rose Cafe. Yunomi Handrolls has a super cool aesthetic and delicious food! La Rose Cafe is like a time capsule for me. It is probably my favorite spot in LA so far for Filipino food while the decor just reminds me of a family member’s house as a kid.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I definitely agree! I am nothing without my community and forever blessed with the people I can call friends. There is a large list of people and groups that I would love to thank, but I will try to keep this brief. My family first and foremost. The dance crews I am in (Pikmin Crew & TikTakTix Crew) and the Bay Area dance community. The DSOTM team and circle of friends/guidance I have gotten from them all. I am also grateful for wardrobe stylist Imee Elazegui, model/MUA/actress Anna Marie Cruz, and photographer Jayson Palacio for being solid constants in SoCal. Lastly, I am thankful for all the clients, models, and people that have had me photograph for them!

Website: www.mlmc.media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlmc.tmp/?hl=en

Image Credits
In frame: Alexis Hoffman MUA: Anna Marie Cruz Photography: Miles Caliboso In frame: Caera Ozawa Burns Wardrobe Styling: Ryan Pham Photography: Miles Caliboso Creative Direction & Styling: Imee Elazegui In frame: Anna Marie Cruz & Jaida King MUA: Yuki Kim Nakamura Hair Styling: ig @yumabastet Photography: Miles Caliboso In frame: Ashley Leanne Rabaino Photography: Miles Caliboso In frame: Sean Balayan Photography: Miles Caliboso Event produced by FutureArtsNow! & MommysBanhMi In frame: Joseph “Scarface” Felix Photography: Miles Caliboso In frame: Som Barnswell MUA: Anna Marie Cruz Photography: Miles Caliboso In frame: Seira Murakami Wardrobe Styling: Imee Elazegui MUA: Anna Marie Cruz Photography: Miles Caliboso