Wayne Takenaka began his photography in 1974. He hand developed black-and white film,
printing the negatives as well as color positive and color negative film, learning to light and
expose by closely examining the processed film and experiencing firsthand how well it printed.
Portraiture was primary, working with natural light outdoors and studio light in a small studio.

Wayne came to New York City in 1983 and apprenticed for 2 years in a photography studio
in the Flatiron District, building lighting sets and assisting photographers Lane Pederson and
Jim Erwin on camera, testing for his own photography on weekends. He then worked for
4 years as studio manager and first assistant to world-renowned fashion photographer
Patrick Demarchelier, traveling the world with Demarchelier on jobs for British, French, and
Italian Vogues, working with Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Uma Thurman, Christie
Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and others. He followed this with several years abroad as a
fashion photographer in Sydney, Athens, and Milan, returning to NYC in 1993 where he
began working with performing artists.

A collection of Wayne's work is on display at The Liaison Capitol Hill, an Affinia Hotel, in
Washington D.C.