Dubliner Daniel Byrne is catching his breath from a busy morning working on a fashion shoot in a Brooklyn production studio when he speaks to The Irish Times.
Though it’s just 10am in New York, he’s many hours into his day, which often begins early and runs until late. It was one of the adjustments for the 25-year-old on working life in the United States. “People are expected to get up at 5am, go to work and get home at 9pm and get up early the next day.” The demands are “insane” but “there is a sense of community” with colleagues.
“I support shoots for Calvin Klein, Dior and all these crazy brands, it’s fun,” he says of days as a photographer assistant at the fashion studio.
Byrne honed his cinematography skills at the National Film School at IADT Dún Laoghaire and worked on various projects in Ireland, including director of photography for short film Father Brennan Is Having a Breakdown!
But moving to New York last year on a graduate visa has opened up opportunities not available to him in Ireland.
“I’ve been able to achieve some of my dreams, whether I’m just in the room or doing the thing in the room,” he says recalling recent shoots with Cher and Grace Jones.
But in making these connections, Byrne has had to learn to “hustle” and to “make things happen” for himself.
“I’ve been casually asked to shoot video of Hudson Williams from Heated Rivalry for the Met Gala, and to shoot the September cover of Cosmopolitan Italia and shoot for Elle Taiwan,” he says.
The role of video in social media has become a much bigger part of the fashion industry in recent years, and this is where Byrne sees his direction going: “I would consider myself more a fashion or commercial cinematographer.” Byrne has worked on projects connected with the CFDA Awards (the Oscars of fashion), the Bulgari x Hudson Williams campaign, and recently shot Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli for designer Lorand Coza.
Byrne’s interest in visual media had its roots in his Glasnevin childhood because his mother was a painter. “I grew up in the arts in that way. Fine art was my thing.” But in secondary school he got “obsessed” with photography and later moved into cinematography, which combined many of the elements he was interested in.
Another influence on him was growing up gay, “it’s a big part of who I am”.
“It makes me strong, because my whole life I’ve dealt with being different or being in a place that, maybe I feel a little bit like the odd one out.”
“Being Irish abroad, I know how to draw strength from being who I am. And being on these sets with these incredible people that are very alien to what I’ve grown up with.”
Compared to Ireland, the celebrity culture in the US is “just mind boggling, you have to be on your A-game all the time”.
Byrne’s Irish perspective means he can see the funny side of situations. “I’m kind of looking around and I’m like laughing to myself like, oh my God, are people actually serious?”
[ I got ‘the call’ from home. Dad’s days of wandering New York’s streets were overOpens in new window ]
“When people hear I’m Irish, they absolutely love it, they almost feel more at home with me.”
He is loving New York, where he shares an apartment overlooking Central Park for less than €1,000 a month (“I am literally on the park”).
But the social scene is “one of the biggest reasons” he enjoys life in New York. “We have Fire Island,” he says of the “gay paradise” off Long Island, which has historically been a destination for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Sometimes Irish people are a little more introverted, they keep their hands in their pockets when they walk. But here, everything’s on the table. And I love that because I’m extroverted.”