Matt Lankes Photography

Matt Lankes, a seventh-generation Texan, grew up in Austin playing soccer and watching his father take pictures for the Austin American-Statesman.

“I grew up around the camera,” says Lankes who has made his living through photography since attending St. Edward’s University, specializing in portraits of people in their environments. “I try to get to the core of the person,” says Lankes, who likes to spend time with his subject. “I try to make a portrait that shows who a person really is. I think that one thing that runs through most of my pictures is that the subjects are not posing; they are relaxed, and not putting on a face.”

Lankes credits his daughter, Sinead, with keeping him focused. "She’s my inspiration," he says.

In his spare time, Lankes still loves to play soccer and travel the world. His clients include The Lance Armstrong Foundation, HBO, Fox Searchlight, Texas Monthly, Interview, Time Inc., Newsweek, GSD&M, Austin Monthly, Lee Jeans, Random House, Warner Brothers, Cowboys and Indians, Chevy and Pentagram Design.

Lankes currently has his work in the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian and at The Witliff Collections at Texas State University