Documentary and commercial photographer
I’m Frederik Trovatten, a documentary and commercial photographer working with people, cities, culture, and global brands. I’m also the founder of Underexposed, where I help photographers get their work seen, published, and hired.
Selected photography projects
Commercial commissions and personal projects photographed in Mexico, Thailand and beyond.
Burger King campaign 
Mexico City street photography 
Mexico’s Day of the Dead 
Coca-Cola campaign
For Coca-Cola, I photographed and filmed the people behind Mexico City’s taco culture. The commercials aired on national television in Norway, and the complete photography series was exhibited at Oslo Central Station.
View the Coca-Cola campaign
Muay Thai photography 
Street portraits 
Studio portraits Photography resources
The cameras and gear I actually use, the photo books I return to, and the photography courses I believe are worth taking.
My work as a photographer
I’m a Danish photographer with a background in documentary and street photography. I started taking photography seriously while living in Mexico City. That experience still shapes how I work today: get close, pay attention and let real people carry the story.
I use the same approach for personal projects and commercial assignments. As a commercial street photographer, I have photographed campaigns for Coca-Cola and Burger King. My personal street photography is driven by the same curiosity, whether I am working in Mexico City, Istanbul, Bangkok or Copenhagen.
A Burger King campaign built around my photography won two Cannes Lions. For Coca-Cola, I returned to photographing mexico city culture, documenting the people and traditions surrounding it's taco scene.
Beyond client work
I share what I have learned with more than 120,000 photographers on YouTube. The videos show how I photograph, how I approach strangers and how I build stories from ordinary moments.
Through Underexposed, I teach photographers how to use PR, photography SEO and Instagram to put their work in front of editors, clients and the people who can create opportunities.
Most of my personal work is black-and-white photography. Removing colour makes me pay closer attention to light, gesture, texture and timing. It also gives very different places and projects a visual language that feels unmistakably mine. I also return to film photography for the slower pace and discipline it brings to the way I see.
I continue to learn by studying other candid photographers. Henri Cartier-Bresson changed how I think about composition. Vivian Maier and Bruce Davidson showed me what patience and proximity can do. Robert Frank, Joel Meyerowitz and Alexey Titarenko showed me three very different ways to turn everyday streets into personal work.