Darren Vargas is a Mexican-American photographer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Santa Ana, California, he grew up in Visalia and moved between several California cities as a child. He works on commercial and editorial assignments, with clients and publications including Nike, Champion, HYPEBEAST, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. He began pursuing photography seriously in 2022, after being laid off from a job in graphic design and photo editing. Photographing his partner and daughter helped him develop the close, personal approach he later brought to commissioned work.
His first book, Moretón (Friend Editions, 2026), follows boxing coach Lee Espinoza and the people who train at his Coachella Valley Boxing Club, where Vargas spent summers as a child. He met Lee in 2025, five years after the death of his grandfather Esmael, and the coach reminded him of his grandfather. The title is the Spanish word for bruise. The book was published in an edition of 200 copies.
