Daniel D. Teoli, Jr., was a native of Los Angeles and a self-taught photographer. His career encompassed a variety of photographic styles and subjects—from black-and-white portraits and documentation of street life in Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s to self-described "social documentary" and high-dynamic-range color portraiture. Teoli lost a major portion of his archived work dating from the 1980s and 1990s in a flood, but his earlier work was spared, and in 2013, he released a hand-printed artist's book titled Peephole: Peering Into the World of 1970s Hollywood and L.A.. Inspired by the works of a diverse range of photographers, including Lisette Model, Les Krims, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Mary Ellen Mark, Teoli's fantastical yet hyper-real imagery is a reflection of his colorful human subjects and the statement "photographers are always looking," which he uses in reference to his own work. His works are in over 30 permanent collections around the world, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Mead Art Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art. As of 2015 Teoli resides in West Virginia.