“A Look at the World’s Top Fashion Image Makers”

So who catches your attention? I’d like to know which fashion photographers my readers follow and why!

So who catches your attention? I’d like to know which fashion photographers my readers follow and why!

In my first year of art school, in 1982, I had to take an Art History class as a requirement. I was pretty unhappy about this, feeling like it was a waste of time as I wasn’t going to learn anything about photography. I remember the class to this day. The teacher used a text book and showed us slide shows of the art as we went through the different periods of time and the art of that period. I was bored, restless, and just plain annoyed with being “made” to sit in this class. I arrived late where it was usually dark because lights were turned off to see the slide show. I sat in the back, slouching with generally a bad attitude. Until one day, up came a slide of Donatello’s sculpture, David, and I nearly fell off my chair.

I love exhibiting my work. I love having a project or a theme and building a body of work within that theme with the end result of a show! The first time I exhibited my work was in 1993 and I’ve been passionate to continue with exhibitions since.

People have written me recently wanting to know what my take on the “glamourous” side of the business is. Do I love the parties, do I get invited to events often, how do I handle the social aspect of the fashion industry?? I live in Los Angeles, home to the never ending Red Carpet entrances, celebrity fueled events and paparazzi photographers. You sort of HAVE to be a part of it because choosing NOT be a part of it is somewhat of a strong statement. So I have had to learn how to “survive” the party side of being in the fashion industry. Don’t get me wrong: fashion photography is a serious business just like any other and you have to keep the upmost of professionalism at all times, even when you’re not shooting. But when you are invited out to a ton of events where there is a lot of free alcohol and potential clients lingering around you, you need to learn the balance of suiting up, showing up and making a quiet exit. I know there are photographers out there that party all the time. They hang out with their young models, they go to every event they’re invited to. They make it a priority to get on the guest list of every event thrown by the “elite”. They have a reputation of being “crazy” and “out there”. In my opinion, there’s a fine line between taking advantage of the “perks” and using social events in your favor for networking.

We all go through it. Times when we are more inspired to shoot than others. Sometimes we’re just bursting with new ideas and concepts we have to shoot! Other times it seems like nothing comes to us. We pour through magazines, we search through websites. Still, there’s this empty void and we experience something similar to “writer’s block”. I go through this too, sometimes. We all have lives to live and sometimes our personal lives have a little too much stress in them to think creatively. For some, that stress is actually a catalyst to create. Some people are more driven when shit goes down in their lives. I know in the past that some painful experiences have led to some hugely motivated and productive times in my career. But for the most part, stress isn’t what I search out when I’m trying to inspire myself.