Photography is something I have come to love, but also something I stumbled on almost by accident.
I created a fashion blog called Fashables in early 2011, and the original concept was that it would be a place to review clothing items for men and women. That concept lasted for a while, but I eventually started dabbling in street style photography, and from that point forward I was hooked.
Street Style Photography
New York City provides endless opportunity for great fashion, and every street style photography outing is its own adventure. Personally, I have two primary spots I like to shoot, mostly in the SoHo area, and they were primarily selected based on what I like to call, style density. Style density simply means there’s a ton of stylish people within a relatively small area.
Some street style photographers stop people and do formal introductions and ask them to pose, but as you can see in the photo above, that’s not my style. Sure, I do it on occasion, if I know the person or the situation calls for it. The reason this is done as little as possible is because most “normal” people can’t pose. As in, you could have someone in an amazingly stylish outfit, and then they try to pose and look goofy as all get out. Given that my only goal is to show people looking great, these horrible poses defeat the purpose.
“Real” People
No matter who I shoot, I like to show their “real” life. Anyone could get dolled up and look great, but I especially navigate towards the raw view.
For instance, take a look at the photo below. I was walking down a street in SoHo and suddenly saw this runway model walking her dog. As it turns out she had been awake for about 10 minutes and had quickly run outside to walk her dog. It’s real. It’s raw. And it is what it is. That’s what I love.
Model Shoots
Once I started shooting street style I quickly realized how much I loved photographing people. That new found passion, and my ability to take a decent photo, made me wonder if I could get paid for taking photos of people that needed them.
But there was one major problem.
If you were looking to hire a photographer, and I told you I could shoot you, you’d want to see my portfolio. The problem was that I didn’t really have a portfolio of portrait type work.
While this was a “problem” for a short amount of time, I quickly had an idea to get me over the hump.
FreeHeadShotsNYC.com
In a city of models, actors/actresses and musicicans, there’s a ton of people constantly looking for new headshots.
These individuals need photos, and I needed people to take photos of, and that realization led to the creation of FreeHeadShotsNYC.com. It’s a simple one page website that offered free headshots.
The site became a portal for me to find people that needed photos, and while I did provide them with headshots, I also used them as models to build out my portfolio. It was a win win.
Before long I developed a strong portfolio and had something to present paying clients. Even today, I’m still very proud of the idea of FreeHeadShotsNYC.com.
The Process
When it comes to working with models, I absolutely love stretching people. Meaning, it’s my job to help you stretch yourself and create looks you didn’t realize were possible.
If you’re stiff, I’ll make you laugh. If you’re nervous, I’ll calm you down. If you’re moody, I’ll give you the camera and tell you to shoot me instead. The point is, shooting with me is fun!
My Photos
My photography can be found in various places online, but feel free to take a look at the sampling of photos below.
