“How I Stay Sane in a Critical World”

Photo by: Steven Meisel

____You talk to them on the phone. You deal with them on shoots. You meet them at parties. You read their blogs. You visit their sites. You see them on TV interviews. They are the critical fashionistas who you will see pointing to some poor girls new skirt while exclaiming: “Ohhhh, that’s just so last season’s hemline!!!” as they roll their eyes and cluck their tongues. You want to despise them but you find yourself sounding just like them in no short time! Why?? Because we’re in the fashion industry, kids, and that’s what we are exposed to on a daily basis!
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“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!

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Fine Art Photography

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.

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The Glamourous Side of being a Fashion Photographer

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.

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Just a random behind the scenes video of Kate Moss in London, shooting for her friend and uber-hair stylist James Brown. Check out James Brown’s new website, featuring, of course, Kate Moss. It’s pretty hip! In fact, I love it, especially because it’s playing the Clash to huge images of Kate’s face. Superb! 

It just gives you another opportunity to let you take a peak inside a fashion shoot. There’s no great tech talk or how to tips. Just a pretty model being shot in a professional studio situation. Oh and if you want to check out what Kate is doing for Top Shop, you have to see the new website with her featured for the store! Enjoy!

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Hair stylist, Theodore Leaf, is taking the Los Angeles Fashion Industry by Storm

If you want to know how to make it in the fashion industry, Theodore Leaf’s story should inspire you. He’s 24 and he’s already accomplished so much in the 5 short years he’s been a hair stylist. After he trained at the Paul Mitchell Academy in Ohio, Theo took a job in Atlanta at the Paul Mitchell salon. While setting up the education department at the salon, he also assisted a colorist in Buckhead, Atlanta’s answer to Beverly Hills. One bad day at work, and the rest, as they say, is history! Theo called his mother and the two of them drove his 2 door Saturn from Atlanta to Los Angeles. He had $1,500 in his pocket and one phone number. He used that number and was immediately asked if he had experience working with wigs. He lied and said Yes! And then bought a book on wigs and read it cover to cover. The gig was for a musical in Noho (North Hollywood for those who aren’t familiar with LA). As luck would have it, one of the girls in the musical was Katharine McFee, who we all are familiar with winning American Idol. He was making $300.00 per week doing hair for the musical. His next job in LA was doing the Broadway tour of Annie. His salary jumped to $3,000.00 per week! After the tour, he dedicated himself to working with photographers, building his portfolio. He says that because he doesn’t do make up, make up artists felt comfortable calling him for testing gigs and he was able to make a lot of connections. He told me, “ I said YES to everything! It didn’t matter how much it paid or who was shooting it, I did everything that came along!” One example; he got a call on a Wednesday to key a fashion show on Friday. He had never done a fashion show before, and didn’t have that big of a roster to pull together a team. But he always said Yes to an opportunity. And of course, the show was a success!
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