Styling as a photographer

tips and apps i use

When exploring style It's hard to collect cohesive pieces , there are so many style influencers across multiple platforms and more content than ever. The best way to find yourself in all this media is to save your inspirations and specifically curate what inspires your style , having the intention and willingness to search and archive is half the battle. When I'm in the studio there are certain items I keep in my camera bag at all times but it's different when I'm styling .

 I keep in mind seasonal colors that suit the model to find the best clothing or backdrop for her color pallet. You can do the same when shopping for yourself, keeping in mind the best temperature for your skin tone can be a great benefit to you. Use apps like pinterest, instagram and tiktok to organize your favorite silhouettes, colors and brands, this will help you with your electronic mood board. I use this method all the time. If I am planning a shoot I can take weeks to find the right inspiration and more to hunt down the pieces.  It can be easy t0 leave your house and spend money on clothing and items you don't need, this is counterproductive if you want to curate your dream wardrobe at the same time as not overspending and being environmentally conscious. 

As a Toronto based photographer I have plenty of access to vintage clothing. It can be hard to remember what exactly I need, to stay on  budget and keep in mind what I'm looking for in the shoot. The tool and app I use most is pinterest, with pinterest i am able to make boards for specific shoots and concepts while keeping them all in the same place and separated at the same time. I often keep poses, lighting diagrams and color pallets on my pinterest to pull up during a shoot or a meeting, it is much more helpful to have a visual for yourself and for those around you.

Being passionate about vintage clothing

Being conscious about the environmental imapct

When shopping for clothing and accessories people often forget about the environmental impact of fast fashion, shopping second hand is an easy way to impact our planet positively without going out of your way. We can so easily take the initiative to make an environmental impact however today we live selfishly, by making a trend out of vintage clothing and recycling there is enough social impact to really change the earth for the better. There are many other factors as to how thrifting can be positive such as the cost benefit, accessibility and uniqueness of the items. As a photographer I am able to use these things to my advantage in the best way by truly giving items a new life and creating new art.   

Vintage clothing and second hand shopping has been taking over the fashion world. Environmental justice is trending and I couldn't be more glad, as a photographer I potentially have a platform that I can use to create change. My integrity is important to me and impacts my photography greatly therefore I look for second hand alternatives before I buy new. I buy second hand lenses, cameras and other equipment but more than that I buy 90% of the clothing for my shoots from second hand vintage stores. This way I connect with my community and find one of a kind pieces while being economically conscious. In the past our understanding of the defining rules of fashion or couture was consistently about the accessibility and the rarity of the clothing. There has always been a hierarchy in fashion that  prioritized exclusivity over integrity with my photography I challenge those rules and focus more on renewing and reusing .