New York Fashion Week February 2012

So this month I had the pleasure of being able to travel to NYC to experience the phenomenon that is New York Fashion Week!

It was such a fantastic experience and a great opportunity to meet people working in the fashion industry (and spy the occasional celeb). I met designers, stylists, models, bloggers and photographers from all over the world. It was such a huge benefit to talk to each of them and get their take on the shows, style and the industry.

I also got to try my hand a some street style photography. What a better time or place than to do it than at NYFW?

I have posted some of my favourite looks and people above.

I can't describe just how excited I was to spy Miss J Alexander of America's Next Top Model. Looking impeccably styled just as you would expect!

Two of the lovely stylish ladies that I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing were Tiffanyrenee (above) and designer Ines Figaredo (Below).

All handbags in this image are by Ines Figaredo and can be seen on her website:

http://www.inesfigaredo.com/

Technology Vs Photography

  For my first post I wanted to talk about something that I'm sure effects everyone in the creative industry; technology.


  Technology has advanced so much over the last few years, so much so that it effects almost every aspect of life and work. Of course I love my gadgets, I love my iPhone, I love my laptop and mac. Most of all I love my Canon DSLR and I adore Photoshop.
Working with technology is something that I have to embrace, and do embrace, as a modern day photographer. However, I can't help but realise the effect that new technology is having on the photographic industry.
  New photographic technology means that photography is available to everyone and anyone with a digital camera can be a 'photographer'. Things like Instagram, iPad's, camera phones means that photo's can be taken, edited and uploaded to the internet within minutes. This also means that the amount of work that professional photographers put into creating an image is underestimated, undervalued and unappreciated. 
  I recently spotted on Facebook one of my friends arranging a fashion shoot using nothing but iPads and Instagram. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a fantastic way of being creative and sharing your images in a new way and the images were lovely. But as a photographer I felt saddened and a little worried. Is this what fashion photography is going to become? No trained, talented, passionate professionals being able to make fashion photography their life work. Instead, being replaced by an intern with an iPad and a nifty app. Yes, I am guilty of using both of these. but I would never use them on a job in place of my own skills, knowledge and talent. 
  As a photographer, I enjoy the process of creating and image and seeing my hard work pay off in the final product. I enjoy the challenge! As a fashion photography fan, I enjoy looking in magazines and seeing the quality photography produced by dedicated professionals and questioning "what did they do to achieve that end result?'. For me photography is a learning process and should be something that you work at and learn from.


  Realistically I know that technology is going to keep advancing and more and more people are going to use it. All I can hope for that photographers can embrace it and not let it change the industry for the worse.