HerStory: Why Fashion Photography?

My interest in fashion photography started a little after I got out of high school. My interest started when me and a few of my photographer friends would set up a shoot together; I style the shoot, they take the photos, and our other friends would model. Although it was a lot of fun and it was great experience, there were a lot of times I would get the images back and think to myself, "This wasn't my vision for the shoot." The photos were amazing, don't get me wrong, (I still use them in my portfolio to this day) but I felt that I didn't have much creative control in the photographs, which makes sense since my job was to dress the girls. Aside from that, I've always been exposed to amazing editorials being that I am a fashion student.

Fast forward to beginning of 2011, I became interested in hoarding vintage clothing and decided to open an online boutique. I wanted to have a photoshoot to create a lookbook, but didn't want to pay a photographer. So I figured, hmmm.. maybe I should try to do this myself. Me and an old friend of mine (yeah, we aren't friends anymore, but no hard feelings, just good riddance) decided to go to a local aqueduct with her dad's Nikon DSLR and I shot some pretty good photos.

After this shoot, I saved up money and purchased a Canon 500D. Unfortunately, I did not use the camera that often. I mostly focused on school. I did shoots once in a while but nothing I've been really proud of. I didn't want to be classified as "another wannabe photographer" so I was too ashamed to shoot and show people my photos. The only time I actually shot photos was for myself, when I had garments I made that needed to be shot but I didn't have or wanted to hire a photographer.

Toward the end of 2012, I shot a lookbook for my etsy shop. I had a lot of fun and the photos came out excellent.

I also did a shoot for one of my good friends, Fabi about a month later, for my etsy shop and her blog.

My most recent shoot was about two months ago with my friend Morgan. She's interested in getting into print modeling and since I want to get started in fashion photography, it's a beneficial partnership for the both of us. We've got a few projects lined up.

So this marks the end of the beginning, because now, I actually want to start taking fashion photography seriously this summer. I am researching ways to improve my skills and I am working on getting new gear to improve the quality of my photos. Overall, it's about time -- I've been holding back on this hobby for too long and I am proud of myself for taking the first step to doing what I love. 

By the way, if you're looking to photos of erotic naked women, cute babies, or beautiful weddings, you have come to the wrong place. I am focused strictly fashion editorials and that's that.