CHAMPS Career Day ‘23

 

Early Days

 

Creative Family -

  • Photographer mom + ex model

  • Graphic designer dad + ex musician

Modeling -

  • Did commercial print as a kid. 5’8 at 12

  • Signed to NEXT at 14

  • Castings during media class

  • Booked enough to buy my car

Photography -

  • Was originally in the music academy - shared a room

  • Swapped to media

  • Fell in love with retouching so I did more shoots to have more to retouch

  • Would take concepts from my modeling jobs and try and do my own version of them behind the camera

New York Apprenticeship

  • At 18 moved to NY to apprentice under Mark Seliger (head photographer at Conde Nast for Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair)

All it takes is one shoot…

  • Planning a test beauty shoot and my usual glam team wasn’t available

  • Found a new hair + makeup team

  • Hair stylist went to high school with a photo producer + recommended me to shoot for a new nail polish brand

  • Because of that job I have the career I have today

Present day

  • Full-time freelance photographer & model

  • Dual Repped by an agency as a photographer & model

  • Photographed campaigns for & featured in

    • Nike Air Jordan X J Balvin (featured billboards in Time Square & Nike stores in Columbia)

    • Half Magic Beauty (Created by Euphoria’s lead makeup artist Donni Davy, Owned by A24)

    • Beck promo photos for Madison Square Garden show

    • OnePlus Phone (The largest Android manufacturer in China & India)

    • Il Makiage Cosmetics

    • Briogeo Hair Care (photos featured on packaging and in-store at Sephora)

    • Photography featured at The Annenberg Space for Photography as a part of the GirlGaze exhibition

    • Hypebeast, Elle.com, Allure Magazine, Refinery 29, Flaunt Magazine, Ladugunn Magazine and others

Skills Learned

  • Thick skin - Being not a white cis straight man on set/in this industry is tricky. You will be doubted, you will be spoken down to, you will be patronized, maybe even tokenized. They’re threatened. Period. Some people won’t like you, sometimes you wont like you- its ok. Its a business of comparison but don’t let it get to you. Know no one else will be as critical of you as you are of yourself.

  • Treat everyone on set like a million bucks - Working under Mark Seliger it was the most valuable thing I learned from being on his sets. He spent the first 5 minutes going to each person on set and introducing himself. Every single person from the whomever was dropping off catering to the A List actor, they were all treated and greeted the same. It’s a team effort- you’re only as strong as your weakest and least “on-board” player.

  • Try and anticipate what they’ll need before they need it - try and anticipate what your client needs shot wise, think with getting your model a blanket/robe to keep them cozy in-between looks, if you’re being photographed and they’re shooting horizontally try and use the space in the frame with your poses before they have to ask etc. this applies to modeling + photography. Even applies to service industry. 

  • Keep assisting - you’re never too good, too big or too famous to learn or assist. theres always something new to pick up and take with you.

Anywhere works!

Then vs Now