An Emerging Fashion Photographer

A little belated, but Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that 2011 is a very healthy and prosperous year for all! The big news for me is that I moved to New York City over the New Year holidays and I’ve been settling into my new life! Unfortunately, it’s one of the reasons I’ve been off the radar……unless you follow me on Facebook!

I thought a great way to start off the new year would be to showcase one of my blog readers! I’d like to make this a permanent addition to the blog as well. Every couple of months I’ll be showcasing a young, up and coming fashion photographer who’s work I strongly feel shows potential.  I’ll interview them and write up about how he or she is making it happen for themselves!

So let’s dive right in and introduce you to someone who I feel has a great eye and therefore, a tremendous potential to make it to the top, if he so desires! I actually met William David Walsh through Facebook. He sent me a friend request awhile ago, after sending me a message on how he follows my blog and is a supporter of the efforts I try to make in enlightening young photographers on the world of the fashion photography industry. I then found William’s updates either hysterically funny or the photography he’d post simply stunning and totally on the same page as my taste. I knew by seeing what William finds to be an interesting fashion photograph, that he too would have an interesting eye. After checking out his website one day, I proved I was right. While I can admit that William is still learning and experimenting, his tests prove to me already that he has “the eye” to begin with. And truth be told, whenever I’m doing research on an upcoming shoot and I am pulling images to put together a mood board, I actually send William a Facebook message and ask him if he can find a certain editorial that I’m looking for. I’ve never even met him, but I know he has done his homework and knows his fashion editorials and imagery and that’s a great way to learn how to become a better shooter.

At any rate, I wrote William and asked him a series of questions and to send me 10 of my favorite shots from his website. And here he is: William David Walsh! Truly a young photographer to keep your eye on:

How old are you?

22

When do you first pick up a camera and what prompted you to do so?

I picked up my first (working) camera late in life, actually. During my third year in high school I decided I wanted to go into gaming illustrating and as a result of that I purchased a Kodak point and shoot to capture images on the go ( for those reading between the lines yes my introduction to photography started with digital cameras, I’m an avid film lover now though and I work with the medium a lot ). Shortly after that a photography club was started and I entered my first competition back in Jamaica . After 3 merit awards I decided this was the road I wanted to down. Plus, being the impatient person I am I’d take two days in a digital darkroom vs painting for a week in an art studio any day.

When did you decide that fashion was the direction you wanted to go in?

I think it’s always been at the back of my head to go into fashion photography. I remember collecting Vogue covers and editorials to use for reference when painting in art class. Something about the glamour and drama behind fashion images always sucked me in. After about 2 years into photography school I came to realize that glamour and drama were far more painstaking than those glossy pages lead me to believe.

Do you have a day job? What’s it like to handle working and trying to find time to test for your book?

I do have a day job.  Retail….The glamorous life of a college student! Where balancing them is concerned, I work 40 hours a week and during those 40 hours all I can think about are ideas for shoots on my days off!

What photographer (s) inspire you the most? And what about their work moves you?

My biggest inspirations from the old school era are Helmut Newton and Richard Avedon. I absolutely love how simple and powerful the photographs from those two are, not to mention the passion they had for the medium. Newton especially had a major impact on my work. Believe it or not, I hated black and white photography at one point until I was introduced to his work through my visualization class. I can go on and on about how I admire his approach to shooting: simple, to the point and straight in your face! He wasn’t afraid of anything.

What are your plans for the future?

Publications…….publications……more PAID work and eventually turning photography into a full time profession….A little New York and Paris here and there wouldn’t hurt either…..

(All Images © William David Walsh Photography)

My Final Question is: Are you SURE about Fashion Photography as a Career?

Yes I definitely want to continue on the path of fashion photography.. I live it and breathe it… Nothing gets me excited like fashion and photography do!

And it takes that kind of passion and dedication to not only photography but to fashion as well that determines the success of a young, emerging fashion shooter. I’m quite impressed with Williams hard work and diligence. I see his Facebook updates where he is at his “day job” all the time but posting ideas or recent pictures from his latest tests. He works now with top modeling agencies in San Francisco and Los Angeles and has been published in Flasco Mag and Love, Sex and Dance Magazine. Here is a link to his website: http://www.williamdavidwalsh.com/#home

I’m a fan and I’m going to keep my eye on him! You should too!

In other news, there’s a lot to update you with but I’ll save that for the next post. I promise, though, it won’t take me a month to write it! Stay tuned! xoxo