ROCK CHIC
PHOTOGRAPHER FEATURED IN ICONIC | VOL.2 | ISSUE.22
Q. Describe your style of photography and how you developed it over time?
Rock/Punk high fashion. I like to take fragile or beautiful things and destroy or distort them: When I put them back together, they are stronger and more beautiful for being unique and once broken. This is a quality I look for in the models I chose to shoot as well.
Q. How do you come up with your concepts?
Like everyone, my art is an amalgamation of everyone else’s art that I find interesting and inspired by. It could be a line from a song, a painting, a photograph, etc. I gravitate towards iconic and timeless aesthetics and like to distress the new, and make the vintage new age.
Q. Where do you find your inspiration for your films?
From all different mediums but of course, other photographers are my foremost source of inspiration; Helmut Newton, Russel James, Peter Lindberg, Steven Meisel to name a few. Tonally I turn to music and am heavily influenced by Rolling Stones, Elton John, Whitesnake, and occasionally 80s retro pop. Yves Saint Laurent is also someone that I am heavily influenced by.
Q. Tell us about one of the craziest projects you’ve worked on!
I was recently flown out to shoot for Vogue for my first time, that was very crazy. Can’t say much, but keep an eye out.
Q. What do you recommend to videographers when they are planning their first film!
Tell stories that you want to see and you can’t go wrong. Your audience will find you if you do that.
Q. How do you decide your style when it comes to taking pictures?
I trust my instincts and stay open to whatever the energy is on set. Every professional photographer is technically sound, it’s the ones that have the most interesting impulses that are able to capture lightning in a bottle.
Q. Emotion! There’s so much of it throughout all of your work. How do you, direct models? and do you have tips for beginner models as a photographer?
It is all about trust and comfortability on set, as well as positive reinforcement. My advice to models would be highly selective with who they are shooting with, and then once they make the decision to shoot with a particular photographer then they should trust the process and put their faith in the photographer to achieve their common goal of creating a beautiful and intriguing image.
Q. Where do you see yourself in the next 2-3 years?
There are three things you should keep private: your love life, income, next move.
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Photographer/Video:
Xavian @shootwithx
Wardrobe Stylist: @d.lauren__
Hair Stylist: @jayceemnirajd
Model: @annatunhav
MUA: @marissa_tomaino
📍Los Angeles, California
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