EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
William: You seem to have the ability to make the subject relax and reveal a candid side to them through your photography. Do you have any tips to achieve this? Stephanie: Thank you for that lovely compliment. Helping my subjects relax so they can reveal themselves is something I’ve worked hard to achieve. Here’s the secret, I believe my camera is an extension of myself, it sees what my subject decides to show me, but more importantly, the image produced is my feeling about them. Therefore, you can’t let everyone take your picture. Their view of you may be distorted. In my career, I’ve had two sessions where a client was so overwhelmed by the beauty I saw in them they couldn’t accept the photos. In the one case, the lady wrote to me three years after her session and apologized. She said she was going through a hard time in her life then, and her self-esteem was sunk, and she couldn’t believe it was her in the pictures. She just wasn’t ready to receive it. When I read her message, I think that’s when I really knew the power of photos. William: Who are the great photographers for you? Stephanie: I’ll keep this answer to fashion only. Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Peter Lindbergh, Paolo Roversi, Annie Leibowitz, and Louise Dahl-Wolfe. William: What is elegance for you? Stephanie: Anything with clean lines. Architecture, fashion, furniture, accessories, and paintings. It doesn’t matter, clean lines are the thing.
William: What are the top five things you attribute to your success? Stephanie: 1. Work ethic; 2. Confidence in my ability to deliver consistent, high quality images; 3. On-set etiquette and team leading abilities; 4. Integrity, and; 5. I genuinely love people.
What are the top five things you attribute to your success? 1. Work ethic; 2. Confidence in my ability to deliver consistent, high quality images; 3. On-set etiquette and team leading abilities; 4. Integrity, and; 5. I genuinely love people.
William: And, what about sexy? Stephanie: Confidence and humbleness. William: Do you have any tips for an aspiring photographer who’s picking up a camera for the first time? Stephanie: Shoot as much as you can, practice, practice, practice, and experiment. Try different angles, move around. Get low, get high up, change your distance from the subject. Don’t be afraid to try different light sources,
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different diffusers. If you can’t afford to buy a diffuser you need, so what – create it. DIY is a photographer’s friend. As you shoot more and more, look at lots of work. You’re not looking for inspiration although that can happen, what you’re looking for is how an artist’s voice takes shape through photos.
FLUENTIAL SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018
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William: What can we expect to see from you in the future? Stephanie: I’m so glad you asked. Well, I started producing a couple years ago. So far, I’ve produced a pilot for TV pitch called “Athletes In Fashion”. The show is a docu-style reality series starring professional athletes talking about their lives as they drive around Los Angeles, California on the hunt for the latest fashions. Think of it as a blend of ESPN 30-for-30 meets something flashy like MTV Cribs. I’m also producer for Dr. BernadetteMD Life In Harmony to be released as a video series this fall. It’s a gorgeous series about healing, health, and happiness. Dr. Bernadette is going to be huge. We plan to pitch her show also.
There’s one more thing, I’m moving overseas for a few years to take on a project I’ve been led to do. No dates have been finalized, but I’ll be going to the Democratic Republic of Congo and I’m overjoyed at the opportunity. I’ll be working with children on healing, empowerment, innovation, leadership, technology, and of course photography. William: Stephanie, what is your world-domination goal? Stephanie: To be a voice of my generation.l
