5 Fashion Photographers You Need to Follow

Whether you are looking through the latest issue of Vogue or your favourite fashion accounts on Instagram, there are an endless number of stunning visuals from the captivating cover, portraits of your favourite models posed and styled in a way where you feel like you are looking at fine art, to conceptual editorials layered with nuance and beauty. There is a whole team of people working to deliver these stunning images; from make-up artists, hairstylists, set designers, creative directors, and photographers. This has left me wondering who the minds and eyes behind the lens are. With a passion for photography myself, I wanted to highlight a few fashion photographers’ work I find distinct and iconic. Here are 5 photographers you need to follow.

Rayscorruptedmind

Ok. This one may be a little basic, but I had to include Ray on this list because of his distinct style and influence.  Ray is best known for being the personal photographer to rapper Travis Scott. While he has said that he barely knows how to use the camera settings, it has not stopped his rise in the creative world. Ray has shot with the likes of pro skateboarder Evan Mock, for Nike SB, rappers Sheck Wes and Lil Yachty and, has shot for Air Jordan, Nike and the NBA. Ray has an incredibly distinct photography style, his shots seem to frame subjects in a “larger than life” way, emphasizing the dramatic scenes he often creates. Juxtaposing the grittiness of a mean mug or piercing stare with his signature warm tones gives Ray his unique style. 

Ronan McKenzie

Ronan McKenzie is a British artist and photographer who has famously shot legendary tennis player, Serena Williams and Stranger Things star, Millie Bobby Brown for Teen Vogue. McKenzie has also shot the Solange x Jacolby Satterwhite campaign for Garage Magazine. Her work is absolutely stunning, often showcasing a calm elegance in subjects, while working with a signature sharp, neutral colour palette. Outside of fashion campaigns, much of McKenzie’s work celebrates embracing who you are. As an activist for the BIOPC community, McKenzie founded one of the very few black-owned multifunctional creative spaces in London, UK, HOME. McKenzie’s focus with this space is to create artist led representation in the BIPOC community, with exhibition space, workspace, library and plans in the future to host public and private events. The current exhibition at HOME, is called WATA; a story of ancestry and cross cultural connection.

Eugene Shishkin

Eugene Shishkin is a London-based fashion photographer who first fell in love with photography when he was ten-years old on a family trip to Turkey. Shishkin has highlighted his success to the importance and skill of collaboration and working with a team. Although, he attributes much of his success and other creatives’ success to a true love for the arts. Shishkin often explores themes of modern “Russianness” and the change in perspectives going on amongst the people. Furthermore, Shishkin’s meticulous framing, utilization of shadows and lighting, along with sharp lines and colours, evoke emotion, often showing a “poetic sadness” in subjects. Shishkin’s works have been featured in many editorials for Elle Russia, Vogue Russia, and i-D.

Julia Hetta

Julia Hetta is a Swedish photographer, who studied in the Netherlands. Much of her work pays reference to classical renaissance Dutch painters like Rembrandt, so it is not surprising that some people can confuse her work for a painting. Hetta’s shots are expertly composed, casted, and posed with a persistent stillness and calmness, highlighting the elegance of the subject while composing compelling stories in collections. Along with the previous, Hetta often utilizes long exposures and soft lighting to give shots their characteristic painting-like quality. These unique qualities in her work have led Hetta to shoot many campaigns such as the Gucci Hallucination collection, along with countless commissions for Dior Magazine, Vogue UK, Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo, Jil Sander and so many more.

Petra Collins

Finally, where would this list be without Petra Collins? Collins is a Toronto-born artist, actor, model, director, and photographer, who is undoubtedly one of the most influential creatives today. Breaking male-centric photography, Collins’ work explores themes femininity and sexuality paired with her signature dream-like, hazy feel, behind subtle pops of colour and hints of chaos and violence. Collins’ use of these elements evoke intense feelings, where she playfully intertwines her love for horror movies, giving a sense of grotesque beauty at times. Masterfully, Collins also utilizes her signature style to carefully craft intimate and emotional scenes, in which she applies to craft beautiful coming-of-age like scenes of femininity in the modern-age. Collins’ work has been featured in editorials such as Vogue, i-D, Dazed and Elle. She has also headed campaigns for Nordstrom, Adidas, and Calvin Klein. 

There is so much more a could say about all these amazing photographers, and there are many others I could talk about, but this post would unfortunately turn into an essay. It is difficult to put into words on how creative and inspirational all of these photographers are, and I hope this article has been able to spotlight some of the amazing work we see in our favourite fashion content.