Denton Taylor - Guest Artist
Denton Taylor
Photographer
We met @dentontaylor and www.dentontaylor.com in 2016. He is the person who convinced me I should share my creations on IG, and offered to take the photos. Lucky me. He is also the person who convinced @robert.gelber to be the west coast photog. Fast forward four years, and I am here to say with his kind guidance and knowledge, he had me enjoying the photo shoots. It took me awhile for it to sink in, but he didn’t give up cheering me on! Now onto the interview…
Can you tell us a little bit about your history as a fashion photographer, and as a photographer in general?
Sure! I was interested in photography for as long as I can remember. When I was a child of ten or eleven, I bought my first camera, from a gift shop on Broadway, just south of 125th Street (in NYC). It was an all plastic camera, called the Diana, which later on, in the 1990s, became a hugely expensive cult camera, due to its fuzzy plastic lens. I funded the purchase from the proceeds of tips derived from delivering groceries in the neighborhood.
However, it wasn’t until much later in life that I became interested in fashion photography, or indeed fashion in general. I think it came from my love of well made objects and machinery, such as mechanical cameras, racing bicycles, European cars, and so on. At some point, maybe in my late forties, I noticed that a beautifully made leather shoe or pocketbook could be an object of desire as well. One thing led to another, and I spent time learning the language of fashion and of course you can’t really claim to like fashion without realizing that people actually wear and use these shoes and pocketbooks. So I started to explore how I could get more involved with fashion and the industry.
I started by creating a portfolio of studio shots and posting them on the ‘model’ sites like Model Mutiny, etc., and also going on group shoots with photographers and models. I converted my website to feature my fashion and portrait work, and I also started a street style blog. I came to like the street style aspect of fashion more than studio work, and so began to answer ads on Craigslist from bloggers looking for photographers. I also started shooting at events like Fashion Week and social gatherings like the Jazz Age Lawn Party and the Veuve Clicquot Polo Match. One thing led to another, and as time went on, I began to establish a small reputation.
You seem to work with a lot of younger Black women. Was that part of your plan?
Not really. I didn’t have much of a plan except to see where this new branch of my photographic journey might lead. I also work with a number of my contemporaries (women 55 and older), so between older women and African American women I sometimes say ‘I represent the under-represented’. One day we could discuss that segment of my work (older women), but today let me see if I can answer the question at hand, because I think it’s true that a number of people wonder about it. And I should mention here that while I have no problem taking on paying commercial work, that for the core of my work, working with bloggers and influencers, I generally don’t accept money. Because it’s what I love to do, and accepting money would complicate it. So, as I tell people, I do this for love not money.
However, no doubt my background and upbringing led me in this direction. I grew up in West Harlem in the 1960s, and attended public schools there through high school, where I was often one of a few white students in a given class. I saw things fifty years ago that the rest of mainstream America is just coming to grips with now. Also, growing up with people of color, I never bought into the narrative that white women set the mainstream standard of beauty. I reject that totally and always did.
So I made one promise to myself when I started being a fashion photographer; that no matter what happened I would fully represent everyone and that my social media and website would show a diverse feed.
I got into a discussion about this with a young Black woman that I was working with, and she said that when looking for a photographer, they look at the photographer’s work. If the photographer has nothing but a parade of blondes in his/her portfolio, they just assume the photographer is not interested in working with Black women. That’s how I got started, I guess… by running a diverse portfolio, I got approached more often by women of color. And then they post our images on social media, and other women see them and contact me, and before you know it, you end up with that reputation. A reputation I am happy and proud to have achieved.
If someone was interested in working with you, how would they go about it?
Well, there are two basic ways I work with influencers and bloggers (and this applies to all women, not just Black women). The first, is a one-off, a single shoot. I’m happy to meet just about anyone from NYC, or elsewhere who is coming to town. My only requirements are that they can meet me in Manhattan, and that they have some kind of style going on, as I am a fashion photographer, after all. That is a big umbrella to be under, I don’t think I’ve ever turned anyone down. You don’t have to be beautiful and you don’t have to be thin, you just have to rock those clothes.
The second way is when someone approaches me for a long term collaboration. For that, I have to be a little more choosy (as does my subject) as it’s a big commitment of time for each of us. So, I will suggest that before we make a commitment, we meet once or twice for a shoot as if it was a one-off (or a ‘test shoot’ as we call it in the business). First, the blogger has to feel comfortable around me, I am a straight male after all. If she doesn’t trust me or feel she can get to that point, the photos will never be my best work. Obviously she has to like the results too. It’s a funny thing, there are times when I feel frustrated because something is going on and I’m not delivering the results that I know I am capable of but other times I meet someone who somehow inspires me to deliver incredible work. It’s often just a matter of ‘sympatico’, you can never figure it out. So we try and see which scenario we have.
Then there’s the funny issue of artistic control. There are women who know exactly what they want. They want to be in total control, they want to pick the neighborhood, the block, the background, and the pose. That is difficult for me, as I’m sure it is for most photographers. I want to have a certain amount of input into all of the above, as that is what makes it fun for me.
Nine times out of ten we can work all that stuff out, and we go on to do great things.
What will the future hold?
My wife and I retired from our day jobs at the end of 2019 and were hoping to do more travel. Unfortunately all that seems on hold now. As part of our travels we were hoping to work the other Fashion Weeks (London, Paris, Milan) but it’s hard to believe that there will be more Fashion Weeks until 2021 at the earliest. And I was hoping to try and meet up with local bloggers during our domestic travels. We will hope things get better soon.
I know some photographers hate this question, but what camera do you use?
Fortunately I am not one of those photographers! For the last few years I have been using Sony mirrorless cameras. They are small and light, which is appreciated by someone my age. The ‘eye autofocus’ tracking is incredible and make them the best camera for shooting people, especially people on the move. My main camera is a Sony A9, coupled with the Zeiss 55mm 1.8. The perfect lens for capturing full body images. If I’m shooting at a specific event, or my wife is assisting as a second photographer, I bring along my Sony A7riii and another lens.
Photos by Denton Taylor
Click Any Photo For Slide Show
Just for fun, some BTS (Behind The Scenes) pics of Denton on the street. With @lesliegelber, and his charming wife @vintageteresa plus @florent.bidois visiting from London. The last photo memorializes Leslie’s expression when Denton told her about his upcoming ‘retirement’. - RG
