1 What’s the most misunderstood thing about shooting fashion and beauty?
Many outside the industry believe in the big
break. For most people, there is no such thing.
It’s a lot of hard work, time and networking. The
more you build your team and put the effort
into expanding your network, the more you will
grow. One big shoot or one big campaign isn’t
the magic solution that guarantees success.
2 Have or would you ever shoot weddings? I shot weddings for about 10 years and
I found them challenging, exhilarating...and
utterly exhausting. You must think on your feet
while managing many people at the same
time as mastering so many different technical
aspects. While I did enjoy them, I found myself
more rewarded in shoots where I had more
creative and technical control.
3 What do you miss about your childhood, and look forward to about growing older?
While I had a fantastic childhood, there is
nothing I pine for. I was an old soul from early
on. I even had a breakdown at age 12 for
feeling like I hadn’t accomplished enough in
life. I am much more comfortable as an adult—
it took me a long time to feel comfortable
in my own skin, and I’m loving that feeling.
The things I loved about childhood (constant
learning and exploration) I’ve done my best
to channel into my adult life.
As I grow older, I am excited to experience
life with more wisdom and to gain more
wisdom. My knowledge helps me experience
the world in a more fulfilling way and to filter
these experiences into my own work and
creativity. My life feels fuller and I interact with
people and the world in deeper ways.
4 What’s your favorite takeout meal? Undoubtedly, Panera’s mac and
cheese. I hate fast food, but I love mac and
cheese. Cheese and chocolate are some of
life’s greatest joys.
5 What’s your advice for editing skin without overdoing it?
Don’t expect there to be a quick solution.
Anything that looks amazing always took a
lot of time. My advice for skin editing would
be to always aim to maintain skin texture. As
soon as the texture goes away or is blurred,
it looks overdone and cheap. Check
out frequency separation and localized
dodging and burning techniques to get the
best results.
6 What’s one of your weirdest habits? I was told my weirdest habit is that I don’t
drink coffee and I live in New York City. I’d say
my weirdest “habit” is that I never cook. Haven’t
cooked a meal from scratch more than a
handful of times in my entire life.
7 Who or what has been the biggest influence in your photography?
I think it is important to have several influences
so you aren’t just emulating a single person.
That being said, I have a deep love of the work
of Sølve Sundsbø, and early in my fashion
photography career he was my greatest
inspiration and creative soul mate.
8 You’ve been shot by some other big photographers in the industry—what’s the
value of being on the other side of the lens?
I think being photographed is one of the
most important lessons you can have as a
photographer. It teaches you empathy for
your subjects and you come to understand
how vulnerable that position can be. You also
learn what a photographer can do to put
you at ease and bring the best out of you—it
may be the words they say, a tone of voice,
the hand movement for direction. By being
photographed, I’ve also shown (to my clients and
others) that I value good photography, which is
very useful as I ask them to do the same!
9 What’s one of your photographic goals for 2017?
My goal is to become known more in the
commercial realm for my cinemagraph
work. My team and I will be promoting this
heavily, and I’ll be creating lots of new work to
promote this skillset.
10What were your first words, and what would you want your last words to be?
My first word was “juice.” I loved apple juice as
a baby, and it’s still my beverage of choice on
flights to this day.
I want my last words to be “I love you,”
meaning I’m with someone I care for deeply.
Leaving the world with love is all I could ask for.
Lindsay Adler is a fashion photographer and
educator based in New York City. She’s penned
numerous books on lighting, posing and
shooting full-figured subjects, among others.
lindsayadlerphotography.com
Lindsay Adler
Fashion Photographer, Mac and Cheese Fan, Old Soul
INTERVIEW BY LIBBY PETERSON
10 RANDOM QUESTIONS
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