Discover Top Posts Tagged with #jd ferguson

Alesandra Ambrosio by JD Ferguson, from a party in the mid-2000s

#Alessandra Ambrosio #JD Ferguson #smoking

vman model world cup 2010_

Who remembers that tournament? Anyone have more pictures of the VNY team????

JD Ferguson is time for this event to happen again!

please anyone who has photos or videos links, let us know. Or send email to us; [email protected]

Come on guys, the internet is to help each other, this blog is about Ollie but respond requests to post about Danny, Jamie and Corey ... if you have something about this soccer tournament or something about Ollie send it to us! (put your name for credits)

[email protected]

#VNY #jd ferguson #OLLIE EDWARDS #danny schwarz #lana tomczak #sean opry #damian tomczak #Andres Betancur #renie saliba #alana samuals #@vnymodels #Ollie Edwards - VNY Model Management #vny model management

John Galliano S/S 2009 Menswear Backstage by JD Ferguson.

#John Galliano #Galliano #JG S/S 2009 #Menswear #JD Ferguson #Backstage #Fashion #Art

Backstage Pass: An Interview with JD Ferguson

Photo: Hanne Gaby Odiele, Alana Zimmer, JD Ferguson and Diana Moldovan backstage somewhere, where he always is. You may have heard of the American fashion photographer, JD Ferguson. A splashy, uplifting character with grey spikey hair and sky blue eyes, he wears all-white outfits and looks like he fell out of the pages of a Manga comic. While he seems suited for the spotlight, JD has spent a chunk of his life behind the runway, backstage at Gucci, Chanel and Alexander McQueen. A bit of a who's-who of the fashion world, his series shot from 2007 to 2012 includes slapdash pics of Victoria Beckham, Demi More, Sarah Jessica Parker, Wynona Ryder and Jennifer Lopez, among others. But has it always been easy to squeeze past snobby authorities to get the stars, designers and models? Anything but. Makes sense, then, the title of his exhibition is called Backstage Pass, a showcase of 33 photos at the MILA Kunstgalerie in Berlin, which opened last night. If you weren’t at the opening, there were all kinds of skinny model types, fashion bloggers low on iPhone battery, young artists from St. Martens college and of course, drag queens (believe it or not, there was no backstage access). With over 50 images in collection, JD has chosen five never-seen-before images exclusively for ArtStars*. He dashed around the opening taking pics of his friends and models (both fall in the same category), inviting everyone to the after party, butterfly kissing former agents and introducing strangers. He kindly offered to put my backpack behind the gallery desk. Strange, because the fashion world is so much about VIP access and cooler-than-though snobbery. JD offers the flipside and dishes about the most-loathed things about the fashion world, how he burned out and why he gave up fashion blogging. -Nadja Sayej

I love this photo so much. What’s the story behind capturing this intimate moment? That was my hot moment with Gemma Ward. That image is really exciting for me; it was my first Chanel show. Karl flew me to Paris and I shot exclusively for him that week. I didn’t know Gemma as well as the other girls, at that time. She was talking to the other girls and I think she threw me a pose. It happens so fast. What is the most difficult thing about shooting backstage? The most difficult thing is that it’s a real racket getting into the shows. Such a pain in the ass. Especially New York.. You have to fight to get into the show; you have to fight to stay in the show; you have to fight for hair and make-up; first looks; to lean against the wall; get a coffee. Everything is a fight. Seven times a day for thirty days straight. It’s fucking exhausting. That’s the only problem – getting backstage. Dealing with people who sit in an office all year and want to be someone during fashion week, even if they’re an intern backstage for the first time telling a 25 year vet where he can and cannot stand. And security in the backstage is the worst, just like bouncers at a night-club. It’s exhausting. In the EU its super different – they have class and style, a more sophisticated professional way of doing things. EU fashion houses are established family houses, they have history. It's a New York thing. They could really take a lesson from EU. Your blog was an insider and first-hand account of the "scene" both backstage and nightlife. Why did you decide to stop? I was doing it all myself, my blog got more hits than some of the publications I was shooting for. After 5 years straight, the economy crashed, the blog was non-stop, day and night, I just got really burned out. Blogging is fun but it gets to be so ‘what the fuck am I doing?’ It’s like Facebook, we all bought it at first, but now what? I loved my blog, but it didn't pay the rent.

Who are these two angels? Where was this? Freja and Abbey were recruited into the Chanel family and, both with strong careers on their own, became known as "Frabbey". Lol. I guess because they were photographed a lot together and are close friends. The one on the left is Freja from Denmark, she has done everything and has had a really good career. Abbey is Australian and is parlaying a bit in to film. She's shooting a movie right now actually. This photo is from Alexander Wang. At this particular moment, I hadn’t seen them so we were just catching up and shooting the shit. That season (like a lot lately) I was just backstage hanging out with friends.

What show was this at? Could you take us back there to this moment? It was the one Alexander McQueen show I ever shot. It was in Milan; and it was the men's collections. It was a hectic backstage, so I got atmosphere shots. That season I shot portraits of the designers so I was honored to be able to have him (Mcqueen) pose specifically for me. The show was a bit hectic because the hair was really specific and particular and they didn’t want anyone touching it. Other photos from this backstage that better. The care and lengths they went to to protect the hair. I just selected this image because it's Nick Rea who is a lot of fun. How would you describe your photography backstage. In comparison to other photographers? Backstage for me is a lot about fun. It's like being a kid in a candy store. I hope my pics reflect this. Everything I do is always fast and on the fly -some [most] photographers I shoot backstage with are serious veterans who have been doing it for years and have very specific requirements of what they need backstage...the bag, the shoes, the look, hair, make-up. I can get away with anything. If I come late to a show and get a photo of Lara Stone smoking and eating a donut, that’s fine. I can write something cute and be done with it. I have a free working schedule.

Who are these rock stars, the Strokes? Who are these rock stars, the Strokes? That’s Gucci in Milan. With the woman and the men, they don’t give us many first looks. They send out five or six models and thats it. Very selected limited preview. They come there, you shoot them and they leave. I love the colours in this shot, the boy on the far left is Mathias Berg from Sweden and this was his breakout season. I love the boy on the right with the shaggy hair.

What’s happening here? That’s at Lanvin in Paris during the men's shows and, again, the same season I did the designer portraits. That’s the first time I shot Alber Elbaz so it was a bit exciting to finally be backstage at one of his shows. That boy in the straw hat is Adrian, he came to America without speaking any English. I was one of the first people to shoot him and he was very shy and knew very little English. He ended up working really well with clients like Prada and had a really good career. We've remained friends til this day. How do you get along with the models? Having been a model yourself is their advice you offer them or things they should watch out for in the business? I was never someone who was "in" fashion. It was always a business for me. I was working for clients like Eddie Bauer and LL Bean in the states and then spending the rest of the year in Europe doing lots of commercial work. I was not someone who was living the "fab" life, flying between catwalks and riding around in limos. It was a job. And I was, after-all, in my 30's. For this reason I’ve always had a good handle on what is real and is not. Which has served me very well in everything I do as a photographer working in fashion. As far as the models go, yes there is definitely a commodore that exists. Having been a model, I speak the language which helps me have a better understanding of how to get a good pic, from both sides of the lens. And I know innately when people want to be photographed and when they dont. As far as the guys go, I've always felt like a bit of a mentor with most of them, especially the ones who are young and just starting out and know nothing about the business. And plus, I like to have fun. Models enjoy shooting with me, I think, because it doesnt usually feel like work [laughs]. Not even to me. But are there specific things you can say you have helped models with who are inexperienced or just starting out in the business? Many things. From just hanging out to giving career advice, to where to stay in Milan, or how to look pretty in front of the camera. I feel like I'm always helping young models who don't know what the hell their doing. But not just models, I try and help anyone I can in my life. And I'm happy to do so. When I started out I didn't know a thing. I would have LOVED to have someone who'd been through it laying out the pitfalls and what to do and not do. Plus I feel like, being a grown adult man in my 40's I have a lot of life experience to offer them as well. I take happiness in being a mentor. Specifically, for example, for years agents email me saying ‘JD shoot this guy! Please bring him out of his shell..he's so shy.’ And then I get emails from them after thanking me saying "I dont know what you did but he's totally confident now." I mean, it's not magic, I'm not the model-whisperer [laughs]. But being 18 years and out of Texas for the first time, in the Big Apple, and not knowing a thing; can be really overwhelming. Having someone explain it all to you, from an inside perspective, while getting nice photos of you and answering questions about everything from which subway line to take to the cheapest eats in the city or best gym to workout at...it's like Model 101 with me. I guess [laughs].

#JD Ferguson #Backstage Pass #Berlin #Nadja Sayej