Shane Reynolds: Fashion Photographer
Shane Reynolds, an Ithaca College sophomore from Norwich, NY, is already making his mark on the world of fashion photography. He’s a small-town boy who fell in love with the city, and quickly turned a small business of taking school photos in his grandma’s garage into a passion which has transformed him into a local celebrity. With over 1500 Instagram followers, 1400 Facebook friends, and a major internship already under his belt, Reynolds has an impressive, ever-evolving portfolio, and has worked with many big names. His unique, risky, high-quality photos force fans to stop scrolling and take a second look.
Annika Kushner, an editor here at Distinct Magazine, asked Reynolds about what ignited his passion for photography, the projects he is most proud of, and what it was like to work with big-name fashion designers during his summer internship in New York City.
Annika Kushner: How did you first get into photography? Shane Reynolds: My photo class junior year of high school was my first introduction. I remember I was on the swim in high school, and we stopped at Wegman’s to get food after a meet. There was a poster of Lady Gaga with a photograph by Annie Lebowitz on the cover of Vanity Fair. From that point on, I was always looking at fashion photography. Then when I was senior in high school, I started taking people’s senior portraits. I set up a studio in my grandma’s garage, and I started doing events and such for a few magazines. It just kind of picked up.
AK: What inspired you to take that first photo class? SR: My sister. I’m probably more of the artsy kid — she’s more mathematical. But she took it, and there are these pictures of her outside on a roof with her hair really frizzed out, like crazy. It was really, really saturated, and I was like, “Hmmm. I like that.” I painted before I did photography. That was my job, in a way. I would do celebrity portraits of people. Like someone would say, “Can you take this picture of Lana Del Rey and paint it?” Or they would give me a family picture, and I would paint it for them. That was when I first touched photos.
AK: Have you done any internships related to fashion photography? SR: This past summer I lived in the city. I worked for a fashion designer, and then I was at a party, and I ended up meeting a stylist. Through her, I got connections and got to work with a bunch of fashion photographers. And I got to go to the sets, assisting photographers. And I actually got to model in one of them, which was really cool.
AK: Which designer did you intern for? SR: Her name is Maggie Norris Couture. She does a lot of corsets. It’s custom-made, and it’s very, very expensive. Most of our clients are socialites. She designed for Beyoncé once. A lot of work goes into it. It’s really intricate, a lot of detail and lace work.
AK: What did you do as intern there? SR: She has an an upcoming show in February that’s all nautical-themed, so I did research on nautical fashion — just looking at inspiration through photo shoots, historical pictures of the beginning of nautical fashion. She would send us to museums, also. We went to FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) a few times. They actually had a nautical fashion exhibit, ironically. It was unpaid, but it was worth it because all the experiences and connections were crazy.
AK: And you said that you got to work with some fashion photographers in the city? SR: Yeah! This one guy, David White, designed the most recent Calvin Klein campaign. He’s the one who photographed me, actually. The shoot was awesome. The designer that I was wearing was called Stephen F. The woman who did my makeup and hair did the makeup on Lady Gaga for the “Born This Way” video. I was like, “These are holy hands touching my face.”
AK: When did you realize photography is what you want to do?
SR: I think it’s once it started really picking up, and I started doing senior portraits. Those were all on commission, but the majority of what I was doing was picking friends who wanted to model, and tracking people down. And I do that here, too. I’ll kind of go up to someone and say, “Hi! I kind of have an idea for you. It’s probably a little creepy, but if you don’t mind?” But that’s how I make a lot of my friends, actually — by being creepy and messaging them. When it’s on commission, it’s more restricted to what that certain person’s looking for. With the senior portraits, I was giving more of a fashion-y flare, which is why I think a lot of people came to me. That was when I realized: When I was creating really amazing works, people were noticing, I was getting a lot of attention for it, and I was having fun with it.
AK: Why are you so drawn to the city?
SR: I grew up in a very small town, with kind of a Catholic, close-minded family, so I’ve always been very confined. Photography was kind of like my way out of it. It opened a lot of doors, and brought me to the city, which I’ve always — fashion-wise — been drawn to. And living there this summer just really made me fall in love with it. It’s something about the freeness of it, I guess. It’s just more of an accepting, liberating atmosphere.
AK: Is there anyone who’s particularly inspired you?
SR: If we go back, probably Irving Penn. He did this one famous photo of these lips which are plump and orange, and there’s a bee right on them, and it almost looks like the bee stung them. I love that photo. I just love all his work. Currently Steven Klein is my favorite. His work is very risky, very controversial — sometimes too controversial. I kind of try to maintain that in my work a little bit. I try to open up people’s eyes, keep them thinking, and sometimes make a statement. But I don’t think the work should always have to make a statement. It can just be work for the sake of work.
AK: How would you describe the aesthetic of your photos?
SR: It changes with different shoots. There’s a lot of spectacle in it. You’re never going to see a photo by me of some girl with her hand on her hip, smiling in a field. If someone’s scrolling, I want to make them pause. I want them to really stop to look at it, and not have it be just some cliche thing that you’re going to see every day. I always incorporate some sort of elaborate fashion and makeup setup.
AK: What do you look for in the people that you photograph?
SR: It depends. There’s this whole interconnectedness of Instagram of models, at least in the cities. Sometimes I’ll have an idea, and I’ll know someone who I follow that I really, really want to use, and I’ll contact them. Or sometimes models contact me asking if I would like to do a shoot of them. And I’ll say, “Give me a while to think of something that I really see you doing.” I get some of my inspiration pics from other shoots, or just something that comes to me. Like sometimes I have these crazy ideas, like I wrapped my friend Lillia in saran wrap for one shoot, which was really cool. Sometimes I’ll track people down. One of my best friends now, Zoe, was in the pub last year, and she had this bright orange hair, and she was so pretty. And I just kept looking over at her, and I was like, “Guys, I’m gonna be real creepy. I’m gonna go ask her.” And then I did, and she was super cool. She was like, “Yeah, I’d be totally down.” And I used her for so many shoots.
AK: How do you feel about your photography getting so much attention on social media? SR: I’m definitely trying to get more exposure. And I have been more recently, like in the past two months. It’s been picking up. It’s really crazy. I’m like always on my phone — not because I’m trying to keep up with my friends, but it’s just I’m trying to keep up with other photographers and fashion people that want to shoot with me. It’s business. But I want more people to see my work, and know more about it. And I want to meet more people — people who are higher up, who I can work with. One of my favorite designers actually followed me on Instagram, and we were literally messaging. It was so weird, so cool. I’m still freaking out a little about that.
AK: Which social media platform do you prefer? SR: Instagram, because it’s a little more youth-centered. And my mom is on Facebook, and my cousins. I do a lot of risky work, so there are a lot of things I only post on Instagram. I just feel like Instagram has more youth culture, so I can post and get more appreciation from people that understand it a little better.
AK: Are your parents supportive of your work? SR: They are! They were really supportive in helping me out this summer. And when I was in high school, I was always thrift shopping to buy stuff for shoots. A lot of times I’ll do the makeup on the models, and then thrift for the clothes. Cause, you know, not everyone has a metallic jumpsuit lying around. But my mom would be at the store, and she would see something that I could probably use for a shoot, and she would point it out.
AK: How much do you edit your photos?
SR: It depends what kind of vibe I’m going for. Sometimes I want it to be very natural and raw. If there’s ever anything really unflattering about it, I’ll do a little something to it. But I would never manipulate anyone’s body unless they’ve requested it. It’s more filtering, contrast lighting, warm tones, and effects, to give a more dramatic feel and coincide with the theme I’m going for.
AK: What would be your ideal camera be?
SR: The Canon [EOS] 5DS. It has some crazy lines, and the monitor’s set up so the models can see the photo, which is helpful. If you try to become a big name fashion photographer, you usually have that set up in your studio. But it’s expensive. I use a Canon Rebel T5i.
AK: Is there any one project or photoshoot that you’re particularly proud of?
SR: I have a few different shoots that like everyone knows. There’s one that I did with this girl in my hometown. This girl is about 15, so beautiful, and she got this mermaid tail for her birthday. And I asked her if she wanted to do this mermaid shoot in the lake. And it was the most realistic tail I have ever seen in my life. Everyone locally was just freaking out about it, and it got a lot of attention. I also did this like snake shoot, which was the coolest thing. My friend Chase has like this seven-foot boa constrictor, so I did a sort of Adam-and-Eve–themed shoot. I asked my friend Maggie if I could wrap a snake around her naked body, and she’s the last person I would ever imagine to be like, “Yeah.” But she was completely okay! It was actually very nice. It just rested its little head on my shoulder.
AK: What is your personal style? SR: My favorite time period is like late ’90s — like ’98 through 2002. That whole time period was a lot of metallic and a lot of see-through clothing — latex-y sort of stuff. I have a pair of metallic silver pants, which is like my signature look, because I’m always running around in those. That’s my style: a lot of leather and weird materials. I’m drawn to an eclectic sort of thing.
AK: Any favorite places to shop? SR: I like Topshop, and H&M can be good. A lot of my clothes are bought through this app called Depop. I buy and sell a lot of stuff on there for shoots. I like thrifting. I doesn’t have to be expensive. I don’t really care about the price, as long as it looks good.
AK: What approaching projects that you’re excited about? SR: My next unit for photo class we had to pick a photographer, and I picked Irving Penn because he was one of the only two fashion photographers on the list. I have to recreate one of his photos, so I’m going to create the photo with the lips and the bee. I’m gonna see if I can get a fake bee, or a dead one that’s been preserved.
AK: Is it ever hard to balance all of your photographer work with school? SR: Mmm-hmm. Because I like doing my photography better than school, and I dedicate more time to that than I do to my school work. It is hard, but at the same time, the more success I’ve had has been from my photos rather than school work. You’ve gotta find the balance, and make sure you’re sleeping. It’s difficult, but it’s worth it.
AK: What advice would you give to an aspiring photographer? SR: Know the certain style you want to do. Don’t be afraid to take risks, because that’s how you get noticed. Keep shooting. Keep meeting new people. Don’t be afraid to message other photographers and talk to other people whose work you admire, because that’s the only way you’re going to learn. And follow the work.
