I am Nick Knight, Photographer and Director of SHOWstudio. AMA!

What inspired you to go into fashion?

It was naturally what I was interested in. My first project was photographing skinheads, so that in a way was my first fashion project. I was always interested in fashion, ever since I can remember.

Hi Nick! I'm a passionate amateur photographer and my dream is to able to pursue editorial fashion photography as a career.

What tips can you give me, and enthusiasts in general, to make oneself more likely to be successful as a fashion photographer?

Thanks!

Always trust your instinct. Never stop believing in yourself! Good Luck :)

Thanks a lot,

Hopefully one day you might actually see something I shot!

So do I!

What little things in life make you happy?

Afternoon Tea, the smell of Serge Lutens fragrances, photographing roses, my cufflinks, the sun coming through the silver birches in my garden, people in the street…. so many things!

What advice can you give to a creative young adult wanting to get started in fashion film?

Realising it is just about clothes in movement, and not about attempting to make a hollywood film!

What would be your number 1 tip to get involved in the fashion industry? :)

Do you mean as a fashion image maker?

Hi Nick! Could you give some tips on how you direct models? Such as... Do you give them a brief before hand or specific instructions on the shoot? Music playing etc? New to photography and would love to build confidence in hiring models.

First of all, use people you personally like, even if they are not professional models. Secondly, always talk to them about what you are trying to achieve. Music is super important - find music that you can work to, as well as they can! Finally, don't be frightened to push them as hard as you need to get the image. They are doing to get a great image as well.

Hi Nick! Thank you for doing this - I'm one of your students on the Photography: Mastered course! I know you have a team of video editors you work with for your films, but I'm curious, do you/have you edited any of your own fashion films yourself? (worked with 3D motion graphics or special effects yourself for example?). Or do you prefer to work closely with your video editing team? Thanks.

I prefer to work closely with my video editing team. They are incredibly skilled and talented individuals. They are able to show me things I wouldn't see otherwise.

I also use apps on my phone to create roughs to show my editors and technical team.

Could you share an early memory of working with McQueen?

One of his earliest requests was that we photograph a model lying in raw sewage.

Does fashion need to slow down?

Not necessarily. But I do think that the fashion business need to realise is that designers are artists and need to be treated with care, love and protection. These are people that are very sensitive to the world around them, in good ways and bad. This is also the reason we love them.

What's the most important social media platform to put the work out there for a young photographer?

SHOWstudio!

How did you end up working with Kanye West and how was it to work with him?

Kanye called me after 'Born This Way' was released. I met him, 15 minutes later on our relationship started at that point. He is an incredibly unique person to know and to work with. I have the highest respect for what he has achieved, both personally and professionally.

Hi Nick! Which shoot with V has been your favorite?

The next one :)

Hi Nick.

Ham and Petersham resident here. Our lovely part of London is, surprisingly, home to some great modern architecture. Would you ever consider taking part in London Open House weekend? Yours is a true gem.

Also, your enthusiasm and joy for the wonders of creativity are a boundless inspiration. Thank you.

Thank you very much! Yes in theory, however at the moment we are just having the garden re planted as we have lost a huge tree in the storms.

What movie has made you laugh the hardest?

Hi Lula, thats a tricky question…. TV shows, it would be Green Wing! Films is a little harder. I will have a think about this one!

What's the most inefficient way you've ever seen anyone do something?

People building my house. I went on holiday for 4 weeks, and when I returned, they had knocked down the part of the house that had been built before I left.

Hi Nick, thanks for doing this AMA! I've spent so much time on SHOWstudio, it's such a valuable resource.

Which artists do you find yourself revisiting time and time again for inspiration/ideas? Can be from any medium since your work draws from so many disciplines.

Also, will you be doing another Photogaphy:Mastered course in the future? I considered applying but my work isn't there yet!

I will answer you last question first. Yes I believe I will be doing a course next year.

Regarding my inspirations, they come from nearly everything in life. Often it is just people I see in the street.

Thanks for doing an AMA! I love SHOWstudio's work, and you and your team always produce interesting and varied perspectives on fashion.

• What are your thoughts on how storied brands engage with social media—e.g. Burberry's Snapchat ad campaign—do you think there are brands that are doing a particularly great job?
• You've featured younger designers on SHOWstudio—what do you see as SHOWstudio's obligation to support new talent? What do you think is the best way to support new designers when they're still developing aesthetically and commercially?
  • Followup to this: what countries/schools/programs/sponsorships/whatever do you think do the best job at supporting new talent?
• I love the designer-in-residence projects (e.g. Faustine Steinmetz's "Sculpting Denim" live stream). What would be your dream designer/creative to do a residency with SHOWstudio?

That is a lot of questions in one! I hope you don't mind if I just answer one.

We support new talent because it is super interesting. I enjoy doing it and don't see it as an obligation but a privilege.

Hello, Nick! I'm an architecture student with an interest in fashion. Fashion is inherently spatial, but at the scale of the human body. Would you ever change scales and photograph architecture, or furniture? Do you have a favorite architect, and why?

As a photographer you photograph everything and not just one thing. So absolutely yes, I have photographed architecture and love doing it. I photographed the James Sterling development in Runcorn, the Brunswick centre in Bloomsbury, Trellick Tower in Noting Hill Gate and I live in a house designed by the architect David Chipperfield which I photograph regularly and post on my Instagram.

What technology are you hoping for to enable any image making ideas you have?

To be able to take a picture just be seeing, without any equipment, just your eyes. I am hoping advances in neuroscience and modern medicine will make this rather fantastical idea a reality in my lifetime.

Hi Nick, thanks for doing this AMA!

I'm an amateur photographer and I've been photographing nightclubs and parties for about a year now. My dream is to transition into fashion and editorial photography.

My question is: what are the best things to do to appear more appealing to fashion brands, magazines and the like when one is just starting out?

Do a fashion shoot of the most cool people you have met in the nightclubs! Good luck :)

Hey Nick,

My friends and I are in the process of entering your fashion film competition, we were wondering how to upload to film and what you mean by making the video private instead of public. Does that mean you would like us to upload a private video to YouTube/Vimeo and provide you with the access password in the entry forms, or to simply upload a public video and not share it with anyone but yourself?

Hi,

We ask that you upload your film to YouTube as 'unlisted' rather than Private - that way we can embed the film onto SHOWstudio. If you are having trouble please get in touch with [email protected] and the team can assist you further.

everyone who follows you closely knows how useless you think film photography is in the digital age, but what do you think about instant film photography which has a very special look, like polaroid or wet plate ?

I think all forms of image making are interesting. I wouldn't rule anything out whether it is wet plate collodion, rayograms, gum bichromate, 3D scanning, printing on fax paper or platinum printing, all things are worth looking at.

Dear Nick Knight,

After enhancing garment's movement, what do you think will be next in the interpretation/translation of fashion via new technology?

Thank you for your time.

Virtual models.

Dear Nick, sorry for my English. As an image maker, aren't you worried about the huge amount of iconic images we are exposed everyday in almost any circumstance? It's something that many photographers theorised years ago (Newton too). I log in Instagram and I see mainly self portraits. While I aknowledge that that this trend is good when comes to self-determination and feeling better with one's individuality, what I see is this translates into lack of curiosity towards what is surrounding us. Thank you so much for this Reddit chance!

Photography is just communication, like speaking or writing. I don't think we need to get worried about hearing great things everyday. All photography is eventually self portraiture.

Hi there,

I've always been a huge fan of yours and your sense of aesthetics, which - outside of the fashionindustry is most likely considered non mainstream.

This is what interests me the most, as a young photography student. Everything I see in social media are those flat beauty images. This trend is even picked by established photographers..

What kind of audience do you have? Which communities would you suggest paying a visit? I dont wanna bend for the stupidty of the current trends

thanks for doing the AMA! :)

When making an image, you should never think about your audience.

do you still remember the picture that made you think Juergen Teller was too good to be an assistant?

Yes - it was of a pig with strawberries around it.

Hello again! Which do you prefer/get more excited shooting, video or stills? Do you love them equally/in different ways? Thanks, Jodie.

I love them equally, and in very different ways. Both are incredibly hard!

Hi Nick, Do you believe it's possible, in today's world to make it as a fashion photographer without pursuing the assisting other photographers route? Also, all my mentors keep telling me to network but I am terrible at that and always feel I come across as being fake. Do you have any advice on that? Thank you :)

Yes. Don't believe your mentors, I never believed in networking. If you are good, people will want you. Trust yourself. And yes you don't have to assist, there are as many different ways as there are people. Good luck!

Hey Nick

Do you think interactive technology is changing the exclusivity of the fashion industry by allowing everyone to be spectators?

Would you say fashion is becoming less about the clothes and more about the experience?

By reproducing images and making fashion more accessible online do you think it is changing the impact of the original garment?

Yes, but for the better. Incidentally, not all fashion has been exclusive.

Fashion is going through a revolution. Everything is changing. It has to.

Hi Nick, Would you go into the studio to shoot if you were not happy with a treatment for a shoot and a client was urging you to deliver at a certain time? Is the preproduction creatively imperative above all?

Yes you should always go into the studio well prepared. Choosing the client is the most important thing. Once you have, you enter into a relationship which, like all relationships, needs care and understanding on both sides.

Hello Mr. Knight,

I am just a truly admirer of your work. You have worked within different projects with social impact. Did you face any difficulties with that?Did you ever thought of involving everyday people in any of your projects so as to reduce the gap between fashion industry and everyday fashion? thank you in advance. marianna

I think all fashion is important and exciting at whatever level. To be honest, I never really approach fashion in that way. I often find my models on Instagram or on the street. And as well as that, much of my inspiration comes from seeing people in the world around me.

To date, is there a specific person you've enjoyed working with more than others?

No, it would be like saying you have a favourite child. All my shoots are incredibly important to me.

Hello, Nick! Thanks for doing this.

As a young aspiring photographer, I have always thought that developping a style and improving my skills were the best way to get work done and to fulfill myself, but in a few years trying do get into the industry I started to doubt that initial thought. Networking seems to be just as important (if not more) than that, now. How would you say is a good way to approach magazines, potential clients without being annoying? I always feel like I'm annoying everyone or that people will simply think "ough, another desperate one" hahah

It is the desperate ones who make it happen! Don't give up :) Ruth Hogben wrote, phoned and used remote links to me for 2 years to become my assistant, and she was brilliant, and is now one of the most exciting fashion film makers in the world.

Hi Nick, About how many total shots do you take per look? And how do you know when you got the shot and its time to move on to the next?

It really varies. When I used to work on a 10x8 camera we had 10-15 shots per look as the film was so expensive. Now using an iPhone, its an infinite amount of shots. I keep on working until either I or the model drop! :)

what do you think of fashion being all about trend revivals for the past 20 years, especially in the big houses, and how it overshadow the original work of up and coming designers?

I think it depends where you look. There is great,new fashion design being created all the time. You just have to look at what the students are producing at colleges like RCA, Central Saint Martins, London College of Fashion, to see that fashion is always changing.

Have you ever had a problem in the studio that money and resources could not over come?

Yes of course, all the time. Problems are solved by hard work and being flexible with your idea.

hi what do you thrive off most, the image or the moment when you take the image?

The moment!