we paid a visit to. . .

Mr. William Clark.

“Fashion is a man-made flower: Sown by the artist, cultivated by those of taste, harvested by all who love beauty.” This is William Clark’s personal mission statement, in which he admittedly, ‘stole’ from an old vacuum box. A few of us were lucky enough to visit William Clark’s personal studio, for a couple of hours, as we sat down with one of our metro’s greatest fashion photographers. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, William Clark approaches photography with an open mind and a more contemporary perspective. He is known for his ability to take risks, for he is never satisfied with the status quo. William got his start as a photography assistant, for a company called Image Studios Inc., in Appleton, Wisconsin. He then moved to Chicago, where, he claims to have enjoyed the energy of the city, but it just wasn’t for him.

Following that, Clark moved to Minneapolis, where he now lives with his wife, his two-year-old daughter, and another on the way. He quickly found that there were endless opportunities for fashion photography in Minnesota and it has been his passion ever since, stating that, “Fashion has the biggest room for creativity.” William has been capturing images for editorial and advertising purposes, for over a decade. Some of his clients include Macy’s, Target, Mall of America and Metro Magazine. William’s true area of interest, in which he claimed to enjoy the most, lies in producing collaborative works for his own portfolio. This usually involves working with ‘an army,’ as William called it, made up of a photographer (himself), an assistant, an art director, a designer, hair and makeup artists, a style team and a prop’s team. All members work together to make a vision come to life, on the day of the shoot. “Everyone brings something different; everyone sacrifices, everyone wins,” William revealed.

When speaking of initial inspiration, William explained that the first step to executing a successful shoot is a concept, which could stem from something as simple as a word or an image. From there, a story is made, a production team is assembled, model casting is held, shooting begins and the rest is history. William spoke of the importance of knowing that you are only as good as the people you work with and that both collaboration and networking are two, key factors to consider when working in this industry. As a fashion student, taking my first photography class, my graduating quarter, I found this experience to be both fascinating and inspiring – Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on a business card.

Pictures via http://www.williamclarkphotography.com/