At first I’d like to thank you for having me here.Well, I never planned to be a photographer, and all started when I was modeling, playing with my old Olympus camera taking pictures and testing with other models. The agencies used to love my shots and it was just a hobby for me, but back than I was more active as a model than anything else, so photography was just a play time between modeling and school. After I graduated from college, I totally abandoned the modeling carreer and with that the photography and just dedicated my time working as an civil engineer, what put me out of the fashion world for 8 years. After quitting the engineering career on my late 20’s, I returned to the fashion industry for a short time until I decided to move to San Diego CA where I still live. With that change also came back the desire to learn more about photography and went to UCSD for a few classes, since than I haven’t stopped shooting yet and shortly it became my new passion in life.

Inspiration for life as a model and photographer

It’s hard to say just one thing, as a photographer I get inspiration/message for different sources we just have to get all our sense open because we never know what will be our next inspiration, can be a scent, feelings, colors or anything. Pictures are the register of a moment that happened even though if it just happened in our own creative mind.As a former model I use my experience to help my models bring their best to the shoot, basically I make sure they are comfortable with the environment first than its easy to get the best shots. There are always some great moments, that’s one of the reasons that I love working with people so much we can have a lot fun too. Once shooting a model naked at the beach surrounded by cliffs we didn’t realize that after a few hours we were being watched for more than 20 people all way to the top of the cliffs, the model got so shy after that we started shooting some fashion shots with clothes but the audience wanted to see more sexy shots and starting cheer and clapping for more. Well, it didn’t work out. The model got even shy and we stopped shooting.

In another ocasion I remember shooting at the beach and there is this pier made of rocks very instable with a little hut about half mile in the ocean and that was my location for the shoot. We all got there and after an hour with wardrobe and make up we started shooting. I ended up missing a step between the rocks, fell down and broke my ankle after snap my second shot. The funny part of the story was that we all had to go back and the poor model had to carry on his back since I couldn’t walk and my make up artist couldn’t stop laughing and was taking pictures of the whole scene. After a few weeks we all went back to the same spot and got the job done!

His style, the digital era and advice for inspring photographers and models

My style would be CLASSIC, PROVOCATIVE and SENSUAL without being vulgar. Always making sure that the pose brings the best of each model and they understand my style that way they can incorporate it on each of their movements. So, it makes me feel real satisfied making people feel good about their own look and physique. Concerning the digital era, I think it’s the normal evolution of the things, as happened with any other field before the digital era just brings more to the photography and in my point of view without taking the beauty and the art of it, as many people use to say. It just open a new wide open field of possibilities to create and be inspired for. The market is very competitive but also is huge and very diverse, so doesn’t matter what kind of model/photographer you are, just follow your passion, improve your skills, experiment and you will succeed. I feel really good when helped people to achieve their goal/dreams it’s a pleasure sensation that none can buy it.

World economy crisis really affected the fashion photography?

Well, it’s a very interesting question ED, because as you mention the crisis is there and always has been. The world just changed how to deal with it. Fashion photography is def hurt with the economy. Actually everything that’s not food would be since we all have to eat to keep ourselves alive but the visual impact of any product, fashion or not still have to be made to reach the selling point and photographers will still being hired. The diference now is that with the digital era, mentioned previously in this interview, brought a new element to the system, now we see tons of GWC that means guy/girl with camera, taking pictures and considering themselves as professional photographers and charging nothing to almost nothing for their services while still learning/experimenting and improving skills and that’s what is making some real diference on the market now, some clients as magazines, designers, etc are trying to save some money on the marketing/photography material and hiring this new generation of “artists” and sacrificing the quality of the final product. And said so please don’t take me wrong, I never said that a new GWC couldn’t be the new biggest name out there, I’m just showing a bigger picture on this new world.

The Projects

Right now I’m working with a few fashion designers here in US that unfortunatelly can´t mention their names because they are being featured on a few tv shows, plus besides that still working for a magazines worldwide and on my book that should be coming soon. Most of the models I worked with left me something special about their own personalities and that’s what def I like it most and keep me inspired for the next one.

IMAGE worth a THOUSAND WORDS? ABSOLUTELLY !!! And an image stay forever in time it’s a record of a moment, a memory to share for years to come.

Main motto: "Move in every single possible direction. That’s life"

Final comments

Thanks again for having me here and keep us updated with you great work. WORLD OF MODELS is here to stay.

Info contact: http://www.wanderaguiar.com