Student Success Story: Daunea Foster, Atlanta

by Daunea Foster

I enrolled in the Fashion Styling 101 course under the instruction of Kim Maxwell and it was by far the best decision I could have made in my career as a stylist.

I am a freelance fashion stylist in Atlanta, Georgia and like any profession I knew that I needed to learn the ABC’s of being successful in this industry. Taking Kim’s course not only taught me the basics, it exceeded my expectations and taught me the essentials, the in’s & out’s, what I need to make it, and how to make sound decisions!

I feel so much more confident on how to pursue my dreams and that’s more than what any book could’ve taught me. Kim Maxwell has also been a mentor during and after the course ended which is to be commended. Through her mentorship and referrals, I have been booked to style a music video for 2 artists here in Atlanta. That was a success and through that music video, I gained an ongoing client!

I have also been booked to style for models in the area. One of the greatest opportunities was being hired as a head assistant stylist for STYLESbyMAXX. I had the chance to assist in styling an event titled “Memoirs of a Fashionista” in honor of Kim Maxwell, which was also a huge success! The doors continue to open, and more projects begin to come to me which I am truly grateful for. I give KUDOS to Susan Cox & Photo Styling Workshops for offering this course, and a HUGE thank you to Kim Maxwell for being such a wonderful, resourceful, and kind instructor! This course has provided me with the tools to birth my vision.

Photo above: Hip-Hop Artist Young Que

Confessions of a Catalog Whore

It’s like this. My aunt Susan, besides being one of my favorite people on earth, is a photo stylist. And she has ruined me. Well, not ruined, exactly, that is not quite the right word – altered maybe. She’s taken one of my long secret passions and twisted it, tweaked it into an equally compelling, but completely lopsided passion. In both cases, the passion involves catalogs… But I’m getting ahead of my own story. Let me start at the beginning.

Long ago, before the internet, before one click-online-anything-goes-shopping, I used to hoard catalogs – and I mean hoard. Not just Sears, or the J.C. Penney Christmas book, but just about anything I could have sent to my mailbox for free. Seeds, tools, farm equipment, hand-dyed fabrics and my very favorite book of items to buy – greeting cards.

I loved the photographs of all that stuff – but mostly I loved the convenience. The idea that someday, pending money, I would be able to anonymously order anything from a John Deere tractor to a seashell-lined photo frame and have it sent to my home. Voila. No need to change my pajamas – just like that.

Needless to say, the advent of the internet made pajama shopping an ordinary event, (so much for my special secret of shopping in the dark.) But at about the same time that the internet pushed its way into my bedroom, my auntie began her career as a photo stylist, and because I have always been an avid admirer of her art (which was and is extremely avant garde and anything but “catalogish”) I began to question her about what I perceived as a muting of her creative instinct, asking how she could go from the canvas to the retail market without losing something.

As my aunt began to patiently describe her craft, the genius behind each catalog page, a new vision began to develop before me. Susan talked about the real art of the catalog, about her unique style of setting up a page, about how it excited her to fold dress shirts just right, so that they became three-dimensional with inanimate arms almost reaching for the potential buyer. And then it happened. I began to realize that there was a SOMEONE, an ARTIST, behind every page of every catalog I had ever lusted over. So BANG – I was ruined, or rather, altered.

I truthfully can no longer look at any retail ad – internet, catalog, newspaper or magazine without thinking about the person behind the page. And the result?? Everything is just that much more beautiful. And not from the point of view of “I need to buy that.” No, it is not that at all. It is a pure form of art. Ecstasy art. I no longer just look at the items in a catalog, I look at the pages, and not just look, I linger over them. Yes, I hoard them.

I have seen advertised one art exhibit displaying catalog pages from the 1940’s and 50’s. I am certain there are or will be many more art exhibits showcasing many more decades. The retail ad has become one of my favorite genres, thanks to my auntie – and I will always wonder about those anonymous artists behind each page.

So there you have it - catalog whore becomes art collector. Who knew?

by Janice Katz, M.D.

Image above from Janice's NEW favorite catalog Cambria Cove

Ethnic Fashion of Indonesia

As I write this I am visiting dear friends in Bali, an island in the middle of Indonesia! Alan and Deborah have been inviting us to visit, since they moved here a year ago, and my husband Gary and I are here at last.

Before the trip I took a fashion class at Mesa College where I teach, because I got the urge to be a student (that will be another blog entry) and see what college is like these days from the other side of the classroom. I decided to take a course in the Fashion Department, Ethnic Costume, History and Design. I loved it! I was not the best student when I went to Kent State but that’s another story…

My project for this course was an essay. I researched the background of Indonesian fashion so that I would know more about this string of islands before the trip. The textiles, such as batik, tie-dye, and other woven fabric techniques go back many centuries and are as important as the items that are worn here. If you would like to read it please click here. (Stay tuned.)

Kristin Slaby, Prop Stylist

This week we are featuring a professional prop stylist, Kristin Slaby, who works in New York. Here is how she describes her career:

"I have been working as a prop stylist for the past ten years or so. Mainly focusing on food because I enjoy being around food and can relate to food. I have learned over the years even though there are so many wonderful props with color, texture, patterns and shapes that what I need to be aware of is: it's not about the props. It is about the food or the product and this is what I focus on.

"The props cannot upstage the food or the product. They should compliment, and highlight, the food/product, at the same time creating an environment or a story/theme that the client has expressed. The food/product should 'pop' and resonate with the viewer with the help of the props. I hope this little bit of information is helpful to upcoming prop stylists. Please feel free to view my website for examples: http://www.kristinslaby.com/."

The Tweezer Times

I first heard of The Tweezer Times five years ago from Pam Tocco, a product stylist I worked with in Florida. (She makes an appearance in my book, "Photo Styling" as The Staff Stylist.) Pam and I were fascinated that there was a site devoted to sharing the techniques and professional secrets of food styling. We realized the name derived from the tweezers used by food stylists for minute maneuvers. (Here's an article explaining the food stylist's use of tweezers as a styling tool on The Tweezer Times blog.)

Nothing like that sharing of styling information was going on in the realm of product or fashion styling and I was further motivated to write my book telling all about the career of photo styling, which did happen about two years later when Allworth Press accepted my book proposal. So, in the midst of my five-month deadline, a natural step in exploring the specialty of food styling was to call Lisa Golden Schroeder, the editor and creative force behind the subscription-style resource, The Tweezer Times.


Lisa became my food styling teacher when, the following year, I started Photostylingworkshops.com. She jumped at the opportunity to develop the Food Styling 101 course, write the lessons, and teach the online course until we brought Debbie Wahl aboard to teach alternating sessions. Now Lisa continues to teach Food Styling 101 while creating the next course, Everyday Food Styling, a techniques course (including video demonstrations of techniques!) which will launch in January.

I started this blog, the Photo Styling Forum, and simultaneously The Tweezer Times evolved into a free blog for food stylists. It gives Lisa an opportunity to share her vast information on the career but with less pressure to meet deadlines. And time to develop her exciting new course for Photostlyingworkshops.com. Please check out The Tweezer Times whether you are a food or product stylist; there's plenty there to learn!

Photo Styling and the Economy

Being in this industry for several decades, I have seen ups and downs and the effect the economy has on the creation of commercial photographs. When postal rates or paper costs increase the catalog industry is rapidly affected. In an effort to save money in tough economic times, advertisers cut print budgets and produce fewer images. They may use more stock photographs or squeak by without a stylist.

I found this editorial opinion in the August 2008 issue of Multi-Channel Merchant, formerly Catalog Age magazine, a trade publication for the catalog/web-marketing indusry. Written by Laura L. Hamblen, an independent stylist, it reflects the feelings of many of us. I was unable to find Laura in a Web search and I hope she doesn't mind my acolades for expressing her viewpoint so well.

She writes, "As a photo stylist, I have been affected by the current economy, along with most of my colleagues in the visual field. The 'bean counters' behind many catalogs are cutting the very people who are the interface between the company and its customers.

"Many are opting to hire people who cost less and have little experience to handle the presentation of their product, so photographs are not as striking and informative as they might be. After seeing the result, one might wonder why a customer might spend, say, $80 on a mid-priced catalog product that looks no better than the $10 offering at the local discount store. The answer is that in most circumstances, they won't.

"An experienced, talented stylist, photographer and crew will know a brand's customer and how to visually attract that customer to purchase. Understanding how to illustrate all of the product's unique qualities in an attractive and consistent fashion will typically enhance sales. And higher sales should more than offset the cost of hiring seasoned professionals.

"Many companies will blame their downturn in sales on the economy without thinking about the consequences of cutting the professionals who produce the images of their products. And this will make a difficult economic climate for catalogs decidedly worse."

Well said, Laura. What is YOUR opnion on the current economy's effect on stylists - and vice-versa? Please add to this POST.

Photo Styling Forum, presented by Photostylingworkshops.com

Welcome to our Photo Styling Forum! This is a place where professionals - and those learning about the career - can communicate, ask each other questions, and network. Photo stylists have few opportunities to talk and share ideas and I hope this will be one. This Forum is for you. We encourage you to share thoughts and observations about the career and ask questions. Click COMMENTS at the bottom of this posting to add your own thoughts or inquiries or bring up a new topic.