New York fashion photographer Amy Postle believes we all find our own form of therapy. Fashion photography happens to be hers.
“I grew up obsessing over fashion magazines, wanting to look like a different person,” she says. “There’s always this longing in young women to be somebody else.”
While in high school, Postle began taking pictures of herself to work through body issues she was having. Then she started taking pictures of her friends. “To make them feel better about themselves, prettier,” she explains. “To give them a way to see themselves through my eyes.”
Helping people feel comfortable in front of the camera comes naturally to Postle. “It’s one of my gifts as a photographer,” she says. “I love connecting with people. I love making people who don’t think they’d be great on camera, feel great on camera. I love it when I photograph a ‘real’ person, a non-model who thinks, ‘Oh, God, no! I look horrible in front of the camera.’ Because there’s something about putting on fake eyelashes and being made up for the day, being doted on, and dressed in different clothes that helps people feel very special.”
It was from this “therapy” that her signature style was born — a style Postle describes as both literal and fantasy. “It’s about fashion, beauty, sexuality, and strength,” she says. On her website, she refers to the reaction of the waitress, model, or housewife when she sees herself as something different. “It’s about the natural beauty that can exist without starvation or conforming to the status. It is about feeling comfortable, alive, and on fire in your own skin. That’s true beauty.”<read full article – Kodak Professional>