At only twenty-years-old Skye Kalosza has patented her name through photography and grasped a success that many photographers will never touch. “I’m so thankful for my job and for everything I have… so many people are caught working a nine to five, I can pay my bills with a camera.” With a Nikon D300 in her hand she is able to capture eye-catching images that range from glam to morbid.
At eighteen-years-old Skye was contacted by Warpig who took notice of her pictures on MySpace. She did her first modelling shoot with Ozzy Osborne’s Warpig Custom Chopper and it wasn’t long until a flurry of other photographers began to contact her. Robert Gaudette from Revolve Studios was one photographer that had a lasting effect on Skye’s career; “without him I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
“Looking at pictures of myself got me really interested in what it would be like to be on the other side of the camera.” After doing several photo shoots with Robert Gaudette he had decided to upgrade his camera and sell his current one; an Olympus E410. Skye bought the camera but became very discouraged and stopped shooting for a couple of months because her images weren’t turning out as she had imagined, “they didn’t look like the ones in magazines… at least not yet.” During this time Skye was working at a call center as a telemarketer, “Obviously it wasn’t my dream job so I ending up quitting, when I didn’t have any money I picked up the camera again.” She began by shooting her friends to build a portfolio so potential clients could see her ability. She then researched tutorials online to get to know her camera better and began shooting couples for forty dollars, which included about twenty edited pictures.
Aside from Skye’s talent in photography, her Photoshop skills have also matured to become very notable. She started playing around with Photoshop programs as a pre-teen, and now uses Photoshop CS3 to edit her pictures. “You think you know a lot about Photoshop but it’s an ongoing thing… it’s such a vast program you can’t expect to know it all in one lifetime.”
As Skye’s skills continued to develop, she began to get a lot of praise for her work and realized she had finally found her niche. Skye began to get multiple Facebook messages and friend requests every day because of her photography. Her Fan Page reached 1500 fans in one week while her Facebook insights tallied at 2500 views a week. “I began to understand I could make this more than a hobby that made me a couple of bucks, instead it could be my career… Now I can make upwards to $1500 in one day.” Alongside her Facebook group and Fan Page, Skye also launched her first website, created a Model Mayhem portfolio, and started shooting reputable models for free to help make her name more recognizable. “As my portfolio grew I started getting tonnes of models and non-models that were willing to pay good money for quality photos.” Skye’s rates went from forty dollars for twenty edited pictures to two-hundred-and-twenty-five dollars for twelve edited pictures.
Skye’s decision to get into lingerie, bikini and glam photography has been a very beneficial experience as a female photographer. “Ninety percent of photographers are male and the few female photographers that there are, shoot family portrait and weddings.” While Skye worked with male photographers during her modelling, she began to notice that what a male would view as attractive, many women would not. “A guy will put a hot girl in front of a camera wearing lingerie, and every single photo will be hot to them, where as a girl will point out every flaw. I understand the female sickness… girls are comfortable letting their sexy out in front of me.” Being a former model also aids in making Skye’s models more comfortable, “because I’ve modelled before, I know how to pose. It’s good for people getting into the industry that are nervous because I can direct them during the shoot.”
Skye’s ability in photography has grown beyond lingerie, bikini and glam. Deep down she always had an interest in sick and twisted morbid pictures, “I can find perfection in imperfection.” Skye’s first morbid picture was inspired by one of her models. Skye had shot her before and noticed that something was wrong, “I found out her boyfriend had just cheated on her. She showed me a love letter he had written for her only a couple weeks before pleading for his forgiveness. We wanted to incorporate the love letter into a photo, so we burned it into the picture.” From crying makeup is running down the models face but it became one of the most dramatic yet beautiful pictures Skye had ever created.
From there, Skye went on to create her 11:59 brand; “one minute before midnight.” 11:59 is a group of photos that are not your typical pretty picture, “if you like perfect you won’t like these photos, but they’re extremely eye catching.” Her morbid fascination will continue this Halloween when she launches her creepy yet sexy calendar.
Although Skye’s success as a twenty-year-old photographer is impeccable she still acknowledges the room to grow and hopes to continue to challenge herself. “Everything starts to get boring when you shoot five times a week, so shooting new things will be a challenge.” Next on her list is musicians and high fashion. Looking up to such great photographers as Andrzej Dragan, Dave Hill, Jeffrey Scott and Vincent Peters, Skye Kalosza has raised the bar and is doing it as a young female in the industry.
www.skyekalosza.com
www.twitter.com/skyekaolsza
www.facebook.com/skyekalosza
www.modelmayhem.com/skyekaloszaphotography
Story by: Bailey Jeffries
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