Alyssa Greenberg, who aptly refers to herself a “photojournalist of fashion,” evolved from being a teenage pro who shot yearbook pictures of her classmates into one of the most irrepressibly innovative and brilliant photographers covering the New York fashion scene. Her work has appeared in in Harper’s Bazaar, Forbes, T Magazine, Elle, Cosmopolitan, E! News, The Daily Front Row, and The Boston Globe, and has been featured on NBC News, NBA.com and the banner of Instagram’s Search/Explore Tab.
“As far as equipment is concerned, I’m a Nikon shooter,” says Greenberg. “My kit includes a Nikon D800, 16-35mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.4, 24-70mm f/2.8, and 70-300mm f/4-5.6G Nikkor lenses, and a Nikon SB-910 flash, all packed in my Lowepro Pro Roller. I also keep 2 Think Tank Photo Lens Changers on a utility belt with my memory card wallet and extra batteries for easy access. My favorite lens for fashion/runway work is the 24-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor, closely followed by the 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor, which is great for capturing backstage portraits with sharp in-focus details and soft backgrounds. A prime lens is also less obtrusive, which is great when you don’t want to draw attention to yourself. I chose Nikon because of the file size and image quality, and also because Nikon products are reliable, and it’s a brand I can trust. This lets me be in the moment, the event, and what I want to capture rather than the having to concentrate on the technical aspects. ”
“I think my work qualifies as fashion journalism, continues Greenberg, and I try to capture intimate moments that tell a unique story. Whether it’s an event like fashion week or a portrait of a celebrity, my hope is to elicit come sort of emotional response from the viewer. I think this relates directly to the broad concept of photography as art. The summer before applying to college I took a class at the Art Institute of Boston, and it was then I realized that this was something I wanted as a career. Earlier when I shot high school yearbook pictures I wasn’t really looking at it as a career—I just loved to shoot. Part of my involvement with photography was growing up in a very creative household—both my parents are in advertising, and I was exposed to the photo world at an early age and was fascinated and intrigued by it. My father was always bringing home photo books, and sharing the work he had created with me. Growing up I adored Annie Lebovitz’s uncanny ability to combine storytelling and portraiture, whether it was a story she invented or simply captured. I was also inspired by Barry Feinstein’s iconic 1966 photograph of Bob Dylan, wearing shades, sitting in a car smoking a cigarette while his fans, faces pressed against the car’s side windows, gazed at him adoringly. To me, this tells a story of two worlds, one of the artist, the other the fans, separated by nothing more than a window. Feinstein’s access to Dylan was vital in capturing such imagery. I try to take this approach in my photography during Fashion Week, using my access to share a part of the industry not usually seen by the people that buy clothing. “
“Photography is more than my career; it’s how I view my life,” Alyssa Greenberg affirms. “It’s how I focus on what’s important and forget the rest. This was brought home to me with savage intensity last September when I was diagnosed with Acanthamoeba Keratitis, a rare disease that affect the cornea of the eye, which I got from swimming in a lake with contacts. Fortunately, the disease only affected my right eye, which had been my shooting eye, so I trained my other eye to be my shooting eye and have now adapted to being visually impaired in one eye. Two cornea transplants later, I literally have a new outlook on photography. The fact that I am currently able to see out of only one eye makes my photographs more special to me. It’s more than a moment captured—the physical act of seeing means everything to me, and its something I treasure and will never take for granted. I know now more than ever that I am meant to be a photographer, and my unique ‘eye’ will capture photographs meant to be seen, and seen into, by others.”
What’s it like to shoot Fashion Week? “It’s chaos, but in the best possible way,” Greenberg responds with a smile. “It’s my busiest time of the year, and shooting 20 shows in one week is intense and very surreal at the same time. You’re totally in the moment when you’re shooting, and you don’t really get to appreciate it at the time, but then you go back over your shots and get to appreciate those moments you got to experience in real life through your imagery. In other words, you get to experience them twice, each time in a different way. In a sense, you don’t get to savor it while you’re creating it but then ultimately you do. By the way, I don’t do much post production enhancement—maybe a little exposure, contrast and color tweaking—
I like to keep my images as realistic as when I saw and shot them.” What makes Greenberg a successful photographer and an accomplished fashion journalist is something simple to state but extremely difficult to achieve—she brings the viewer into the experience. And, like any great street photographer, she celebrates randomness and uses it as a creative element to create riveting and memorable images that rise to the level of fine art.
Girl in the ‘hood? Created for PUMA Suede Sneakers it shows Kylie Jenner, celeb notable and known for appearing on Keeping Up With The Kardashians , in a casual pose in what looks like a seedy neighborhood, but the image also reveals that it was an artful creation carefully set up in a Brooklyn warehouse, and ‘grunged up’ by a graffiti artist. It’s a peek behind the curtain of ‘realistic’ ad creations that rely on artifice.
Here are all the girls in their ‘looks’ before they actually go out on the runway. It’s a moment of anticipation that captures the authentic feeling of the experience, but Greenberg says. “This was a happy accident that resulted from a ‘catch flash,’ when somebody else’s flash goes off at random. In this rare case it worked well because the light picked up the sheer fabric of the dress giving the whole image a distinctive feel.”
“This was shot at Fashion Week and I consider it one of the 5 top photos I’ve ever created for my fashion portfolio. I love the line it creates going back, and the sky mirrored on the ground. You can hardly go wrong with a strong composition and great color, and it was nice to shoot outside for a change. This was taken outside one of the Pier 59 studios.”
“This is an almost Norman Rockwellesque picture of what a fashion model has to go through to get ready for her moment in the spotlight—hair makeup, nails, everything all at once in such a short timespan. It’s another example of beautiful chaos and authenticity, because this is the way it really is—the gritty pre-glamour behind all the glamour that’s eventually on display.”
“I shot this picture at Men’s Fashion Week in July and I love the tension between the everydayness and the extraordinariness of the image. It’s kind of like my version of the famous Beatles Album cover. Note also there are some things that just happen to be on the street and don’t quite fit in. I think this randomness is really what makes this picture special.”
“Alexander Wang is a famous fashion designer and this shot was taken at his 10th Anniversary Party. The main subject is renowned singer and performer Lady Gaga and the guy in black may be her bodyguard, Anyway, I snuck into the VIP lounge at the event just to get a picture of her, but I caused her to trip and fall when my flash went off. When she got up I immediately shot this rather unflattering picture of her, which I think captures her self-assuredness and vulnerability. She was not amused and gave me a look that said ‘please leave’ and I was kicked out of the VIP lounge—but I got the shot I wanted.
