A “Texan by birth and a New Yorker by heart,” her incisive images capture the essence of whatever is in front of her camera.
A brilliant freelance photographer based in New York City, Gigi Stoll specializes in portraits, humanitarian, and fine art photography, and is acclaimed for her outstanding work in all three genres. A veteran pro, her work has appeared in numerous top-tier publications, notably Conde Nast Traveler, Harper’s Bazaar, British Vogue, Vanity Fair, W Magazine, GQ Japan, and Instyle, among others. Her clients include The International Leica Society, Leica Camera Blog, ISMS Operation Kids, P.INK (Personal Ink) Project, Belmond Hotels, 100cameras.org, Save The Children, SAGE, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, etc. She shot for Vogue Paris from 2004-2008, and in 2014 had a two-woman show with Stephanie Tamez, at the Debuck Gallery in New York. This year she participated in a group show, her first museum show including 5 large prints—Tattooed New York— at the New York Historical Society Museum & Library, and it was covered in the NY Times Arts Section.
In a way, Gigi Stoll didn’t choose to become a photographer—the profession chose her! In the course of her travels as a professional model, an old friend gave her a Polaroid camera and she began shooting portraits of her model friends. Later, she attended a Tattoo Convention in Amsterdam to document a family of artists, The Leu Family Iron. She continued showing in galleries and started selling art prints to private collectors. What started out as snapping Polaroids of friends quickly evolved into a second career, shooting portraits for magazines, a path that took her to the far reaches of the world, and eventually to Morocco and Peru to begin documenting medical missions for children.
Stoll says her first love is shooting the human body, primarily in black and white. Her nudes are essentially landscapes of the body, focusing on such features, as the mouth, skin, lips, shoulders, hips, jaws, etc. She loves to play with shadows, mainly on the wall, connected to the subject in the studio, and also shadows that “formulate on the body” with light. She’s been working on this series for years and has amassed quite an archive. She’s thinking about selecting the best of these images and publishing them as a side table book.
Her other love is humanitarian work which started in 2008 quite by accident. While she was in Casablanca enduring a long flight delay she struck up a conversation with a woman who was starting a pediatric medical mission. They were looking for a photographer. Fast-forward, and Stoll now has covered 12 pediatric medical missions, shot in Morocco, Peru, Egypt, Kenya (3 times), Guatemala, and India among other locations. Her clients include: ISMS Operation Kids, 100 Cameras, Orient Express/Belmond Hotels (CSR Project) to Myanmar, Save the Children, etc. Her next pediatric medical mission to Ghana is slated for early 2018.
While Gigi Stoll is a cosmopolitan citizen of the world she grew up outside San Antonio, Texas on a small horse farm. And she had no formal education in photography. “My school was in front of the camera working as a model with amazing photographers and falling in love with their lighting, locations, and passion over and over again,” she says with gratitude and humility. However she was also inspired early on by studying the work of master photographers such as Edward Weston, Helmut Newton, Lee Miller, Sally Mann, Arlene Gottfried, Diane Arbus, and her great friend and mentor, Flo Fox.
“Flo is a famous street photographer who’s legally blind, shot herself for Playboy, and had her own TV show called the ‘Foto Flo Show’,” recalls Gigi Stoll. “I fell in love with her work immediately. Flo is like my New York mother, a dear friend. She taught me how to print in her bathtub in the early ‘90s and introduced my work to its first inclusion/group show at Marge Neikrug’s gallery on the Upper East Side.” That’s how Stoll hooked up with Arts Unlimited in Amsterdam, and shortly thereafter several of her nudes were published into postcards.
“I try to visit Flo every week at her apartment in NYC,” Stoll continues. “Her body, long stricken with MS, can no longer move from the neck down except for two fingers to drive her cart. Her home attendants take the images for her that she directs with partial eyesight. She never complains and is always creating art—what an inspiration! Flo is a hard core New Yorker [who] also fights for the rights of the disabled.” If you’re interested in seeing her work, check out her online portfolio.
Today, Gigi Stoll’s primary focus on portraiture, creating images that reveal “the person, a connection, and their story through their eyes.” In the past the majority of her subjects were in fashion, whether models, designers, editors, cool kids, artists, etc. That’s why she calls them ‘Fashion Portraits.’ “Meanwhile, I was on both sides of the camera for 15-20 years, model to photographer, and back again. That’s why I’m able to direct and convey comfort to my subjects, I know how it feels to be photographed; it’s a very intimate process that takes two people connecting for a moment in time, and freezing that experience.”
When it comes to equipment, Gigi Stoll is an unabashed Leica fanatic. Leica cameras and lenses are her favorite gear to work with by far. She was very fortunate to receive loaner gear from Leica from 2008 to 2014 to execute all her humanitarian work. And Leica not only sent her a box of gear for each mission, they also sponsored one of her missions to India with 100 Cameras, covering her fees and travel expenses, and also donating 15 point-and-shoot cameras for the mission.
The goal: teaching kids worldwide how to embrace their stories and share their perspectives through photography. Her first digital camera was a “tiny, pocket-size Sony T7 gem that took amazing pictures,” several of which were sold as art prints or published in magazines. In the ‘90s she used to show up with two assistants, a slew of hot lights, and an extensive array of camera gear. Now she shows up on assignment with a small bag with a couple Leica bodies and lenses and uses natural light. “My style keeps evolving and I roll with it, always learning new things and ways of shooting, framing, lighting, etc.,” she says confidently.
What advice does Gigi Stoll have for up-and-coming photographers? Evolve your social media platforms ASAP to connect your work to the world. Shoot every day with your iPhone or camera of choice. Start with themes that touch you. Shoot what you love, not for the money. Print promos of your work and send them to editors. Start relationships with other photographers, online groups, etc. Publish online books and send them out. There is a wealth of community right in front of you.
We asked Gigi Stoll what defines her photographic style and makes her images stand out. “In black-and-white, it’s the eyes,” she replied. “I strive to make timeless images, whether portraits or nudes, but I don’t dwell upon that. When I’m shooting, nothing else exists—my mind is focused in the moment, in other words on my passion.” Going forward, she sees herself doing more shows, perhaps a photo book or two, and devoting more time to projects on social and environmental issues including pediatric medical missions, orphanages, street children, and poverty. “I want to focus on more missions that change lives,” she asserts. “If one image can change a child’s life, it is worth changing my life to do it.”
To see more Gigi Stoll’s work, go to her website or check out here Instagram account.
