Rubel Sherry: A foot, hand, or wrong placement of anything can make or break an image.

You are a brilliant artist. What is your story?

I had this school assignment work done in collaboration with a makeup artist. The work focused on avant garde makeup and I had a very short time to set it up, but when we looked at the results with the team,we were so happy that somebody joked about proposing it to a magazine. I took the challenge for real and started to look for magazines that could be interested in the topic. MALVIE came straight out from my online research. I found the standard was very high. I was browsing through the recent front covers and I felt almost intimidated for it was one of my first experiences in the world of beauty. But still I decided to give it a try. It didn't go that bad.

You have created a unique artistic style. Tell us about it and how you developed it.

Art has been my life. I grew up being exposed and engaged in all the arts from a very early age due to both my parent's work. I have photographed theatre, music, models, fashion, photojournalism, and everything in between. I don’t know that I have a particular style, I just try to be well rounded and create the best image I can in every situation. My background in the Arts from dance, theatre, painting, etc has definitely affected my "photographic eye". I believe in quality over quantity. I'm not one to use special effects nor do I manipulate images much other than basic retouching. I try to keep things as true to their natural form as possible. Having grown up in the darkroom I especially love Black and White photography and I love photographing people.

What are the technical challenges of this kind of photography and how did you overcome them?

I've been out of the fashion world for some time and only recently started to get back into it. I've been working on independent projects from documenting homelessness inside a Tent City, of which I've had several exhibits, to collaborating with The Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice on a photographic book of female Jazz artists, "Shifting The Narrative", being developed for publication. I think for me the biggest technical challenge is working as a team. Fashion photography is definitely a team effort consisting of models, designers, stylists, make-up, etc. One needs to be able to adapt easily to change. A foot, hand, or wrong placement of anything can make or break an image. It all has to come together just right. Working with so many different personalities can be quite challenging.

How long does it take to create one of these wonderful works?

For a high fashion studio shoot, there is much involved. The designer first spends much time, heart and soul creating their design. Then you have to collaborate with the photographer, models, make-up artist, etc, and get everyone's schedules to match up for a day of work. Changing clothing, Make-up, then shooting takes hours. After shooting, a photographer's job just begins—going through all of the images, choosing the best shots, and retouching. All are extremely time-consuming. It's a lot of work.

What does life look like for you now and where do you see yourself in the future?

First and foremost, as we all know, Covid-19 has definitely put a damper on things. Collaborations of any sort are risky right now, but moving into 2021, I am looking forward to my continued collaborations with Adrian Alicea (a few of his designs showcased here). Adrian is a genius. His work is exquisite. Not only is his work amazing, but as a person, he is most humble with a beautiful heart. We both come from a similar place of being completely passionate about what we are doing and we both have a need to constantly be creating. Working with Adrian has been an incredible experience and a wonderful way to get back into fashion shooting. I'm also looking forward to this upcoming photographic book in development with the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. Besides this, I'm hoping to continue being published and collaborating with other designers and models, as well as anyone else interested in collaborating with me. I'm always seeking new innovative projects of any and all kinds. There isn't too much work or any project that I'd turn down. Of course, I'd love to be known as an amazing photographer; exhibiting, getting calls to shoot the best models, and traveling around the world, but being recognized for one's work in any capacity is always appreciated! Thank you.

Fashion Designer: Adrian Alicea @iamadrianalicea

Photographer: Rubel, Sherry @sherry_rubel_photography