Nikkie Affholter loves taking pictures, but she loves the artistic process even more. The photographer has immersed herself in fashion photography for the last couple years and can’t seem to get enough. “I started exploring the realm of fashion photography and fell in love with the entire concept—like how photography ties so many forms of art together— designers, makeup artists, models, etc.”
Mind you, she’s also well-versed in portraits and weddings, but Affholter clearly digs old-school Hollywood glamour. “I love celebrating fashion through photography by portraying men and women with timeless sophistication and class,” says Affholter. “One of my goals is to give women freedom to express their beauty in ways that are unique to them and allow them the chance shine by capturing their picturesque elegance. Plus, I enjoy helping designers and stylists bring a creative vision to life.” Her fave pic of all time? Let’s just say she knew it was magic from the minute the shutter clicked.
“My favorite image that I’ve taken so far would be from my first commercial fashion session. I love the dramatic motion, composition, and soft touches of the sun wrapped around the model Nicole Fuentes’ frame. I really wanted to showcase all of the moving components of this jumpsuit’s regal design. It had a long cape attached to it, which I knew I wanted to artistically play around with to really help sell the image and design. I don’t use traditional posing methods necessarily. Instead, I’ll use prompts for direction when shooting with models. In this case, I asked Nicole to ‘keep moving like you’re being blown with the wind.’ That’s when this pose happened. It was the show-stopping movement that I was looking for.
This image was taken at the historic Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City. We couldn’t have been there more than 15 minutes, but I knew we nailed it when this pose happened. I chose the Nelson because of the Italian/Grecian architecture with the porch of pillars on the south lawn. I wanted their classic European lines to complement the designs we were showcasing. I hoped my imagery would invoke the concept that elegance, poise, and a touch of wild can be shown anywhere and at any time.”