Behind the Lens | Photographer and Creative Nick Girlando
Published:August 03, 2018
New York's Finest
This week VILLA sat down with one of our favorite photographer's in the game right now, Nick Girlando. Not only is he an amazing creative, but he owns his own sales agency and has a pretty crazy sneaker collection. Nick is no stranger to the creative world, but his knowledge and professionalism of photography is pretty fresh to most standards. It's nice to see how far he's gotten in such a short amount of time. I guess it's true what they say, "Hard work pays off." Enjoy the quick interview.
Who is Nick Girlando?
Nick Girlando is a tried and true New Yorker. A Sales rep, Photographer, Skateboarder and Sneaker Savant since day 1.
How did you get into the streetwear / sneaker industry?
I got my love for sneakers from my older brother and my mom. He always had to have the newest Jordans or Nikes. And 9 times out of 10, my mom would make sure I had the "little brother" version of that shoe. My obsession with streetwear came from my love of sneakers, skateboarding and going to an inner city Junior High School. If I looked a certain way, no one would mess with me. I was taught my clothes had to match and look a certain way to be worn properly with the sneakers on my feet. Skateboarding often leads the charge in fashion and inspires new trend. That's where I got exposed to the deeper roots of streetwear culture.
In your work, we hardly see a lot of product photography. You shoot more landscape and cityscapes, according to your social feed. Will there be more product and portrait based photography in the future?
Yeah, I never wanted to go too deep into shooting products because I felt like those kind of product shots are for a niche audience. Not everyone can appreciate a shot of a Jordan 1 even though it may be an amazing photo. On the other side, landscape was always my way of freeing myself and where I found the most enjoyment shooting early on. Im leaning more towards shooting more product and people nowadays, though. I always have. I just never posted it. I also have a ton of the product people want to see, but I just have to get out and do it I guess. One things for certain, if it ever feels like work and I'm not enjoying shooting it, I'm most likely going to bail.
What creatives are you currently looking at for inspiration?
It'll always be guys like @13thwitness, @trashhand and @Stephenvanasco. But I've been super into @1st ,@wrongrob, @monris_ & anything by @aimeleondore. These accounts lead the charge for me in terms of inspiration in general and just give a feel I can't find elsewhere.
Top 3 artists in your current playlist.
Migos, Sza, and Dave Matthews Band.... thats right. I said it.
If you could travel to any place in the world to shoot any model or person, where and who would that be? Why?
Damn that's tough. Japan is on my radar, but I've been dying to get to Greece. Something about those colors out there looks so unreal. If I could pick any model, I'd bring @monicaalvarez03. She's 1 of a kind.....
If you could have any sneaker in the world, what would it be and why?
Any sneaker in the world? I'd have to go back to my Nike SB days and get a pair of Flops. Futura is my favorite artist and that's one of the rarest shoes in the world. After that it would be Fukijama Air forces from Entourage with the custom box from the movie, Eminem 4s or Undefeated 4s. Although, I hear those are coming back out again. So if that happens, I won't be needing the OG's.
Follow Nick on Instagram at: @nickgirlando.