After 17 years in the urban jungle of New York City, Tomaas – a fashion photographer and Merocrat community member – knows a thing or two about survival and the need to evolve. Although he is now highly-regarded in the fashion industry for his bold and often aggressive photography style, it was not always this way.
"When I came to New York I was not a photographer; I came right after university and was working for a production company. [Photography] was something I'd wanted to do since I was maybe 15, but I went to university for something completely different; the idea kind of came to me to try to get an internship with a photographer, and it started, basically, when I was working for a company in New York again, and I'd just bought some equipment, and during the locations, I started doing travel photography."
The Last Warrior
"That kind of got more serious, and from then on I did some classes with ICP (the International Center for Photography), and one of the classes I took was for fashion photography. The photographer was very accomplished, and he said, 'you know, your street photography, if you transfer it towards fashion photography you're actually not very far off.' That kind of struck a nerve with me, because I thought I was very far off what fashion photography required."
This encouragement gave Tomaas the self-belief to reach out to modelling agencies, "with a very small portfolio," he laughed. "From then it developed, I got a better team, I reached out to other agencies, and I guess that's how it develops." I had not expected to be speaking to such a self-effacing man. In truth, though, he is someone who gained respect from his peers through hard work allied to natural talent. Tomaas also demonstrated, in these early years, the astuteness to teach himself how to take fashion photographs.
White Magic "I've been four and a half years, professionally, as a photographer; before that I was kind of a 'weekend warrior' who went on vacation with a camera. Everything else has been self-taught."
What, I asked, was required for someone looking to follow a similar path into top-level fashion photography, in such a crowded, competitive market? Was it a matter of having sharp elbows?
"You need your elbows, it's also luck and timing, and persistence. People feel the passion you have for something – obviously people want to see talent, but the passion kept me reaching out to more talented people that kind of lifted me up to another level then. I kind of got lucky, but you push for your luck."
Snow Queen
I wondered if Tomaas would advise an up-and-coming photographer to go it alone, to take the self-taught route to success. Having proved it could work, would he advocate others followed the same path? His answer surprised me.
"I have to say not having assisted big photographers, I think, is a disadvantage. If you do the search-and-rescue missions I've done since the beginning, trying to find your own style, trying to find the right context, learning from your mistakes; those are things that can be probably eased out a little bit if you assist an established photographer; you automatically get into their network, you get to know their hairstylist and makeup artist, you learn about the lighting. Everything you see on the website is trial and error; I've had to create my own style."
Plastic Fantastic
New York is renowned as a tough city, one benefiting the individual. With cities in general becoming more disconnected places to live, I wondered if Tomaas welcomed or disliked this toughness. "Compared to Europe it's easier to connect with people, but maybe it's also that everyone is temporary; people come and go into your life. I wouldn't say it's more difficult here, but it's just that people breeze through your life."
White Dreams
What does the immediate future hold for Tomaas? "I might go back to Europe in the spring; that's where my roots are, also it might be great to do something over there. I'll continue doing editorial, but maybe tweaking the style a bit. I've always played with the idea of going back to Europe, especially Paris. As a photographer, there are not many places you can just start right away again, and, you know, Paris and maybe Milan are places that I can compare to New York."
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