FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER AND ARTIST GREG SWALES (@GREGSWALESART) CAPTURES BREATHTAKING MOMENTS, LETTING HIS TWO ART MEDIUMS INFLUENCE ONE ANOTHER.

What message do you try to share with your photos?

I always look at my subjects as a muse, and the priority is to capture their beauty and make them feel powerful. At times, it can be about capturing their natural beauty and being as true to themselves as possible, or it can also be about transformation and my subject discovering a new side to themselves. That’s always the most exciting. I’m inspired by the transformative experience that can birth a newfound confidence.

PHOTO/PAINTINGS COURTESY OF GREG SWALES

What do you want your legacy to be?

I want my legacy to be that I gave people their most beautiful interpretations of themselves—that these artists are timelessly remembered through my images.

What does your creative process look like?

I am constantly collecting inspiration, taking still frames from cinema, photos in art galleries, pictures of wall surfaces and collecting images from the internet. Then, I organize them all into folders. I usually have an instant idea of what I want to do with my subject. Sometimes, it’s completely open, but I appreciate having a theme from a publication or client, for example, “The Art Issue.” Then, I return to my archive and create a relevant mood board. Fashion photoshoots are a group effort, so we have to create within the available fashion season. I find it frustrating when I miss a collection—if you don’t shoot within those few months, I may never get the opportunity to shoot it. With a known celebrity, I like to look at their entire career and see what has never been done with them before, or perhaps revisit a look from their past and then evolve it into something reminiscent yet surprising.

While Greg Swales has become one of the highest esteemed photographers, many may not know he is also an artist behind the canvas, and has been painting and drawing since he was a child. PHOTO/PAINTINGS COURTESY OF GREG SWALES

You have had such an exceptional and diverse career; what are some of your top all-time favorite moments?

One of my favorite moments was when I found out that Rosalia requested me for her Rolling Stone cover. When I have the opportunity to create with artists I personally admire, it’s an exhilarating experience—it’s the fusion of two creative minds with very different mediums—and yet, we merge to create a united vision. When I received the call, I was obsessed with her music and listened to it constantly.

PHOTO/PAINTINGS COURTESY OF GREG SWALES

You are also a painter; how, if so, do your creative processes differ?

I started drawing and painting when I was a kid. My goal at the time was to be as hyper-realistic as possible. Then, as a teenager, I started photography, and I realized I didn’t need to create photo-realistic paintings anymore. My paintings are now the opposite. I like them to be wild and physical, with many chances and experimentation. I take photos in that matter as well. But the post-production is so controlled. I’m very meticulous with details and photo adjustments, whereas in painting, I try to get looser and looser. I’m still working on that.

PHOTO/PAINTINGS COURTESY OF GREG SWALES

Does one art influence the other?

Both mediums influence each other because I almost always use some of my personal photos in my paintings—a face, a pose. I think my fine art background has had a significant influence on my color, composition and light in photography. The most notable difference is when I paint, I am alone, and photoshoots are a group creation. I thrive in both situations.