For Queensland College of Art photography graduate Katie Fergus, the most interesting fashion is captured on the street, rather than the catwalk.
Katie has carved out a successful career as street-style photographer – documenting the designers, editors and off-duty models who grace the catwalks and fill the front row at fashion events.
After working with a wedding photographer during a gap year after high school, Katie applied to studycreative and interactive mediaat the QCA’s Gold Coast campus.
“The degree allowed me the flexibility to explore lots of different options and test the waters,” she said.
“My time at the QCA helped me develop all the technical skills you need, but most importantly, it taught me how to tell a story with images,” she said.
After graduation, Katie moved to Melbourne. She collaborated on shoots with a few fashion-forward friends, and soon found herself in demand from Australian fashion bloggers and boutique labels, who commissioned her to create online content.
“I started out creating images for fashion bloggers, who would use my images on their Instagram accounts,” she said.
“Now I have brands approach me to capture their designs in a street setting.
“Social media has really changed the landscape – fashion bloggers have a huge following now, and their content is more relatable and more influential than the high fashion shoots in magazines.
“There is a huge demand for high quality content – a whole new industry has opened up in the past five years.”
She describes her style of photography as “raw and ephemeral”.
“I like my shots to look unpolished and candid,” she said.
“Street style photography is all about capturing the moment. It’s different to working with a model who is being paid to wear the clothes – people are more comfortable and they love to show off what they have put together.”
Katie regularly travels to fashion week events in Australia, Asia and the US, combining her love of travel and photography.
“I love fashion, so it has been insane getting to shoot at events like Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Sydney, and New York Fashion Week,” she said.
“Everyone brings their A game and goes all out to impress, so it’s a lot of fun.
“I love travelling, so my bucket list now involves shooting at all of the big fashion weeks around the globe – Paris, Milan, London.”