Today we’d like to introduce you to Walter Reap.
Hi Walter, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Well I can say I started photography in 2016. My group of friends and I would always hang out and we would take pictures of each other and during this time I was more so in front of the camera I wasn’t taking pictures myself yet. But the more we would chill and shoot the more I wanted my own camera so I could go out and shoot on my own. That summer in 2016, my grandmother took me to get my first camera from this second-hand family-owned camera store in Georgia. It was a Canon Rebel T5i.
Around this time, I was just getting used to my camera and I was testing my skills on myself, my friends at home, and some of my friends at school. My love for photography came from me being into history and liking the way the old photos of the wars back in the day looked and how the portraits of celebrities in the early 50s and 60s had that grainy look to them. These images were all shot on film since that was how the first images were taken back then. I always loved the old vintage grainy look of these pictures. I would collect 8 x 10 prints of celebrities shot on film like Madonna, Bob Marley, and Marilyn Monroe and this prompted me to finally get my first film camera and leave digital behind. Even while I was shooting digitally, I always had at least 20 film apps on my phone and every time I would go to edit my pictures, I added a film edit to every last one of them.
I bought my first film camera in 2019 and I shot my first roll of fuji200 film with one of my friends in New York and the pictures came back really good. I just found myself shooting very frequently and the more I shot the more I found myself comfortable shooting. I would hit up my friends with a certain idea I would think of and we would go out and shoot. A lot of my work back then was very much “run n gun” but that style worked for me. I’ve been shooting on film since 2019 and I love it because with film you don’t know what your pictures will look like until they get developed and with my first roll-ever shot being good, I knew that I would only get better with the more time I put into it. That same year in 2019 I was able to have my work featured in a magazine with some of the same photos I took on my very first roll.
That kept me going and kept me wanting to keep progressing every time I shot. I continued to try new film stocks and bought different cameras. I researched photographers that had a similar style to mine and tried to implement things I liked of theirs into my style of shooting. Networking and reaching out to people have been helpful because I’m the kind of a person who is reserved but with photography, you have to be personable and know how to talk and make your models feel comfortable. The better I got with my confidence the more my subjects trusted me.
Besides only shooting my friends over time I found myself reaching out to artists and modeling agencies scheduling test shoots with their models and upgrading my portfolio. I always try to make sure I’m putting my best work out when I’m adding to my Instagram because on this day everyone is on it and I’ve been blessed to receive opportunities from people finding my page and noticing my work.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say. It’s been a fairly smooth road but there have been times when I would question if I was making any progress and would wonder if what I’m doing is going to take me where I envision myself with where I want to be with photography.
I feel like my biggest challenge was me getting in my own way and not reaching out to people and brands like how I should’ve been doing and making excuses as to why I wasn’t getting more projects done.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a film photographer who specializes in fashion portrait photography and BTS photography. I also do VHS videos for brands and BTS for music videos as well as specialize in editing in Lightroom and Photoshop. I do a lot of portrait work as well as lookbook shoots with clothing brands. I’m known for my portrait photography but my main specialty is fashion photography. I love fashion and how everyone has their own look, unique style, features, etc, and being able to capture different people expressing themselves through fashion is something I love to do.
I’ve always been into fashion but knew I wasn’t going to be a designer so being able to still have my foot in that door through photography has been amazing. I’m most proud of being able to have an album cover I shot on Apple Music, Spotify and all other streaming platforms and websites on the internet. This one stands out to me because when I first decided that photography was something I wanted to do and take seriously I made a list of goals and things I wanted to be able to do with photography in my dorm room.
One of those goals was to shoot an album cover for a music artist. I’ve been working with Asap Ant and Marino Infantry since about 2021 and me and Addie have been able to build a connection over time with me being around and working with him. So the fact he trusted me with his vision and gave me the opportunity to carry out the photography with his album cover meant a-lot and was big for me. I feel like what sets me and my work apart is my focus on composition and color in all of my photos. My use of architecture and objects plays a role in how my subject stands out in my photos.
What makes you happy?
Honestly me being able to go out and bring my ideas and thoughts to life with photography. Planning a shoot, executing the shoot, and editing the whole process brings me genuine happiness because this is something I love to do and it’s like my escape from everything else that’s going on and when I feel my best mentally.
When I’m doing a photoshoot and creating with other people it’s a great feeling because art brings people together from all backgrounds and it allows me to just be in the present and enjoy what I’m doing. I would also say what makes me happy is checking in with family.
Especially the ones that you don’t get to see all the time because I feel like we can take that for granted and get caught up in our own lives and trying to make our way that we sometimes forget to call and check on them. Talking to my grandparents brings me peace knowing they are good and healthy and the fact we can talk for hours about anything.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reap.jpg/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Reap___
