This article is based on our first episode of Creatives Unpacked — The Podcast. Listen to it via Spotify here.
For the first episode of Creatives Unpacked — The Podcast, we had the opportunity to talk to Martin Romero (@martsromero) about his journey as a New York-based photographer. We were able to converse about his different experiences; with how he started taking pictures for his school newspaper, to now living in New York covering international brands and fashion shows such as Paris and New York Fashion Week. We also talked about what laid the foundation to where he is now, giving insights and tips to aspiring photographers. With the pandemic that is greatly affecting our world today, he was also able to share his thoughts on what the future holds for the fashion and photography industry. Finally, he gave us a sneak peek of his favorite photos.
To give a quick background, Marts was born in Manila but raised in Tarlac City, Tarlac. He moved to Manila for college where he took up B.S. Communications Technology Management at Ateneo de Manila University, then pursued further studies at New York University. He has been in the industry for around 13 years, taking photos of landscapes, food, and different sporting and social events. Today, he’s well known for his street-style photos — taking portraits of iconic people during different fashion events. With the thousands of pictures he has taken, the portraits he has captured of Grace Bol, Adriana Lima, and Anna Wintour are just a few of his favorites.
This photo of Grace Bol is memorable to Marts because it signified a big milestone in his career. For someone who used to sneak in to be able to snap photos of people during big fashion events, the feeling of finally having an official backstage access to the Self-Portrait Show by Han Chong in New York was a surreal moment for him. He loves this photo of Grace Bol wearing a pink fuchsia dress because of how the elegant dress flows on her body and the way she’s holding it. He just finds everything about the picture so beautiful. Aside from that, this photo encapsulates him achieving his goal of doing behind-the-scenes photos for shows, knowing that he was able to do it on his own accord.
Another favorite is his photograph of Adriana Lima during the Maybelline press conference. He was there with his friends, taking behind-the-scenes photos. During the press con, they introduced Adriana Lima to the Philippine team, which Marts was a part of. He got surprised when she talked to him asking him different questions like what his name was and where he was from. Aside from having a conversation with Adriana Lima, he was also able to take portraits with her. This photo reminds him of that overwhelming moment when he, a simple kid from Tarlac used to seeing Adriana Lima just on social media, got the chance to have a conversation and pictures with the supermodel.
Finally, he also told us the story behind this photo of Anna Wintour. This was during the Marc Jacobs Fall Winter 18 show, one of the biggest shows of New York Fashion Week. During that day, there were a lot of barricades because of PETA protesters, but he was lucky to be able to find himself in the photography pit. He got shocked when he saw the fashion icon, with her trademark pageboy bob haircut, wearing an orange snakeskin coat, entering the Marc Jacobs show. It was a moment of frenzy as protesters went up to her, so Marts captured the moment and kept on clicking to take as many photos as possible. When he was scanning through the pictures, he realized he only got around 2 to 3 focused shots and was lucky enough to capture a picture of Anna Wintour without her iconic dark shades, sandwiched by a protestor and a security guard. This stood out as one of his favorite photographs because it was the perfect “in-the-moment street style photo.”
These are just some of the beautiful photos Marts has taken. To get to know more about Marts and his work, you can visit his website: martsromero.com or check out his Instagram @martsromero. He’s also doing an initiative with his sisters, Angela and Marga Romero, and his cousins, Andrea and Buena Sawit, to help raise funds for the frontliners and the people of Tarlac. You can check out their Facebook page, TLC AID to learn more.
Click here to listen to Creatives Unpacked — The Podcast: New York-based Photographer Martin Romero.
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Creatives Unpacked is a new initiative made by boot. that aims to share our discussions with good friends and creatives.
