drag-tom-selman Just last week I came across some incredibly beautiful & quite unique photos: drag photography. Different, artsy, fashion, edgy, awkward, dramatic, interesting, complete, with a sort of a mysterious story behind each image that intrigues to more but never reveals. This guessing game was fabulous. The transformation & beauty – brilliant. The man behind the lens is none other than photographer Tom Selmon. A London artist, currently studying BA (HONS) fashion photography at Falmouth University trying to get recognized as a street style/backstage photographer. Tom Selmon caught my attention through his work. Simple as that. Editorial, street style, backstage. His greatest passion though is focusing on gender bending/drag photography. A unique & special approach which doubled by his talent make him a young artist worth knowing. A man to definitely keep an eye on in this enormous sea of photographers. Truth is we live in the era of street art: fashion, photography & Instagram. It’s really a pop culture & a new movement, so as an artist you need to be different, on top of your game and deliver art in the most genuine possible way you can.

Street Style Photos by Tom Selmon Sloane Street street style Tom Selmon Street Style Tom Selmon Street Style street-style-tom-selmon-photographer tom-selmon-street-style Tom Selmon Street Style What fascinated me with this experience, apart from Tom’s great work (backstage, street, drag photography) was the idea of getting to know the person behind the lens. His passion, how it all came true for him, what inspires him et all. Tom Selmon‘s photos are an interesting mix of fashion, art and mysterious stories. So what made him choose fashion photography?

I love fashion” Tom confesses, ”I like creating fantasies in my head. My favorite decade for fashion was the 90’s,  perhaps it makes me feel a bit nostalgic because when I was younger I would watch movies and just wanted to wear what the girls in ‘Clueless’ wore.” His love for drag & gender bending makes his work different and captivating. I mean he does deliver so much more than the cliche street styles, backstage photos & editorials, all photographers do anyway.

Drag Photography by Tom SelmonNat Blackbourn Club kid photoshoot When asked how he came to take drag photos he simply says ‘I just find drag beautiful. Drag queens are like aliens, with makeup they make themselves look beyond what a human looks like.” Could it be his passion for the less exploited beauty, the brilliance that is less visible but so much more appealing for that matter, or is it a lust for shocking the viewers that make his work special? To tell you the truth, it might be a bit of both, but when the results are stunning and make you linger on a photo who gives a damn anymore.

I just find drag beautifulDrag queens are like aliens, with makeup they make themselves look beyond what a human looks like.”

drag-by-tom-selmon gender-bend-art-tom-selman drag-photos-tom-selmon Nat Blackbourn Club kid photoshoot tom-selman=drag-photos tom-selmon-drag-photos With street style photography being a big part of his work I was curious to know what makes a street-style photo great? ‘What do you look for in it and hope to transpose‘ I asked him. ”People who own themselves,” he said. And indeed a certain attitude makes all the difference. There’s just something so appealing and refreshing about strong personas, even awkward, shy or vulnerable people, but nonetheless dazzling and intoxicating. Famous faces fall under these labels too, I mean they always ‘own themselves’ as Tom says. Through their attitudes or quirky styles… they always make the photos worth the hunt. Anna Dello Russo, Anna Wintour, Patrick Demarchalier, Coco Rocha or Franca Sozzani are but a few famous faces Tom Selmon got to photograph over this fashion week season.

Famous Faces & Street Style photos by Tom Selmon Tom Selmon Street Style Tom Selmon Street Style Karlie Kloss Tom Ford ‘You went backstage at Paris Fashion Week this season at Valentino, to photograph the models and the atmosphere. Tell me more about that experience?’

  • Tom Selmon: It was incredible! I managed to sneak in. I had never been around that level of high fashion and it was very surreal. I also got to meet Pat McGrath, one of my idols and I even showed her my drag.

Valentino backstage photos by Tom Selmonvalentino-by-tom-0selmon valentino-backstage-by-tom-selmon

valentino-backstage-tom-selmon When asked about what inspires him the most Tom stays true to his greatest passion and says he gets his inspiration from “drag cultures, attitudes and movies ”. And as to what his biggest dream is regarding his photography or who he wants to work with he confesses in a heart beat ”I want to work with Candy Magazine”. 

more Tom Selmon photos…

Tom Selmon Street Style

LFW photos Tom Selmon Street Style Tom Selmon Street Style Tom Selmon Street Style Honest, talented, fun, unique, fascinating – Tom Selmon is an artist and a photographer who loves to challenge his audience, to shock, to oblige us to look beyond what  is easy or comfortable to spot and discover the million sides of beauty & art. A street style & backstage photographer with a huge passion and talent for fashion editorials & drag photography, Tom is an artist to look out for. Check out his amazing photography here: Blog: Boy-Chick | Website & Portfolio (www.tomselmonphotography.com)



5 replies
  1. Laura Hobson says:

    I was really stressed by Acid reflux issues with my newborn and had consulted Chief Dr Lucky. He gave us a thorough consultation and the medicines were equally effective. In a couple of weeks there was big improvement in my son and we are very pleased with the progress. We cannot thank Chief Dr Lucky enough. Highly recommended.

    Email chiefdrlucky@gmail.com

    WhatsApp +2348132777335

    Facebook page http://facebook.com/chiefdrlucky

    Reply
  2. Isabella Lucas says:

    My ex-husband and I had always managed to stay friendly after our divorce in February 2017. But I always wanted to get back together with him, All it took was a visit to this spell casters website last December, because my dream was to start a new year with my husband, and live happily with him.. This spell caster requested a specific love spell for me and my husband, and I accepted it. And this powerful spell caster began to work his magic. And 48 hours after this spell caster worked for me, my husband called me back for us to be together again, and he was remorseful for all his wrong deeds. My spell is working because guess what: My “husband” is back and we are making preparations on how to go to court and withdraw our divorce papers ASAP. This is nothing short of a miracle. Thank you Dr Emu for your powerful spells. Words are not enough.
    Email emutemple@gmail.com
    Phone/WhatsApp +2347012841542.

    Reply
  3. histiletto says:

    There are some guys that have certain appearance features to pass as females and there are also some women who could pass as males. These people are not anomalies, they are the extreme examples of nature’s processes to develop each person according to their personality. Obviously, there are males and females with their particular attributes in the reproduction procedure of the human race. However these same individuals are not limited to certain behaviors as our social stereotyping has tried to program us into. Males are not all masculine and females are not all feminine. They are actually a mix of the two categories. As they mature from the womb into the mortality of childhood, they develop their gender identity from the being they are. Under society’s influence, they have a tendency to follow the status quo, if they have no other enlightening experiences or their personality is so strong that they seems to defy conventional attitudes. Most everyone grows up with playmates that exhibit mannerisms, behaviors, and talents that are not stereotypical. We even have names or labels for these type of people that are often given to degrade their social standing for being so different or abnormal. However, they are probably truer to their existence than those who have learned to follow the social ideals that encourages individuals to hide their real personality. I know these things to be true, because this is a type of summary of my life. I have both masculine and feminine traits and desires that I was forced to hide so that I could be viewed as a normal person and not have to experience the ridicule and rejection I had witnessed others being subjected to. Since my younger day, I have been able to embrace who I really am. Since I have always wanted to wear the attractive footwear society determined to be feminine wear, you might just see me wearing stiletto pumps, should our paths cross.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *