Alexander Newton is a local fashion and editorial photographer who is perhaps best known for the sensuality and drama of his images. Judging by his Instagram page, women are his favourite subject and he’s cited many as his muses.
Newton has photographed Miss Barbados World 2019 Ché Amor Greenidge, Mahalia Cummins, Faith Callnder, Alison Hinds, Adaeze, and Dre Decarlo, among others. He’s worked with local fashion designers and brands Cambria Costume and Design, BNHO Crochet, ByCarlori, La Vern by MR and Kalene Designs, as well as jewellery brands Flawsome and Victoriesque Designs and the Barbados-based beauty brand Tonal Cosmetics.
In 2020, his photographs were featured in the first issue of Gine On?! Magazine’s Freedom Festival Online Lit Mag. The previous years, in 2019, his work was published for the first time in Elegant Magazine.
When/How did you realise that being a photographer was what you wanted to do with your life?
I realized that image driven stories would be my thing, I think, right around [when] I got my first publication in a fashion magazine in New York [Elegant Magazine]. Before then, I was taking images that I loved and adding subtle story telling [elements] to them, using my artistic voice to create these technically expertly executed images, and adding a small bit of my expression to them. [I] even was [sic] getting paid for it. But I knew that this is what I’ll be doing [until] my arms can’t hold a camera anymore when I got that publication. It was like the validation I needed.
How do you stay inspired?
I stay inspired by living. I know that sounds pretty vague, but it’s true. I’m fortunate to be able to draw inspiration from almost anything.
Music is a big influence of mine and I’ve created entire editorial spreads from one single lyric line [sic] in a song. [I]f you think about how many songs are out there in the world…you get the idea. I also get inspired from listening to people; feeling them out, hearing their stories.
Sometimes I have a conversation with a woman and she says something that strikes me and I immediately want to use her as a muse. Sometimes I hear women say “I’ve never been photographed”, or, “I just don’t look good in front [of] the camera” and I take it as a challenge to give them an unforgettable experience; show them what they look like through my eyes.
As I walk through the world I take inspiration from everything.
What would you say is the best decision you ever made in your career thus far?
The best decision I’ve made was to network. It was to understand that I can’t do it all on my own and that to grow and create timeless images and mature and expand, it’s a fool’s errand to tackle it alone.
Being open minded, listening to others who are more experienced, and also helping the less experienced, has fundamentally changed not just my photography journey, but my life on a whole.
What do you think makes you unique as an artist and creative?
What makes me unique – that’s got to be your hardest question here. I think this is one of those questions I always leave up to other people to answer, cause [sic] I don’t like to blow my own horn, as they say.
[But] I’d like to think [that] what makes me unique is my inspirations and my visual cues that I leave in my images, my focus on expression, and my excitement on set. [M]y energy truly makes other people comfortable and really allows for the experience of being in front of the camera and vulnerable seem like a party. I also have a tendency to create more minimal/natural looking images. [A]nd I have an affinity [for] sensual images that evoke moods.
Also, to add, I think I have the ability to bring other creatives together for a cause. [I’m] fortunate enough to have people I can call on in times of need [that] trust me to deliver good work that they can use and be proud of. And also for my ability to communicate artistic expression in a way they understand and also interpret their limited artistic vocabularies and execute close to their visions. It’s a very marketable skill.
What does “perfection” mean to you? Do you think that it’s worth pursuing?
What does “perfection” mean to me? Is it “worth” pursuing? I think perfection means different things to different people and depending on who you ask and how, you may get varying answers.
For me, I think perfection is elusive and deceitful. It’s rare to find it and when you think you’ve made something “perfect” it only takes a few days before you start noticing imperfections about it and then you no longer feel like you’ve made a “perfect” piece of art.
Do I think that it’s worth pursuing? Absolutely. It’s through pursuing perfection that I am where I am in my career; always striving for the top of the mountain and having it only stretch before my eyes as I climb higher and higher. It makes you hungry and relentless in your chase to make amazing work, but it also comes at a cost; you’re never really happy with anything you make. It’s always time to get up and do the next piece without sitting and appreciating what you create in the moment.
For some, this may be counter productive or exhausting. The idea that you’re constantly chasing after something that will never come to you is a madman’s journey to darkness.
For me, I value the self imposed restriction of “enjoying what I create in the moment is worth what is offered if you don’t restrict it”. If you don’t restrict yourself from enjoying what you make and avoiding perfection simply cause [sic] “perfect” art doesn’t exist, then you may plateau. [A]nd, for me, to plateau is your artistic curiosity, inspiration, and drive to improve dying before your very eyes.
