Behind the Lens | Photographer and Creative Nick Girlando
New York’s Finest
This week VILLA sat down with one of our favorite photographer’s in the game right now, Nick Girlando. Not only is he an amazing creative, but he owns his own sales agency and has a pretty crazy sneaker collection. Nick is no stranger to the creative world, but his knowledge and professionalism of photography is pretty fresh to most standards. It’s nice to see how far he’s gotten in such a short amount of time. I guess it’s true what they say, “Hard work pays off.” Enjoy the quick interview.

Who is Nick Girlando?
Nick Girlando is a tried and true New Yorker. A Sales rep, Photographer, Skateboarder and Sneaker Savant since day 1.

How did you get into the streetwear / sneaker industry?
I got my love for sneakers from my older brother and my mom. He always had to have the newest Jordans or Nikes. And 9 times out of 10, my mom would make sure I had the “little brother” version of that shoe. My obsession with streetwear came from my love of sneakers, skateboarding and going to an inner city Junior High School. If I looked a certain way, no one would mess with me. I was taught my clothes had to match and look a certain way to be worn properly with the sneakers on my feet. Skateboarding often leads the charge in fashion and inspires new trend. That’s where I got exposed to the deeper roots of streetwear culture.

In your work, we hardly see a lot of product photography. You shoot more landscape and cityscapes, according to your social feed. Will there be more product and portrait based photography in the future?

What creatives are you currently looking at for inspiration?

Top 3 artists in your current playlist.

If you could travel to any place in the world to shoot any model or person, where and who would that be? Why?
