Nick Mele is a lifestyle, fashion, and fine art photographer known for his whimsical take on American luxury and elegance. Nick’s passion lies in his love for fabulous interiors and the people who inhabit those spaces. His images have been said to evoke feelings of both old-world glamor and modern irreverence. Over the last 10 years, Nick has become known for spinning tales of surreal characters in dreamlike domestic spaces. Documenting a lifestyle at once familiar yet fantastic, his imagery feels like a fanciful peek into life in the country’s most luxurious resort towns. As viewers, we are offered a glimpse into a world, sometimes real and sometimes imagined, that is normally inaccessible to the public eye. See some of Nick’s amazing photography in today’s Maker Monday.
Labor Day Weekend
Andrew Joseph: How do you stay creative and inspired?
I look to other artists and creatives. Seeing the amazing work that others are creating inspires me to go out and make something new and different in my own work.
AJ: Can you tell us about a specific moment in your career that made you feel accomplished?
Seeing my work on a billboard for Sam Edelman in the middle of Los Angeles was a huge milestone for me. Also, having the opportunity to take over the 7th-floor walls of Bergdorf Goodman was an accomplishment beyond my wildest imagination. On top of that, to have my photos and name in one of their iconic window displays on 58th Street? I felt very proud and grateful.
AJ: What is your favorite aspect of your job?
The freedom. I love to set my own hours and work from anywhere. I get to spend time with my family and I’m not stuck at a desk in the same city for three hundred and sixty-five days a year. I also love that I get to create something tangible, and something that can be discovered and enjoyed by people for years to come.
Pets Allowed
AJ: How do you approach designing for different types of clients?
At the end of the day, if a client has hired me to create something, my primary goal is their satisfaction. That being said, hopefully, they are familiar with my work and have hired me because they want the type of photographs I create. I get as much direction as I can from my clients, including ideas and creative inspirations, and then I try to put my spin on it. I encourage them to send me images they like, both my own and those of other photographers. The more information I have, the easier it is for me to create something we all love.
AJ: What is your favorite design element to incorporate into your projects?
Maximalism. Pattern on pattern. Curated clutter. The more there is to look at the better. The genius is in the details, as they say. They do say that, right? There is nothing I hate more than a plain white room or a simple backdrop. If there is a person in the photo, I want the environment to speak to the subject and vice versa.
AJ: What is the most important skill for a successful designer?
The two most important skills for any creative are consistency and reliability. I don’t think you will get very far without a consistent voice and style. People like to know what they are getting and they like to be able to recognize your work. It should be uniquely you. If you don’t stand out, you blend in. Your consistent body of work is why people will seek you out. Your reliability is why they will keep coming back. If you are easy to work with, fun to be around and true to your word, people will want to work with you often.
AJ: What is your favorite type of lighting to use in your designs?
I love natural light. I want my work to feel as genuine and timeless as possible. The more fantastic the image, the more I want to ground it in reality. I want it to feel like I am documenting a moment, rather than creating a scene (even if that’s what I’m doing).
Backgammon
AJ: What is your favorite design-related quote?
“I steal from every single movie ever made. I love it – if my work has anything it’s that I’m taking this from this and that from that and mixing them together. If people don’t like that, then tough titty, don’t go and see it, alright? I steal from everything. Great artists steal; they don’t do homages.” – Quentin Tarantino
Or, as Picasso is often attributed as saying, “Good artists copy, great artists steal”. I think sometimes the best way to find your own voice is to look to those who have done it before you. A copy will never be as good as the original, but if you take enough different pieces that you like, and throw away the rest, then you might come up with something of your own that people respond to.
AJ: If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be and why?
I would have loved to have been an actor, but my wife says I can’t act. I got my masters degree in business, but I would have hated to work in an office. I probably could have made a great trophy husband, but where’s the sense of accomplishment? Maybe a writer? I like creating things.
AJ: Best advice you’d give your teenage self?
I wouldn’t. Things work out how they are supposed to. However, I do tell my children that it’s better to be weird than boring.
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