About Me
Who I am | my philosophies & approach
My name is Robert Grey. I’m a father to the greatest son I could have ever imagined, and a husband to the most wonderful woman. I don’t know that I deserve either of them. I debated writing about my family on this website for some time, but I believe that it’s important that anyone looking to hire a photographer know who they’re going to potentially be working with. Having a family guides my decisions in every instance. I want to make certain that every model that I work with understands that working with me encompasses a few things: Firstly, I believe whole-heartedly that fashion is about the presence of clothing on a model. Which means that you won’t ever hear me asking to shoot nude photos. The second, is that if you’re a female model, when you choose to shoot with me, I make certain that another woman is working with me at all times. This serves to create a space wherein you feel comfortable. I also
I started Athena Underground in 2019 and have been working tirelessly to create beautiful images for models and fashion designers alike. I find myself gravitating towards the world of fashion for several reasons, but namely it’s the creative combinations between parties that attracted my attention. I love the concept of being part of a group of creatives, be it fashion designers, models, makeup artists, hair stylists etc. The combining of these minds tends to create amazing results. Unlike other photography niches, fashion requires an understanding of much more than just the inner workings of a camera and the available lighting.
In the years leading up to my becoming a photographer I worked as a marketing director for a company I’d started in the early 2000s. During that time I’d cultivated my skills in traditional marketing methodologies, as well as in the world of design. I worked alongside multiple photographers, and did retouch work for many of them.
In roughly 2018 I was introduced to a woman named Kat, who had some really unique ideas for events. I began working with her in a videography capacity, using nothing but my iPhone. It became clear very quickly that doing the videography I wanted to do with her was eventually going to require equipment that was more robust, because the vast majority of the shoots I was doing for her was resulting in injuries of some kind or another.
I decided to purchase some preliminary equipment to get me up and running, and began immediately shooting street photography. It wasn’t long until I started realizing the dangers associated with that particular niche. I was, in several instances hiring security to look over my shoulder while my eye was pressed to the viewfinder of my camera. This became not only an inconvenience, but also expensive. As a result I began shooting without putting my eye to the viewfinder, so I could see what was around me more clearly. To this day I still find myself shooting like this, which is a bit different from many other photographers, but I suspect gives me an edge when it comes to noticing the small details that may need to be worked on before a picture is captured.
After being called to work with a fellow photographer on a shoot at a Denver-based studio, for a shoot at a Valentine’s Day event, I really began considering changing my path from street-based photography, to fashion photography. I knew that it was going to be an expensive shift, because there’s no substitute for good lighting when you’re working in a studio. However, I made the jump, purchased the gear that I needed, and haven’t looked back. I work out of a studio in Littleton, off of Santa Fe called Miller Visual Media
For those of you who may be wondering what gear I use:
- Camera: Sony A7R4
- 3 Broncolor Strobes
- 3 Elinchrom Strobes