Wondering who's behind those amazing images on Torrid.com? Meet Michael Anthony, our resident photographer extraordinaire. We caught up with him between takes to bring you the scoop on what keeps his camera clicking... and clicking... and clicking.


Thanks for taking the time to chat today. So, where are you from?

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California. My parents are both Filipino - they came to the United States when they were young and met here.

It started as a hobby in 1996. I was actually a writer, [doing] reviews on local nightclubs and restaurants in LA. I would take a camera with me to take pictures of where I was going. One night I met a club promoter who said, "Hey, can you shoot some pictures at my club regularly?" He happened to have a nightclub in downtown LA that turned out to be a celebrity hangout. Writing took a backseat and photography took over.

Before that I worked in the police department processing arrest reports, cash bail, that kind of stuff. It was interesting, because it was Beverly Hills. It was definitely an interesting job.

I still don't. I mean, as a photographer you're always on a never-ending journey to improve yourself. Here's where it really started: When I was in the police department I processed juvenile bookings and I had to shoot the mug shots of offenders. That's where I really got my hands on a camera, shooting mug shots. It's been a long learning process and I think, even today, you're always learning new tricks or trying out new stuff. I'm still learning.

I never feel good about a shoot until after I've received feedback. You never really want to get ahead of yourself, because when you do you just set yourself up for failure. When people ask me, "So, how did it go," my first response is, "I don't know." I never know until after we've loaded the pictures, looked at them, picked out which shots we're going to use and then presented them.

Well, one thing I've learned is that networking is very, very important in this industry. Without it, you're really left out there without any kind of exposure. By networking you meet a lot of people and it helps build your portfolio. When Torrid came around, someone that I had networked with back in 1997 or 1998 remembered me after all these years. She heard about the job opening and referred me. I came in and brought my portfolio and that was it.

I have favorite models that I work with, but what makes them a favorite isn't so much how they look, it's how easy they are to work with. The attitude. How easy they are to direct.

Hm, that's a good one. I really like doing downtown but it's hard, you have to deal with people who start coming up to you and try to harass you while you're shooting.

Photoshoots. Ha! Not so much lately, I'm trying to spend more time with my daughter. She's growing up by leaps and bounds. Usually on my time off -- if I'm not with my wife and daughter -- then I'm out with my buddies, off-roading in the California desert. We try to go about once a month, just to get away and blow off steam.

Wow, typical day here? Well, I always get here, like boss says, at the crack of dawn. Normally I come in and prep the studio, then my first order of business -- because I get a lot -- is E-mail. Mostly from young women who are looking for advice on modeling or are trying to get an audition to model. I'm constantly working on those, constantly networking with other sites about model searches and modeling agencies. But after that it's just working on pictures and working on concepts and ideas. Figuring out which models we're going to book, bring in for projects or regular product. Then we spend half the day actually shooting product. The remainder of the day is spent working on the images to get them up on the site.

She loves to be in front of the camera. Right now she's a little over two years old. The first year I had her I was a stay at home dad. I took her on all my photo shoots. She got so used to the flashes and the cameras and the models, that whenever she sees a camera now she will actually smile, say cheese and pose. She loves the camera. We have a broken point and shoot camera at home -- she's been picking it up to take pictures of everyone else. She'll tell you, "Smile," and, "Cheese." When we're trying to take pictures of her for family things, as soon as we take a shot she'll get up and insist on seeing the previews. After she looks at them, she'll say, "Oh nice," or, "Wow." After she looks at them she'll go back and continue posing and we'll continue shooting.

Yes, everywhere. It's usually my big camera, or at least a little digital point and shoot. Rule of thumb for almost every photographer is to always have your camera with you, because you never know.

No. Well, Katie at first, but just because she was a cover model for so long. When you're dealing with some of these models that have done a lot of work and they've done some really big print work, yeah it can be [intimidating]. Especially when you're dealing with celebrity clients, it's intimidating because constantly in the back of your mind you're thinking, "Oh my god, I'm sure they've shot with better photographers," and, "What are they going to think when they see my stuff?"

Yeah. Oh yeah, there are a lot of people who don't vibe with the way that I shoot. Everyone's personality is different. It just depends.

The best way to do it is just to submit. One thing that's important is that you should never think that you're not good enough, regardless. You never know. There are some girls who are on our site now that submitted as a fluke because they never thought it could ever happen. But you never know… You're not going to know unless you go out there and try. If it doesn't happen or you don't get cast, at least you tried and you know you tried. Instead of like five years down the line being like, "I wonder if I could have been?" That's where you really lose out.

It can be as light as 10 submissions a day and it can get as heavy as 60 to 75 a day. It just depends.

A Go-See is step two in our model audition process. The first step is when a girl sends in her picture, her physical stats about who she is and where she lives. If they make the first round, then we go ahead and bring them in for a Go-See. It literally means they go and then we see them. They come into Headquarters and we take 2 pictures of them: one half-body and one full-length. Those pictures then go before the design team here at Torrid who ask, "Which girls will fit the clothing?" Everything we shoot in-studio is a sample, and they only come in one size. Also, we want to see how the girls move in front of a camera. It's one thing to take snapshots, but when you're on the studio set and you've got all these lights and all these people standing around, it's a whole different ball game.

No, because it's that whole thing about getting ahead of yourself. I've always found that when I don't necessarily think too hard or think too much about it, it flows better. When you start second guessing yourself that's when you really start messing yourself up. It totally just ruins everything.

What inspires me is the challenge to try to validate what we're doing here in the mainstream fashion world, to show that just because a woman is plus size doesn't mean she can't be fashionable. And to do that, you have to really get people, both straight size and plus, to realize it's not so much about the girl who's wearing it, it's about the fashion, it's about the clothing.

Don't let anyone else dictate your life. Don't let people keep you down. You really have to stick with what works for you. Same thing with body image, just because you're plus size doesn't mean you're unhealthy. You have to do what's right for you. If that means you lose a few pounds then lose it, but don't lose it because people are telling you to or that you'll look better. That's definitely not the right way to go. I'm pleasantly plump and I'm happy!