Photography
FINDING YOUR ALTER EGO
WITH PHOTOGRAPHER
TODD YOUNGBLOOD
Story By: Andrea Horne
Photos By: Todd Youngblood
Todd Youngblood, 34, is a Charlotte, NC based photographer that has a distinct urban style. He started his
photography business only four years ago and has already distinguished himself as a top photographer in
the city. He is experienced in both runway and fashion and has covered Charlotte International Fashion
Week, Charlotte Seen Fashion Week, Style Night Out, Charleston Fashion Week, Derby City Fashion Week in
Kentucky, and Miami International Fashion Week. It is at the shows where he meets designers which open
the door to shoot their commercial fashion lines. Todd has had the privilege of shooting for Sachhi Couture,
Khyng.com, Lumixii.com, Dakota-Houston.com, the accessory Gardin, and Ego Emporium. His most notable
fashion work was for the Material Girl Hair Salon where his beauty photo was advertised on a billboard.
In addition to his fashion work, Todd is also known for his alter ego photo shoots. This is where the client
selects a genre and then plays both personalities. His first alter ego client was Toni Marchio; she wanted to
create a school nerd vs. popular girl styled shoot. The shoot was a success which prompted more models
and musicians to contact him for their own personalized alter ego shoots. His alter ego shoot with Vanessa
created a model vs. photographer theme. Also, musician Honey Dip wanted to do a teacher and student
alter ego which was then used as her album cover. Todd shoots at least 30 frames in each person’s ego.
Once the shoot wraps, the editing process begins. He selects the two images that look the most realistic and
uses Photoshop CS5 to line up the images using masking, dodging & burning, and blending techniques. It’s
a tedious process, but his goal is to make the final image look as seamless as possible. His alter ego website
used to showcase this work is found at www.AlterEgoPhotography.com.
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