Some people don't care about it, but it inspires me. Fashion.
My name is Amira Toleimat and I am a self taught fashion photographer. I was born in Heidelberg, grew up near Mannheim, and spent my childhood in the northern Germany in a small village. A formative change from the city to the countryside. Creativity was rarely in demand. But the urge to express myself creatively did not leave me with the move.
I found my inspiration in fashion, that at the age of 8. Colors were my thing. Bright, colorful, eye-catching it was allowed to be. Big jewelry, funky shoes. Digital cameras were becoming more popular at the time and so was my interest in them. These cool, oversaturated colors made my heart beat faster. I had my first SLR camera in my hand when I was 12 years old. An old Nikon of my father. A heavy camera for still small hands. Something was broken in the lens, so that a crackling sound could be heard with every rotation. However, that didn't stop me. I took my bike, the camera and started with landscape photos. This was followed by portraits of friends, couples from the neighborhood to art projects at school.
From this point on, I could not imagine my life without a camera. I forgot about time while taking pictures, developed focus for a hobby and felt my heart beat faster when I got a good shot through the lens. With that, I realized two things: this is my future and I need to get back into the city. Graduating from school led me straight to my passion. In Düsseldorf, I studied Fashion Journalism and Communication at AMD and was able to completely express my creativity. During my studies I was able to learn one thing: Fashion can do so much more than just look pretty. It can be alive. It can be inspiring. Be profound. It just needs to be expressed. And that's what I'm here for. Turning a thought into an idea, developing a concept, executing it with full fire and finally holding a result in my hands - that's what I live for behind the camera. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Day by day.