I first began following Margaret Zhang on Instagram after discovering the reality show Fashion Bloggers.

Premiering in 2014, it was the first look into the world of Instagram influence with a special focus on fashion. Zhang was definitely the coolest.

Now, three years later, it’s somewhat suitable that Zhang has found herself on the cover of ELLE Australia, the photograph shot using an iPhone 7.

In fact, the entire spread she features in uses the iPhone, and was captured by Australian photographer Georges Antoni.

So just who is Zhang? From The Sunday Morning Herald:

The 24-year-old who established her popular blog Shine By Three in her teens now has an online following of close to 1 million on her social media channels.

Her skills in creative direction, photography and styling are now sought after by some of the world’s biggest brands, like Louis Vuitton, and personalities like Kanye West.

She has worked hard to distance herself from the bloggers who have infiltrated the fashion and social media scene and is offended when referred to a “digital influencer”.

“Your career cannot be to have influence,” Zhang told Elle. “I have a blog but I don’t necessarily identify myself as a blogger – I get paid as a freelancer, a photographer, a consultant. Blogger is not on my business card because it’s not my job… I don’t do sponsored posts, I don’t do paid Instagram posts, I don’t do paid blog posts.”

She also doesn’t plug free products or gifts, unlike many of her counterparts in the industry.

Basically, the pioneer of digital fashion. Here’s her cover:

Pretty epic, don’t you think? Well, you shouldn’t really be surprised at its quality. The latest iPhone generation’s camera features a six-optic lens, optical image stabilisation and a wider f/1.8 aperture, which means better results with better images.

Yes, like the one above.

But when asked if shooting with mobile phones should be the future of the fashion industry, Zhang replied to ELLE’s editor-in-chief Justine Cullen saying:

When it comes to the pages of a glossy magazine at least, it’s not just the wand but the wizard that counts.

As these incredible pocket-cameras now find themselves in the hands of everyone and anyone, it means magazines like ours need photographers with an even more honed eye, more magical storytelling skills and bucketloads more vision to create a story – or cover – worthy of making it onto the printed page, as opposed to the more fleeting existence of, say, that shot of your barista-touched latte you posted on Snapchat.

Think you have the eye but need a wand? Digicape will sort you out.

[source:smh]