If you tuned into Tuesday night’s episode of Australia’s Next Top Model, you were privy to a curious fact about the fashion industry that very few people notice.
While viewers were distracted by the beautiful sights of Milan, Italy, aspiring model Sabine Jamieson was busy admiring the female photographers presence on set.
In fact, the 17-year-old labelled Stefania Paparelli’s mere existence as a female fashion photographer “empowering”.
“The industry is such a man’s world,” she told the camera. “It’s comforting to see Stefania.”

That might seem like an odd choice of words for someone who merely possesses female anatomy and an affinity for the still image, but Sabine's not wrong. Despite the positive body image movement that's gained momentum in recent years, there's a disturbing reason why female fashion photographers are gobsmackingly rare, and it extends far beyond the hit Fox8 show.
One of Melbourne's prominent female photographers, Stevie van der Chys, refers to the cut-throat fashion photography industry as "the boys' club".
After spending three tiresome years covering fashion festivals and shoots, Stevie, 26, knows exactly why female photographers are so scarce.
"If you want to be a female photographer, you’ve got to have balls," she explains.