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How Good of a Model Is Tom Sandoval? Joe Simpson Shares His Professional Assessment
The photographer weighs in on the #PumpRules SURver's skills in front of the camera.
Joe Simpson's connection to Tom Sandoval's modeling career is not as random as you might think. After the talent manager/professional photographer popped up on Vanderpump Rules earlier this season to shoot photos of the SURver, some fans may have wondered about how the whole endeavor even happened. Well, Joe explained it all to The Daily Dish recently. You see, he just so happens to be a staff photographer for LA Models, a modeling agency, natch, and they called and asked if he would shoot him... and the rest is history.
Considering that Joe works with a lot of pretty faces, he was impressed with Tom's skills in front of the camera. "He's good," he said. "He moves well."
While Tom's modeling skills get Joe's stamp of approval, the photographer is less familiar with Tom's life on Vanderpump Rules. "I'm aware of it. I'm aware of the Vanderpumps and, of course, the restaurant," he said, noting that he doesn't normally watch the show. "I don't watch a lot of reality TV." (Which is ironic, considering Jessica Simpson starred on the iconic Newlyweds series back in the day. Oh, yeah, Ashlee Simpson also did some time on the small screen on her own series.)
But, back to their dad. Joe's love for photography dates back to high school when his mom gave him a camera at age 14. He later worked as a photographer for events like weddings while in college and later shot his now ex-wife Tina's wedding portrait back in the day. And as fame came to the Simpson clan, he accompanied his famous daughters on their shoots.
"The beauty is, with both girls I got to shoot with the best photographers in the world," he recalled. "As they would do covers, I would always be behind them and I would always watch how they would set up. And I never really even thought about doing photography 'cause I was busy with the other [managing them]. But I started managing models and I knew that they needed photographs very quickly." From there, Joe's new career was born, and he started working with LA Models. "You're never too old to start again... I just love creating."
While he once watched others shoot photos of his girls, he's now the one snapping their portraits. "They love it. I shot both of them," he said. "It creates a new respect from them and they love to see the pictures and I love showing them to them."
Check out more from Joe's appearance, below.
