Camera Obscura no14

March 2010

“commercial photography� no. 014

Team Coordinator : Sebastian Vaida sebastianvaida@cameraobscura.ro

Editor : Marius Ioan Groza mariusioangroza@cameraobscura.ro

Cover by Steve Jones

...and because commercial photography did not simply appear, today and out of nothing, but as a result of tenths and hundreds of years of attempts and explorations, we invite you, in a first stage, on a voyage through the history of commercial photography.

Then, the travel becomes visual, with the carefully selected portfolios of 11 professional photographers in the area. They will take you through the world of commercial, to visually portray how interesting and difficult to catch this world is, so that an image with a relatively simple message such as “buy!” or “think!”, becomes a successful photograph, that holds on to the acid test of time.

And because any voyage means deciphering meanings and significations, because we all like words as well and especially because we like to hear what we are interested in directly from the source, we interviewed 4 of this edition’s photographers. And we asked them to show us their own vision upon photography in general, and commercial photography, in particular.

And last but not least, because history teaches us that first of all it must be understood, we ended this presentation with one of the most extended and impressive commercial and advertising photography projects – the Shipler photography collection.

Thus, we invite you in this journey in time and space, to see the moments and areas that we made a “click” on, in order to crop a view of what commercial and advertising photography means. In other words, we framed the world, as we see it.

And as any traveler is supposed to, do begin your journey, armed with curiosity, patience and an open mind, and do not forget to leave your impressions that followed this experience.

Camera Obscura Team www.cameraobscura.ro

www.cameraobscura.ro

Featured Photographers Lou Manna

Colin Cooke Bill Brady Paul Hartley DragoĹ&#x; Borcanea Clark James Mishler Fabian Gabor Melinda Nagy Attila Soos Interview Steve Jones Interview Giuseppe Parisi Interview Melinda Nagy Interview Shipler Photograph Collection

9 27 42 59 75 92 110 124 136 147 150 154 159

Commercial & Advertising Photography

A World History of Photography, History and Development of Advertising and Commercial Photography

Ever since it appeared, advertising had to do with topics such as customers, target audience, products, campaigns, design, branding, concepts and similar subjects.

Advertising photography became the easiest and more precise way to showcase the results to the world, that is, the target audience. What is then advertised and what is not, in photography, one might ask? Since everything we photograph is done with the purpose of showing it to “the world”. Once again, the target audience. In advertising photography, the audience is a rather small group, compared to “the world”. It is a specific group, carefully selected a long time before the ad is done. As photographers, we pretty much do a similar selection, though not so in depth. We select the audience, the targeted group that we show our photographs to. As in the advertising world, we decide who we want to talk to with our images, we decide what is the message we want to send, what is the attitude or idea we want to change.

One difference might be in the temporal line. That is, in advertising, the idea of a certain project is always clear from the beginning. Actually, it is done with this sole purpose – to send a message to a targeted group, to sell or change an attitude.

In photography, we often do this after we start a photo project. That is, we do the photographs and then we start wondering what to do with them, who could represent the best target audience. And this is something that all photographers could learn from the field of advertising. Have a clear target audience, know the purpose of those photographs even before the shutter is pressed. And that can be seen in the work of many professional photographers.

Then again, this is true for certain types of photography, including commercial.

For we have so many areas and moments in photography when photos are to be done for a whole different purpose, a more personal one. Or, why not, just for fun.

And the pleasure of photographing.

And since a thematic edition on “Commercial Photography” can not be complete without a short journey in the history of advertising photography, we asked professor Patricia Johnston from the Salem State College, USA, to grant us permission to use her article on “A World History of Photography, History and Development of Advertising and Commercial Photography“. We believe that a better understanding of the history of advertising and commercial photography can lead to a better understanding of this type of photography and, ultimately, to better photos.

Patricia Johnston is professor of art history at Salem State College, author of the award-winning book Real Fantasies: Edward Steichen’s Advertising Photography, and editor of Seeing High and Low: Representing Social Conflict in American Visual Radi

Culture. She holds a Ph.D. from Boston University, and has had fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Charles Warren Center at Harvard University.

“There can be little argument that in modern capitalist societies the camera has proved to be an absolutely indispensable tool for the makers of consumer goods, for those involved with public relations and those who sell ideas and services. Camera images have been able to make invented ‘realities’ seem not at all fraudulent and have permitted viewers to suspend disbelief while remaining aware that the scene has been contrived.” (Naomi Rosenblum, A World History of Photography, 1989)

During the 19th century, photography was used only rarely to advertise products or businesses. Some photographic advertisements appeared on trade cards or, by the 1890s, as small informative half-tones in cat alogues or periodicals.

At the beginning of the 20th century, articles devoted to advertising photography began to appear in photographic journals. Early advisers set the tone for the rest of the century. They recommended that photographic illustrations feature humaninterest subjects in a clearly understandable image, but interpreted in a personally expressive style. But the industry was slow to adopt this perspective.

At first, because they did not see the interpretative qualities of photographs, ad men used photographs exclusively with ad campaigns that employed the directive ‘reason why’ strategy, which lectured consumers on the benefits of the product.

When early 20th century advertising psychologists, particularly Walter Dill Scott, demonstrated that consumers were open to suggestion, they provided support for a new suggestive advertising strategy (often called ‘atmosphere advertising’). Art directors typically employed drawn and painted illustrations with this new suggestive ‘atmosphere advertising’. However, as the atmosphere strategy became dominant around the First World War, some advertisers began to recognize the usefulness of the subjectivity of the soft focus, fine art style of pictorialist photography. Lejaren à Hiller was the pioneer. His style of photographic illustration for fiction in women’s magazines advanced the integration of pictorialist aesthetics into advertising. Soft focus, dramatic lighting, heavy retouching, combination printing, and complex stage sets were the perfect visual expressions of the suggestive strategy.

Good-quality photographic half-tones became available around 1890, but photographs were used only intermittently in advertising imagery until the 1920s.

There were some highlights, such as Hiller’s work, and the ‘sensation’ caused in 1897 by a ‘combination photograph’ (photomontage) that invented a scene of President McKinley and Queen Victoria drinking tea (still recalled three decades later in Frank Presbrey’s 1929 History and Development of Advertising). But advertising photography came into its own only in the 1920s, as the advertising industry grew because of the vibrant economy and the national distribution of goods. In 1920 fewer than 15 per cent of illustrated advertisements in mass circulated magazines employed photographs; by 1930, almost 80 per cent did.

The advertising industry professionalized rapidly after the First World War. The

industry that had started as space jobbers in the 19th century added specialists such as copywriters, art directors, psychologists, and account executives to agency staffs.

The new art directors established professional organizations almost immediately.

The New York Art Directors Club, founded in 1920, soon sponsored exhibitions, awards, and publications, setting a pattern for similar clubs internationally.

The tremendous market for advertising photography provided opportunities for photographers of different aesthetic tendencies. Modernist advertising photography, in particular, blossomed as a fitting symbol for the self‐conscious modernity of the times. The Clarence H. White School of Photography led in training commercial photographers to employ the new vision. White had been a successful pictorialist photographer associated with Alfred Stieglitz’s Photo‐ Secession. He began to teach photography in 1907 and in 1914 opened his own school, with a curriculum that emphasized design principles and encouraged work in the applied arts. White based the philosophy of his school—the ‘fusion of beauty and utility’—on that of his colleague at Columbia Teachers College, Arthur Wesley Dow, who advocated a democratic ideal of art appreciation and urged the application of fine‐art principles to industrial and commercial design.

Some of White’s students, including Anton Bruehl, Margaret Bourke‐White, Paul Outerbridge, Ralph Steiner, and Margaret Watkins (1884–1969), became New York’s top commercial photographers. They practised a modernist style based on close‐ up views, spare geometric compositions, oblique vantage points, tonal contrast, and sharpened focus that dominated advertising photography for the next two decades.

In 1923 Edward Steichen landed two commercial photography contracts—to produce fashion and celebrity portrait photography for Condé Nast Publications, and advertising photographs for the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. Like Hiller and White, Steichen had been a Pictorialist art photographer who turned to commerce. Easily the dominant and most highly paid commercial photographer in 1920s New York, Steichen counted as his clients makers of beauty products, packaged foods, cars, jewellery, soaps, and so on. For nearly twenty years he worked closely with his art directors, often suggesting photographic interpretations of marketing directions. Steichen’s work convinced art directors to look beyond conventional uses of photography (pictorialism for romance and suggestion; straight photography for information and reason‐why). He developed a persuasive straight‐photography style that projected ideals, aspirations, and obvious fantasies, but made them seem attainable.

The European modernists saw closer connections between fine and applied photography; they desired to provide good design for all classes of people; and they viewed modern photography as a way to effect social change. Though European movements were forged in the 1910s and 1920s, their modernist aesthetics had greatest impact on the commercial world after the 1931 New York Foreign Advertising Photography exhibition, which showed 200 works from eight European countries.

The 1930s were also characterized by a divergent second trend in advertising photography towards pictures of ‘real life’. The economic crisis of the Depression triggered talk of the need for ‘sincerity’ and ‘realism’ in advertising imagery, but in fact led to overly dramatic vignettes accompanied by hyperbolic headlines. The decade also saw technological progress in colour photography. Though printers had been able to register three or four colours by c.1900, it had been extremely challenging for photographers to provide the necessary separation negatives for the individual printing plates. Nicholas Muray in 1931, and Anton Bruehl and Fernand Bourges (fl. 1930s–1950s) in 1932, were able to provide colour advertising through complex and expensive processes. When commercial materials came on the market (particularly Kodachrome in 1935), photographers could make negatives, prints, and transparencies with sufficient ease to allow colour’s widespread use in advertising photography.

After the Second World War, there was a tremendous growth in the amount of money allocated for advertising; consequently, its institutional structure grew, with new agencies and publications. The glamour and elegance that often characterized pre-war images of women were supplanted by depictions of conventional gender roles and middle-class family life. Although veterans like Victor Keppler continued to flourish for a while, new faces and styles began to dominate advertising photography; Onofrio Paccione, Bert Stern, and Henry Wolf began their careers.

Perhaps the two best-known commercial photographers of the post-war period are Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, both of whom, like Steichen, made a name in both fashion and advertising photography. Both men began their careers in the 1940s and continued into the 21st century. Both continued an exploration of photographic modernism yet developed highly personal styles. Penn’s work is characterized by a pictorial spareness. Seamless backdrop paper or minimal environments replaced 1930s baroque stage sets. In some ways, Avedon’s work was more influential for what followed. His pictures exhibited a heightened modernity signalling that the world was about to change radically. His later work simplified backgrounds, isolated figures, and scrutinized features. As with Steichen and Penn, Avedon’s personal and commercial work overlapped significantly.

Commercial photography in the 1960s was perhaps less stylistically unified than in other decades. It ranged from William Klein (of Harper’s Bazaar), who set mannequin-like models against bold contrasting patterns in the architecture and built environment; to James Moore (also of Harper’s), who brought a streetphotography aesthetic to fashion photography; to Jeanloup Sieff, who specialized in a more natural appearance of casual outdoor life and family affection; and Diane Arbus, whose art and commercial work played with awkward strangeness. The Japanese photographer Hiro, however, may best express the advertising spirit of the age in his intense colour, elegant formal geometry, and subtle balance. Advertising in the 1960s saw a greater emphasis on internationalism, more space for an overlap of personal and commercial styles, and greater collaboration with art directors. The industry could not ignore changes in social values, and newer representations of

gender roles and racial relations took their place alongside traditional ones.

A new trend in 1970s and 1980s advertising photography echoed the soft romanticism of the early 20th century, particularly in the work of Deborah Turbeville (b. 1938) and Sarah Moon. Their ethereal style often revealed frank contemporary attitudes towards sexuality. In the 1980s and 1990s, Herb Ritts produced dramatic narrative images for Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, and Giorgio Armani. Like his predecessors, he developed a distinctive personal style across his fashion, celebrity portrait, and advertising work.

Advertising around the turn of the 21st century provoked new contentbased controversies. Where mid-20th-century advertising photography was often criticized for promoting overly traditional visions of life or unrealistic material aspirations, criticism of today’s advertising has targeted images that glamorize drug use, tobacco, anorexic bodies, or other unhealthy lifestyles. For example, the clothing manufacturer Benetton, during its association (1984–2000) with Oliviero Toscani, had used AIDS victims, prisoners, and refugees in its advertisements.

Were these images made to stir social concern, or simply to shock? The magazine Adbusters, founded in 1989, is devoted to such critiques of the advertising industry.

Commercial photography has long had a significant (though often unacknowledged) place in the history of photography. The advertising industry turned to photography when it discovered the photograph’s power to convey the joys and benefits of consumerism. Advertising agencies, clients, and magazine editors eagerly sought work by Steichen, Penn, Avedon, and others because they recognized their modernism and distinctive personal visions as effective selling tools. Photography remains the dominant advertising medium; and recent scholarly study of advertising photography has helped develop a more complex understanding of the diversity within modernist photography.

Bibliography and More Information about advertising photography •

Dyer, G., Advertising as Communication (1982).

•

Sobieszek, R. A., The Art of Persuasion: A History of Advertising Photography (1988).

•

Harrison, M., Appearances: Fashion Photography since 1945 (1991).

•

Bogart, M. H., Artists, Advertising, and the Borders of Art (1995).

•

Yochelson, B., Pictorialism into Modernism: The Clarence H. White School of Photography (1996).

•

Johnston, P., Real Fantasies: Edward Steichen’s Advertising Photography (1997).

•

Brown, E., ‘Rationalizing Consumption: Lejaren à Hiller and the Origins of American Advertising Photography’, Enterprise and Society, 1 (Dec. 2000).

•

Salvemini, L. P., Benetton‐Toscani: storia di un avventura 1984–2000 (2002).

© Lou Manna www.loumanna.com

Lou Manna is an award-winning “Olympus Visionary” photographer whose work has appeared in national advertising campaigns, major magazines, and more than 40 books.

Bison Burger

Š Lou Mana Pesto Crostini

After shooting for the New York Times for 15 years, Lou established a Fifth Avenue studio where he produces work for a wide range of corporate, advertising and public relations clients.

Candied Peels

Š Lou Mana Salmon

Lou brings a natural sense of style, color and composition to all his work. He is especially well-know for his ability to make food sparkle through his meticulous lighting techniques, prompting world-renown chef Eric Ripert to comment that his images are “exquisite and mouthwatering.�

Rainbow Cookie

Š Lou Mana

Radish Heads

“I came straight to New York after graduation to hone my skills and get handson experience. I worked for some big name photographers as a photo assistant and studio manager. The experience was invaluable and helped me decide to focus on food photography and taught me how to run a business.”

Star Anise

Š Lou Mana Chocolate Cookies

Lou is an Associate Professor at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, a consultant for the Food Studies Program at NYU, and a frequent worldwide workshop instructor.

Frozen Zogurt

Š Lou Mana Chocolate Cream Brulee

Š Lou Mana Flying Cannoli

Š Lou Mana Heirloom Tomato

Š Lou Mana Sorbet

Š Lou Mana Pink Strawberries

Š Lou Mana Apple

Chocolate Dessert

Asian Drink

Mojito

Ceviche

Š Lou Mana Onion Salad

© Colin Cooke

www.cookestudio.com

“My name is Colin Cooke. I am a still life food photographer based in New York City. I was born in Canada, and raised in northern California. My photo career started with my becoming the high school yearbook photographer when I was a senior in high school. Wanting to continue with photography, I earned a degree at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California.”

Chestnut Potato Soup

“Print ads are now being shot to appear on websites and cell phones rather than in magazines and newspapers. Anyone with a cell phone at the site of a major event can take a photo and send it to a news agency and the agency gets the photo for free. “

Bacon Egg Popover Breakfast

“I love photography now as much as when I first started and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I continue to be primarily a food photographer. For example: take any food such as an apple. I can spend days photographing an apple on a branch, an apple pie, apple juice, apple crisp, apple slices, apple sauce, apple cookies, apple custard, apple compote.....food is endless and timeless. It can be beautiful from many different angles and lightings.�

Asparagus Risotto in Brooklyn

“I’ve expanded from stills to video and find I can explore food from yet another perspective: food as a moving image - tell a story, make it dance, make a fork twirl in steamy pasta with red sauce and lift it out of frame. Amazing!”

Lamb Shank

“Print ads are now being shot to appear on websites and cell phones rather than in magazines and newspapers. Anyone with a cell phone at the site of a major event can take a photo and send it to a news agency and the agency gets the photo for free. “

Pork Chops

“Print ads are now being shot to appear on websites and cell phones rather than in magazines and newspapers. Anyone with a cell phone at the site of a major event can take a photo and send it to a news agency and the agency gets the photo for free. “

Stuffed Pork

“Stock photo agencies are flooded with pictures taken by amateurs using digital cameras and digital retouching driving down prices for professionals. Everyone is trying to figure how to make money in the new media business, photographers included!“

Rack of Lamb

“On the positive side, technology has revolutionized photography. Photoshop and other digital retouching technologies are incredible, and it allows photographers to create a much better product in a substantially shorter period of time. I love to create with images and challenge myself to shoot something really amazing and beautiful.“

Osso Bucco

Sliced Lamb Chops

Shrimp and Watercress Salad

Š Colin Cooke Octopussy

The Holocaust

Wet Vodka Martini

Cherries Jubilee

Boy washing Apple

Raspberries and Cream

Spoon breaking thru Chocolate pie

Chicken Pot Pie Lunch

Baked Pear & Oatmeal Breakfast

© Bill Brady www.billbradyphotography.com

“My love affair with photography began at a very young age. As a boy something about the medium spoke to me. Memories of life magazine and their amazing photo essays created a profound and lasting impact.

Photography became my passion, it led to an obsession and finally a career.”

Steak on grill

© Bill Brady Ribs closeup

“I studied in New York at the Germain School of Photography. It was a great starting point but there was no substitute for practical experience. Photographing people, architecture,landscapes, night scenes.

Anything that captivated me and made me think. I followed the light.�

Porkchop

“After years of perfecting my craft and a bit of luck, food photography chose me. An opportunity presented itself which changed my life. I was hired to shoot food for an ad agency with a major food account. Although I lacked practical experience in this area, I rose to the challenge and completed the assignment.

It was exhilirating, No other genre had ever excited me as much. Over time my point of view emerged. Today my style is well defined and unique.�

Tuna App

Š Bill Brady Pulled Pork

Š Bill Brady Frozen Chicken

Š Bill Brady Frozen Mixed Veg

Š Bill Brady Glazed Donuts

“I was fortunate to begin my education as a photographer during the twilight years of film. Understanding the rules of photography as they pertain to traditional principles has given me an edge. There is something to be said for exposing a piece of film correctly, developing and printing it. To have knowledge and experience of photograpy in it’s pure form and being able to translate this skill to current technologies gives me a well rounded perspective. Today too many photographers rely on photoshop as a crutch, masking inferior work. Creating an image in camera without the aid of post production techniques remains an art.”

Creamsicle Sundae

Artist Mission.

“The balance of light, composition and subject are essential to any great photograph.

A food image also has to posess something extra. It has to motivate an emotional response and urge the viewer towards a specific call to action.�

Borscht

“Great food photography evokes such a reaction. I call it the yum factor. It’s what entices an audience to buy into the fantasy. Even though we know the viewer can’t taste, smell or feel it, the visual impact is so overpowering it can stand on it’s own. It compensates for the absence of other sensory input.”

Fireside

“My mission is to create such a reality.

To bring the audience into my world and make them want. My goal is to create this want with nothing more than visual stimulus. I strive to achieve this through my work.

Take a seat at the table.�

Uptowb Orange

Heineken Light

Budweiser

Coke Test v1

Coke Test v2

Drink Test

Drink Test Glass Only

Š Bill Brady Mens Journal Whiskey

Š Paul Hartley www.hartleystudios.com

“After 30 years working in advertising (mostly still life) I now find myself working in the niche of jewellery & watch photography. Like a lot of things in life, it wasn’t planned, it’s just worked out that way and I now enjoy shooting the subjects that are considered to be such a challenge.

Tricky stuff, jewellery.”

“I now work directly for Jewellers and advertising agencies mostly in the UK although I have clients fly in for sessions from Europe, the middle east and Morocco. I used to have a large studio with E6 processing in Central London, but I’ve now downsized to a small studio near the River Thames at Putney and I’ve equipped it with Macs, Phase One backs and an assortment of cameras (Horseman, Rollei, Mamiya, Cambo & Canon).”

Š Paul Hartley

© Dragoş Borcanea www.dragosborcanea.com

“I was born in Macin, Tulcea, Romania, in a small town on the Danube. I started to do photography in 2005, when I bought my first digital camera, a Sony V3. My present gear is a Canon 5D Mark II, some Elinchrome flashes and several lenses. I graduated the Technical University, Faculty of Transportations. “

“Photography has always been one of my passions. I also had a particular attraction for cars and bikes, and basicly for every vehicle.

I learned everything I know on my own and I have no education or preparation in the field. And recently, I began developing an interest in movies and special effects. “

Š Dragos Borcanea

Š Clark James Mishler

www.mishlerphotos.com

Trained as a graphic designer, Clark James Mishler was first introduced to the photographic process in 1970 while studying at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.

In 1977, Mr. Mishler was hired as a layout editor by the National Geographic Magazine in Washington D.C. and returned to Alaska in 1979.

AT&T Corporate Photography

Over the past twenty-five years, Mr. Mishler’s editorial photography has been published in numerous regional, national and international publications. Mr. Mishler’s 2007 book, ANCHORAGE, LIFE AT THE EDGE OF THE FRONTIER, was awarded first place for nonfiction by the Independent Publisher’s Association.

AT&T Corporate Photography

Mr. Mishler currently lives in Anchorage with his wife, Mitzi, and is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers and The National Press Photographer’s Association.

AT&T Corporate Photography

AT&T Corporate Photography

Š Clark James Mishler AT&T Corporate Photography

AT&T Corporate Photography

Loggers, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Loggers, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Loggers, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Rim Architects, Anchorage, Alaska

Rim Architects, Anchorage, Alaska

Rim Architects, Anchorage, Alaska

Rim Architects, Anchorage, Alaska

Valley Hospital, Palmer, Alaska

Valley Hospital, Palmer, Alaska

Valley Hospital, Palmer, Alaska

Š Clark James Mishler Twins on scale, Alaska Regional Hospital

© Fabian Gabor

www.fabiangabor.com

“Back in 2008 I worked as a graphician in a firm, where a colleague of mine was passionate about photography and, when I saw his work, I was motivated to start photographing myself.

I first borrowed my father’s camera, a Canon PowerShot A75. After a couple months, the camera malfunctioned and I bought a Fuji S5800, that I also used for portraits, after reading many tutorials. In October 2008, I felt the need to get a better camera, so I bought my first DSLR, a Canon EOS 1000D, that I’m using to this day.”

Badau Rudolf

“I began attending a photography course within the School of Arts in Tirgu Mures, where I learned a lot from my colleagues, especially from Báthori Zsigmond and Sergiu Cioban. In 2009, I decided to enroll in an Art Faculty, so I chose the classes offered by the University of Art and Design in Cluj Napoca. Mostly, I love to photograph people in all kinds of styles: portrait, glamour, artistic nude and photojournalism.”

Badau Rudolf

“I began taking commercial photographs to cover some of the expenses and to buy new gear: flashes, lenses. I usually shoot models, or girls that wish to start a career in modeling and need a portfolio.�

“My first serious order was from a Dutch firm called Yonder, with a branch in Cluj Napoca, that contacted me in December 2009 for an assignment to shoot portraits of all their employees. For the future, I intend to work with models and firms that appreciate my work, to become more creative and a respected photographer.“

Noi Trăim Bine

Kovรกcs Hunor

Kovรกcs Hunor

Daczรณ Judit & Csiki Alessio Zoltรกn

Roxana Lucaciu

Š Fabian Gabor

Roxana Lucaciu

© Melinda Nagy www.fotolia.com/p/188674

“After graduating the faculty of literature, I bought my first camera and my passion for photography has become stronger than my passion for philology. Although it is already a cliché, I do believe that a good photograph can say a thousand words. In photography, I can show the world as I see it.”

Bamboo Bulb

“I am not specialized in a certain photo category, and I like to observe the world that surrounds me, to experiment with the camera, to discover new themes and perspectives and to try all kinds of photography types. That is why I got involved into the sports and press photography, as a collaborator with NewsIn, as well as in stock photography. “

Clean Energy

Burning Fat

Falling Broccoli

Pomegranate

School Starts

Seashell

Woman With Laptop

Girl On A Plane

Dog walking

Š Melinda Nagy Duckling

Attila Soos Interview

CO – Attila, please tell us something about you, as a photographer. For instance, when have you begun photographing?

AS – Ever since the 5th grade. My parents have visited the former URSS and asked me what I wanted them to bring me. So I replied I wanted a photo camera, with a metallic, silver lens. So I received a Cmena 8.

We had a very good family friend that was also a good photographer.

In the 70’s and 80’s, he used to photograph, process films, both in black and white and color. And I used to mimic his behavior, by doing with my hands what he used to do with the camera, as if I were taking pictures.

And years later, when I finally received my camera, I actually began taking photos. I often joke with saying that I regressed, because I now need a camera to do what I could do back then with my bear hands and imagination, of course.

CO – Do you think you have a particular style in photography? Meaning, do you like a specific style? Such as fashion, or commercial?

AS – No, I couldn’t say that. I simply like photography. And I think this is a bit contrary to the tradition. Usually, photographers are specialized on a particular theme. Like “I don’t like this style in photography, I only like a particular type…”. Sure enough, I have my preferences in photography, yet when I have to take pictures, I take pictures. It is not the theme that I like, it is photography. And this is always a challenge.

CO – Does your passion for photography have anything to do with someone in your family? Your parents, for example, were also passionate about photography?

AS – No, not at all. I have had no influence from my parents. I was simply passionate with it and learned myself. I remember one particular moment, a while after I began, that I found out my grandmother’s name – Képíró.

Which means “image writer”. Hence the name of the association that I cofounded (ERKE – Transylvania Light Painters Association). Back in the old days you could see those “light writers”. They were the ones to do the large paintings and “commercials”, for firms, kings and battles. Quite similar to the war photo reporters. Such as Robert Kapa.

The idea is that I found a connection between my grandma’s name and my purpose, connection that pleased me. I always had a problem with finding the best term for “photographer” in Hungarian. Plus, after seeing the work of many of the so called “artist photographers”, I preferred to be called different. So, when I found about the name Képíró, I decided that that’s how I want to refer to myself as a photographer – “image writer”.

CO – Meaning?...

AS – For example, my experience with Elite Magazine. It was not easy from the beginning. I started with a photo, a first “assignment”, after came a new one and so on. And afterwards I received the task of taking

the cover photo. And in time I became more and more satisfied with the results. I even had to take food photographs. And the result was very pleasing, without comparing my self with professional photographers with 30 years of experience in food photography. Still, I was very content with the results.

I have never had a support in photography. My parents could not help me, I did not know anyone in Cluj, nor in Budapest. So I had to make it on my own and prove that I can do it. That is why photography was always a challenge for me. I always had to prove what I knew and can do.

make good photographs.

CO – Did you learn photography in college or all alone, through practice?

AS – All alone. Although I thought about enrolling into a college in Budapest, I preferred to learn on my own. I did make a search to see who is teaching, what is teaching and whether I need that info or not. Or if I could benefit from those classes. Because I do not need any papers to say that I can take photographs or not. And when I saw what they were teaching there and the so called “artist” photographers they prepare, I decided it was not for me. I was always self taught, and I prefer clear and practical things, without too many stories. I even had a funny event with and “artist” photographer that rented my studio for an assignment, but the client was not at all pleased with the result. And afterwards, he asked me to help him with the lights, as he wanted to learn from me. So I replied that I can not help him, since he is only months away from graduating, with a diploma as an “artist” photographer. And I had no diploma. “You want to learn from me?” I replied. “What are they teaching you in the university?” And all this convinced me that I don’t need any college to

CO – So this persuaded you ?

AS – Yes, once in for all! Don’t get me wrong. There are interesting (and probably useful) things to be learned in a formal education. Still, the job as a photographer, or how to do a portrait, a commercial photo or a wedding album is not something you learn there. Art is important, even

necessary. Yet not sufficient for this job.

AS – Yes, absolutely ! For example, I’ve had a client that, although is on the market for more that 10 years, willing to reshape his image, decided for a combination of two competitors. They visited me at the studio and showed me what they thought about – a combination of two competitors, in terms of the image. In other words, I replied, “you didn’t think!” J So I suggested a different approach, so they don’t try to copy what others do, because they are no match. Instead, to try to approach a clear group target, a specific one. And according to this, to present an image of someone that anyone from the group target can identify itself with.

CO – You said you worked in Budapest, Hungary, in New York, SUA and in Romania. Are there significant differences in terms of the way that photography in general and commercial photography, in particular, are both seen?

AS – Yes. For instance, in Bucharest I’ve met some really good photographers, that are already at a high level, in terms of results.

Compared to Romania, in Hungary things are more centralized.

Everything about photography takes place around Budapest, where there are photographers with wide views, that have visited lots of countries and seen many different approaches and visions. In Romania, you meet photographers all over the country. Yet very few outside Bucharest are really good. And what is to be noticed in Romania, especially outside Bucharest, is a huge lack of visual culture.

CO – This lack of culture you mention, can be seen in clients as well ?

When a client comes and asks you to do a certain photo project…

CO – Do you often do this kind of advising?

AS – Yes, it’s been quite often for me to advise my customers, even beyond photography, but still concerning their image. This is because I’m passionate, parallel to photography, about the psychology of advertising. Unlike mass production, in photography the result is not clear from the beginning. The client signs a contract, yet it’s not 100% sure of the result. I like the following approach. The client gives me a brief description of what he/she desires and then gives me complete

freedom for photographing and being creative. And after, I come back with an intermediary result and, if the client is pleased, we have a talk and decide whether to continue the collaboration. And only after that we discuss the contract and other details.

AS – That’s correct! That happened with a client from Budapest, Herend.

Herend (http://www.herend.com) is the second large manufacturer from Hungary, after Meissen. I met them and they told me what they wanted and asked what the price was for that job. I began by telling the CEO that I never photographed their kind of products – porcelain. Obviously, the CEO was very surprised, as he wanted to see a portfolio. I asked him whether he wanted to see a portfolio with models, without any connection with their products. So I suggested him to give me some of their products, give me a couple days to photograph them as I envisioned them and give them some images to choose from. If he liked them, ok, if not, the same. No costs for him!

CO – Did he agree?

CO – So you prefer to take the first step and give something to the client?

AS – Yes, he said he liked this approach. And that he finds it fair, especially that nowadays nobody’s working “for free” anymore. I told him that it wasn’t about “for free” or “for charge”, it was only what I thought it was

fair.

CO – Same as a job interview, with a trial period. If you can handle the job, you’re hired. If not, no problem.

so open minded. Probably this CEO traveled a lot and had the chance to see things in different perspectives. He understood that the simple fact that he was the owner or CEO and he was paying, did not make him good at photography or building an image.

AS – Exactly ! And after that, he gave me a very « interesting » porcelain bowl to photograph.

CO – That you had to portray highly attractive...

AS – I went with that CEO to Vienna and scouted for a photo location, an entire day. We sought an interior location. He spent an entire day telling me how the photos should look. That the white has to be white, not gray or any other nuance. Pure white. That the golden from the bowl has to be golden, not yellow or anything else. Besides, they had lots of colors on their porcelain, colors that didn’t exist. Colors that had no code. Because they were produced in their labs, by combining many colors and nuances. And the bowl also had lots of flowers and butterflies, all personalized.

It took me more than two days before I began taking any pictures.

Eventually, I took the photo for the bowl almost in black and white, on a large film. That bowl was so loaded with information, that I felt the need to simplify things. Simple and almost black and white. Therefore, I showed that picture to the CEO. CO – And?... Any reactions?...

AS – Long story short, he liked it! He looked at the photo and, very surprised, told me that I didn’t do anything from what he told me for an entire day. But he liked it. A lot. And that he never thought that it could be photographed that way. And he likes it. So we went straight to the marketing department and told the ladies working there that, from that day on, I would be the one taking the photographs for Herend and that no one will give me any instructions. So I had complete freedom to take the pictures as I saw fit. Anything I shoot, they will buy. And the photo with the bowl was sent right away to the International Exhibition held that year in Frankfurt. And for one and a half years we worked together.

Of course, this only happens rarely. But it does happen. Not all clients are

CO – Have you also made compromises?

AS – Of course. Like everyone else. There have been moments when I

made compromises, although lately I decided not to do them anymore.

I recently visited a wedding fair, where I’ve been asked if I was interested in taking pictures for weddings. A young lady asked me what would the photo package include. So I replied that I do not offer any package, but I can give her 10 great photographs, printed on photographic paper, in high size, as well as a CD with the rest of the photos I would take. But I don’t take 700 or 1000 photos, I don’t attend the entire event (church, party, where everyone is drunk and falling between the tables). I don’t do this and it’s my decision. I rather take a couple of great photographs that the bride and groom will always remember, than hundreds or thousands of photos that they’ll never look at. Otherwise, I prefer not getting involved at all. I might not even have any requests, but that’s not a problem. I prefer things this way. Because, for most of the clients, the price will come first and then quality. For those that want photographs by the kilogram, with thousands and thousands of photos, there will always be enough “photographers” to satisfy this demand. In other words, that’s a “visual scrap”, because most of the times, these photos are deleted.

visible in the reflection.

CO – And how did you work it out?

AS – I went outside, climbed on a garaje and using a reflecting surface and some papers, I got an even better photo than the original one, made in the studio, with professional lights.

CO – Talking about commercial photography, do you think it is a particular type of photography? Do you need special equipment, special lenses, lights, a space?

AS – The lack of a studio couldn’t stop me. On the contrary, I find it a challenge. For example, for Heren, I photographed the bowl I mentioned before, somewhere in a village. I had no lights back then because I sold them. So I kept thinking what should I do and I realized that I could easily solve the problem. Because no one had such huge soft box like I did that day. It was a cloudy day, so it was just fine for photography. So I placed the bowl on a white paper and I simply loved the final result.

The same happened with a photograph made for a bank. I received the assignment through an advertising agency. I had to photograph a product for the bank, and when to take the pictures, I realized that we had a problem with the power – we had no current. So I had to improvise.

To make things even harder, the guys from the agency were actually good in the technical part of photography and studio equipment. They even admired one of the test photos made for the same product and asked me to apply the same lighting procedure, so that the soft box is

CO – I got the idea with the reflectors and papers. But how did you get the reflection of the softbox in the product?

AS – I found a large, white, Plexiglas board and used it as a soft box. The guys from the agency were thrilled with the result and said that it looked even better than the first attempt. So I replied that it was quite expected, since the initial photo was only a test.

CO – So problems can appear…

AS – Yes, absolutely. It depends on how quick and creative you solve them. Because in commercial photography it’s all about the result. No one’s asking you how you got that result, as long as it fits or exceeds the expectations.

AS – Sure. One example could be Estee Lauder (www.esteelauder.com), for whom I used to do, up to a point, all kinds of photo stories. Until one day, when they saw some pictures made by me, and they loved them and asked me to do that kind of photography for them as well. So they gave me five perfumes to shoot on a large format. And that was a problem, since my camera was on a small film, and they wanted large formats, 6 by 6. So I began wondering where I could find such a camera.

And while going home by bus, with the five perfumes, I remembered an old man that had a small photo shop at the outskirts of Budapest. And I also recalled him having some old cameras, for decoration. And among those cameras, he had an old, wooden and leather camera. An old, large format camera, old since the world war, used by photo reporters. So I paid him a visit and told him I needed that camera. He laughed at me, but he gave it to me. So I went straight home and did the setting for the perfumes, in my kitchen. I used halogen lamps, white paper to soften the light and I even got some nice effects in the perfumes, by placing my business card on the back of the glass, so that it formed a nice stylish S shape in the end of the perfume’s name – Intuition. I took the film to be processed and and delivered the photos. It was an interesting contract and the rewards fit the effort. I got paid, back in ’98, the equivalent of 100 Euros for each photo.

CO – Not bad! And you also had fun finding creative solutions. The idea is that you can get good results with almost any gear. Of course, with imagination and determination.

AS – Reasons such as the lack of sophisticated cameras, or lack of triggers and lights, are all cheap excuses. When in fact, the only explanation is you being lazy. Of course it is a lot easier with the right equipment, yet many times it is the lack of it or being poor that makes you creative.

CO – That’s correct! Furthermore, considering that there are a lot of myths concerning commercial photography. One of these myths is that you need a lot of photo equipment to do the job. Can you give us an example to contradict this? And how you can manage without any expensive gear…

CO – Digital versus film. Obviously, digital has its advantages. On the other hand, it has a great disadvantage. Because no one is thinking as much about the final result as it did back in the film days.

AS – When you work on film, with each shot you take, you feel a sting. In your pocket. Something pinches you. And when you trigger a lot of shots, without thinking before, it stings even stronger. And you risk moving the

camera. But if you think before, you learn. And from a 36 camera roll you can learn more that from thousands of photos taken with a digital camera. Of course, exceptions can occur.

CO – How did you end up working with Elite? Did they contact you or you did?

Back in those days I used to earn around 3500 Hungarian Forint (HUF), for the job in the hospital. Therefore, my biggest concern was how would I do with the task I received, in order to buy the film, to process it… But the magazine took care of these aspects. The lady that told me about the fashion presentation told me to go next door to an assistant that would give me the money for that event.

AS – I did. It’s an interesting story. During my military stage, I worked as an assistant for a photographer, in a hospital. My task was to photograph all sorts of moments, surgeries, from the hospital. I used to help one doctor to document his work, for some publications. A new challenge this hospital photography, because all the details had to be seen, and blood was highly reflective. So working in that hospital, I had enough time to think of other types of photography. So I began searching for other collaborations. I thought that I would really love to work as a photographer for a magazine, to do the cover photos. That would have really been an accomplishment!

CO – So what did you do?

AS – I began by seeking the most renowned magazines. I went one day to a magazine shop and looked over the Elite Magazine. I didn’t buy it, because I didn’t have the money, I just browsed it, right there. I copied the address and the phone number and I called them. At first, they laughed at me when they heard my request. I didn’t give up and paid them a visit, armed with a portfolio made up of fashion and models photography. Well, pictures of some girls that I shot for the portfolio.

When I arrived there, they asked me why haven’t I called before. I said I did and someone told me to visit them. So they asked me to take a seat and they asked someone to look at my portfolio. After she took a look, she said it’s ok and that I should go home and expect their call. I already knew the text “don’t call us, we’ll call you” so, after a week, I visited them again. I knocked on the door and asked if they called me, motivating that I had an unknown call.

They replied that they did’n call me but, since I’m already there, they have a task for me, for the next day. I was a fashion presentation and they asked me if I was interesting in photographing it. Obviously, I said I am (interested).

And I received with only a signature, 20000 HUF in cash. That’s nearly 6 times what I earned in a month. I felt like a millionaire. So I went straight to a photo store to get some films. I bought several films, both 400 and 800 iso. I managed to borrow an old, manual flash and went for the presentation. I took several photos and felt that something wasn’t right.

And since the presentation lasted for several hours, I ran to the nearest photo store and processed the film. I processed the 400 iso and saw that the photos weren’t ok. So I went back to the presentation, used the 800 and the photos turned out just fine. I delivered the photos and they loved them. They even placed my name on them. And from that moment on, they kept calling me, every two weeks, for different events. And after a while, they suggested we should do some collaboration, with me as a student. So I received each month 8000 HUF plus expenses. After 8

months they hired me, with salary and benefits. And every six months, they gave me a raise plus all kinds of benefits and also paid for some of the studio. And it’s there that I learned what quality photography means. I learned a lot from other photographers, that worked with large cameras, such as Mamiya. I did the same with Playboy Magazine. I did the first step in contacting them.

CO – So it’s doable!

AS – Of course it is! You just have to know what you want and enjoy what you’re doing. That is, photography!

CO – Because may young photographers are afraid to take initiative. And they prefer to postpone. They are probably thinking “how can I approach a popular magazine, how can I go to them?...”

AS – By bus! In fact, it’s all about the way you see things. There is this nice joke on this theme. A joke with a rabbit that needs a ladder. So he thought about who could give him what he needed, and the bear came to his mind. So he went for the bear’s house and, while walking, he thought about the bear and the fact that he is such a money grubber.

He takes a few more steppes and things of the bear again and that he’ll probably refuse to give him the ladder. And when he finally arrives on in front of the bear’s door, he rings and when the bear answers, he says: “You know what? Keep your ladder! I don’t need it anymore!”

Unfortunately, some photographers do think this way. That they don’t stand a chance, so they don’t even bother trying. To be frank, it is easier to sit tight and do nothing.

CO – Let’s go on. How long does it take you from the idea to the final result?

AS – It depends a lot on the request. Most of the times, if I have an idea, I do it. I don’t like to postpone. If I postpone my ideas when they appear, I probably end up not doing them anymore. Each idea is valuable as long as it is done. The rest doesn’t matter. That’s why I liked the time when I lived and worked in Budapest, in the studio. If I had an idea at 2 o’clock in the morning, I did it. I was right in the studio and everything

was at hand. I didn’t postpone it for the next day. I took the pictures, I processed the film, enhanced the photos and, by the time the Sun rose, I was done with the idea.

CO – How many shots do you take until you are satisfied?

AS – I now use a digital camera, so it’s different from film. It depends a lot on the theme. If it’s my idea and I know what I want to get, one photo can be enough. But if it’s something from sports, things change, because you stand little chance to get it right from the first shot. Or with a single photo. But when I can control the situation and the conditions, one photo can be enough. Because I think everything ahead (composition, framing, lights).

CO – Just how important is the model in commercial, fashion photography?

AS – A lot! For instance, in New York, I met a professional model that otherwise would have gone unnoticed if I saw her on the street. I usually worked 3-4 hours on a photo shoot with models. With her, one and a half hours was enough. And that including make up. But that was all her.

CO – Is the relationship with the model important?

AS – Very important. More than anything matters establishing this relationship. Models that I worked with have had a great time and we developed a mutual trusting relation.

CO – I saw, unfortunately, many photographers that spend more time with the technical aspects than with the person they photograph.

AS – That’s wrong. In my opinion, the camera can be in your hand, but you’ll start taking good photos only when you’ll stop worrying about it and it will become an extension of your hand. And the technical part to become something natural, almost automatic. Things will get better when the technical aspects won’t bother you anymore.

CO – Is it more about the technical aspects or experience?

AS – Personally, I’m only interested in 3 or 4 aspects in terms of technical, and I solve them fast: aperture, white balance, time and iso. That’s about all.

CO – How much is Photoshop in your final photo?

AS – I can’t avoid Photoshop, for it has become the photo lab, the equivalent of the dark room. What I used on film years ago I now use on digital. For instance, if I now use in Photoshop a soft filter, I use it in the same way I did back with film and I placed on my Mamiya lens some hose. I don’t do any significant changes. Only a small cosmetic, if needed.

CO – In other words, you enhance the photo, without changing it.

AS – Right! The changes I make don’t alter the photo nor make it unnatural.

CO – Before we end this interview, if you were to give some advice to a starting photographer, or to a photographer that wants to do commercial photography, what would you say?

AS – To a photographer in general? Or to a commercial one?...

CO – Well, the first steps.

AS – The first step would be to get on that bus and go straight to the agency that he/she wants to work with. The most important thing is to actually do it. because nobody will take pictures for you, nor will it go and get a job for you. And you’ll might end up in the rabbit’s place. J That’s the reason I started this photography association – Erke (www. erke.ro). I don’t want to offend anyone, but I saw many professors and “artist” photographers in universities, that speak about photography, without knowing photography. It is one thing to talk about photography and a whole different thing to actually do this.

CO – Especially in an area where visual is everything. It is harder to believe if I don’t see it.

AS – Another problem is that everyone talks about photography.

Photography is not to be discussed, is to be done. The idea is to be better than others not with commentaries, but with what you do. And when you can do something better than others, you can start giving advice. Like that saying “the more you learn, the more you realize that you know, in fact, less”. And if you follow this idea, you have all the chance to progress.

CO – Has it happen for a photographer to write to you and ask you something?

AS – Yes, a lot. And I always replied. Because I don’t have any secrets in terms of photography.

CO – I remember you saying that if a photographer wants you to teach him/her something, you tell him/her everything he/she wants to know; but if he/she wants to learn a lot, you tell him/her little by little, in case it is seriously interested in photography.

AS – Yes, because more and more want to see results fast. Right away.

They get the camera and they already see themselves as photographers.

CO – Speaking o f that, when can you call yourself a photographer? It is clear that simply owning a camera doesn’t make you a photographer. Best case scenario, you are the proud owner of a camera. Same as with a car.

Owning a car doesn’t make you a driver, or a good driver.

AS – The key word, I believe, is experience. Personally, I don’t consider myself a photographer. Or a good photographer. And that’s not modesty.

I simply know where I’m at and what others do. And there are a lot of good photographers. Of course there will always be worse photographers (than me). It depends on who are you comparing with.

CO – Does talent matter? Can we talk about that in photography? Or, can you do good photography without talent?

AS – You can learn the technical part of it. But in order to take great photos, you have to have the sense for it. That certain “something”.

There was a photographer that said, at the beginning of his career, that in order to be successful, you need 50% talent, 30% ambition and 20% luck. Somewhere at the middle of his career, things slightly changed: 40% talent, 40% ambition and 20% luck. And towards the end of his career, the percentage changed again – in order to be successful, you need 20% luck and 80%... chance.

CO – What can you tell us, in the ending, about the Level 6 studio? www. level6.ro AS – The studio has many directions. First of all, I opened it because I’m a professional. Photography can be done in the kitchen, but when it’s possible, a studio is recommended. The space I chose for Level 6 is large, so you can have two photo session at the same time. So one purpose is for business. And the other is to offer a meeting space for Erke, the photography association I mentioned before. Here we have our meetings and also here the photographers can see and work in a professional studio. The gear is quite expensive to invest from the beginning. So a good alternative is to rent the space and the studio, whenever needed.

Steve Jones Interview (www.urbanomoda.com)

CO - Hello Steve, please tell us a bit about your self as a photographer.

SJ - Hello Camera Obscura, I qualified at U niversity a few years back in media and photography, I love all aspects of photography from commercial, to fashion and underwater photography!

CO – Thank you and “good lighting”.

AS – Thanks. Good luck to you too!

CO - How did you first start in photography?

SJ - I started photography with Olympus film and basic Chinon films SLR. CO - What is commercial photography to you? How do you perceive it?

SJ - Commercial photography is very much lifestyle to me, I think commercial photography has a wide range of scope for the onlooker

but to me its natural feel that motivates me.

CO - Why commercial?

SJ - Commercial photography is in depth so there is always room for challenge and diversity, commercial photography brings creativity and new faces to the world. Visual art mixed with commercial inspiration can been a mind blowing experience.

CO - Do you think that commercial photography has changed since its early beginnings? If so, why?

SJ - I think change is always going to be important, as technology moves though; I feel the real gritty art side of photography has escaped some of us people today. I can’t say that this is all bad; I like that the camera manufacturer’s still make life interesting for the semi professional and professional photographers.

CO - Can we still talk about commercial photography as a general term or do we start calling it with a specialized name (e.g. model photography, food & beverages, automotive, jewelry, product, etc.)? In this regard, are you a commercial photographer or a fashion photographer? J

SJ - I think commercial photography can be mixed in with fashion to a certain degree, but a lot of fashion and couture is more art based I feel and should not be tied into one style or one brand. The thing we must contemplate about photography is that everyone that is involved heavily in photography will express so many views; this alone has made photography what it is today. The chance to create constructive arguments on whether photography is art or other! I believe photography is art and expression and a story of people’s emotions sometimes.

CO - Is this type (commercial) of photography more difficult that other type? Let’s say…landscape photography?

SJ - Commercial and landscape photography are just as hard as each other, all types of photography are hard because the best work always comes from something I quote on a daily basis in photography world “ thought process” CO - Is it more expensive?

SJ - Studio and fashion work can be expensive, but so can commercial and landscape CO - What about more rewarding? Is it more rewarding? In what terms?

SJ - Reward is the day when you expect very little but get rewarded with

something amazing with your cameras. I feel comfort on days when lighting is on my side, and feel and mood all combine together to make a great shot. Financial reward is not as important to me as self motivation and a great shoot.

own ideas and vision with the requests of the client? How do you solve such situations?

SJ - Easiest way to solve a clients request for work, is to make sure you understand composition, rudimentary and thought process. Let’s not forget lighting though. Once you have the basics of composition and feel and emotions behind your work you should stand good ground for the right type of client CO - When did you know that this is the kind of photography you want to pursue? And what do you think was the reason behind this decision?

CO - “To light” or “not to light”? (that is the question). Can you do commercial photography without artificial lights? What do you prefer?

SJ - If I’m very honest, I started out as a Ferrari photographer on basis work, but someone convinced me I do people and lifestyle photography better. They was right, I am addicted to people and lifestyle work now.

SJ - I loooove natural light; and artificial light. I have created shots with normal kitchen spots lights that have convinced people I have used Bowens or studios props. It really is all about test and pushing the ideas.

CO - When do you stop seeking for clients and they start seeking you? Is there something like a threshold?

CO - Anything else that is important on this topic that you think we did not cover?...

SJ - 2009 seen me network more than take many photographs, although I did take some good shots occasionally last year. I have only just seen clients follow my work, so I can’t say at this moment I am very sort after.

YET! J

SJ - Yes composition and the emotional side of creativity, but you covered the questions and presented them well.

CO - Since it is commercial photography, do you have to balance your

CO - What does it take to be a good photographer?

SJ - Thought process! The love and the will to keep pushing yourself!

CO - What does it take to be a good commercial photographer?

SJ - A good photographer; & a creative mind!

CO - In the ending, what suggestion(s) would you give to a young photographer starting out in this area (photography in general, commercial photography in particular)?

SJ - Do not be swayed by peoples comments unless you really feel it constructive carried with weight and experience. Read the principal idea of photography, view others work as the internet holds every tool; but stay clear of text books style photography and created your own dreams.

It’s not the price of a camera it’s the “thought process” and sometimes the glass in the lens. Fast lenses are important sometimes!

Giuseppe Parisi Interview (www.g2-studio.com)

CO - What was your first encounter with photography?

GP - My father always loved photography and he would take pictures of my brothers and I when we were just little kids. Dad owned – and still has – a Canon T70 film camera with a 50mm, 135mm and 70-300mm lenses.

I remember that I would ask my father to let me sneak a peek through the viewfinder to see what it looked like. Cameras have always fascinated me during my teenage years, I used to make sure to have my old Lomo film camera with me – a gift from dad – every time I had a chance to make a trip. However, it was not until 2004, when I started considering photography as a serious hobby – then as a job – after that, my father was given a digital point-and-shoot digital camera as a present for his birthday. He had never learnt how to use it, therefore the camera became mine. From that moment on, I started to study photography, learning the composition rules, understanding the light and how to capture it the way I wanted. But, the most important thing was, that I could take advantage of my computer skills to achieve the complete freedom in the manipulation field.

CO - Would you call yourself a commercial photographer? Or simply, a photographer?

GP - I would rather consider myself as a visual artist and not only as a photographer or a commercial photographer, which sounds limiting to me. Although photography is my main activity, it often inspires me to push my imagination beyond what I capture with the camera. Thus, many times I find myself manipulating and/or painting over my photos, which are like a blank - yet detailed - canvas where I try to create what my imagination tells me. The digital painting and matte painting techniques are fundamental in my workflow, especially in my noncommercial works.

I always try to shoot and paint what really pleases me: photography must amuse photographers in order to bring the best out of them.

of quality is the photographer’s ability to see the reality through the eye of the camera. The photographer’s task is to be able to find the magic and the beauty hidden in the simple things of our everyday life. That is what amazes the beholders: to know that they are part of what they are viewing.

CO - What is, in your opinion, a good photograph?

CO - What do you think are the qualities that make a good photographer?

GP - I think that a good photographer is the one who can tell a story with a single simple image, using minimal and effective compositions that speak more than a thousand words. The knowledge of the basics of composition and light are fundamental whether you follow or break their rules. This creates a work- which uses an international visual language, giving the photo the power to convey clear and neat messages and emotions. At the top of that, what really makes the difference in terms

GP - What really makes a photo a good photo is not its following the photography’s rules nor being in focus or digital noise free: it’s all about the feelings and emotions it moves in the heart and mind of the beholder.

Unluckily commercial photography does not follow the rules of “artistic” photography and its standards claim a perfectly noise free and evenly lit image with a good commercial value. What is really important to know is, that when a photo does not apply for a commercial selling or does not meet the standards of a certain agency - and gets rejected - it does not mean that the photo is not good. Commercial photography has its own rules that are beyond the scope of judging the artistic value of photos.

CO - Is commercial photography more difficult than other types of photography?

GP - I do not consider the term “commercial” as a category, but as an adjective which defines the directions your effort are going to be put

in, in order to make your photos sellable and eligible to be selected by commercial agencies. I do believe that today everything can be sold and all the category of photography (landscape, portraiture, food, architecture etc.) can be commercial. Commercial photography is not more difficult than other types of photography, what is really difficult, is constantly trying to find new concepts and original ideas to represent in your shots. My priority, is to strike and capture the audience’s eye in order to consider my works commercially successful.

them?

GP - I would simply describe my photos as the mirror of who I am. My photos reflect all my passion for nature, cooking, drawing, painting, body building, music and foreign cultures. Talking about how people describe my photos, I can say that posting my works on a photographic web community, does help to understand how people react to my creations, and that helps me to improve and fix my techniques and style. I receive many compliments for being quite versatile in my style and for the ability to combine photography with painting.

CO - How do you choose your subjects/topics?

GP - I always try to name my feelings and give them a visual identity using my body – when possible - to convey the message. My conceptual works come from my emotions and life experiences, which I feel the need to express through my art. This way, all the fears, doubts, pains and problems I depict weigh less in my heart. The cathartic side that photography has for me, is that spark which inspires me to create new works.

CO - What is your greatest enjoyment in your work?

GP - My greatest enjoyment is when I get to make something special, magical and unique out of a simple and dull situation. My goal is to achieve a certain equilibrium of shapes and spaces in my works plus a right balance between the Concept of the photo and its Aestheticism.

However, the climax of my enthusiasm is reached when I get to change the reality with my manipulations, especially when people cannot notice CO - How would you describe your photos? How would others describe my intervention in the shot.

CO - Any future projects that you are working on?

GP - I have several projects which have not been realized yet. I will probably publish a cook book of Italian and American cuisine. It will gather my favorite courses I have been cooking, shooting and collecting in the last two years. Besides that, I would like to illustrate with my matte paintings the Odyssey of Homer and the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. Those are two literary masterpieces, which I have truly loved since my early days at school.

CO - What advice would you give a starting photographer? What about a photographer starting in the field of commercial photography?

GP - My best advice for a starting photographer is to study Photography as a school subject, trying not to rely on your aesthetics sense or artistic ego only. It is extremely important to learn how to use retouching softwares and start setting up your own workflow in order to efficiently meet the standards of commercial photography. However always try to achieve

your best while shooting, instead of fixing your mistakes afterwards in digital. The equipment does not make the photographer, but it is wise to start saving money soon and invest them only after a good period Melinda Nagy Interview of practice and training with amateur equipment. Photography is an expansive activity but it can give you great satisfactions in return..

CO - When was your first encounter with photography?

MN - I received in 2004 a small compact camera and began playing with it. I took it all over with me, feeling the need to learn and experiment as much as possible with the camera and light. In the mean time, without being perfectly aware, photography became an essential part of my life.

CO - Why commercial photography ?

MN - Out of luck, while searching something on the Internet, I found some microstock photography sites that, unlike traditional photography agencies, sell photos at a lot smaller price, for a larger number of customers. They also have a huge photo base, because a contributor can become anyone whose photos correspond to certain quality criteria. It is an online system, very fast and efficient, that connects photographers and clients all over the world, that in my opinion can be(come) a serious competition for traditional photography agencies, as well as a simple way for selling images.

CO - Is commercial photography different from any other types? In what way?

MN - While artistic photography can find a purpose in self, like art does, commercial photography serves other purpose. Commercial artistic photography is involved in portraying concepts in order to sell products.

This does not mean that commercial photography can not be artistic, or that the boundary between these two types of photography are that rigids, yet I believe that the two types can differ in the way they are used.

MN - Photography in general must portray an idea, a concept, a life style, so that it can be used in commercials or article illustrations. That is why I try to approach themes and concepts searched on the market, such as the Internet, environmental issues, recent problems, or photos about all kinds of holidays. Many times I link stock photography to other activities such as a concert, a football match, a walk in the city, or a trip can be a good reason to take photos and sell them.

CO - As a specific category, you approached “stock photogrpahy”. Can you detail a bit, why you chose this category and what does it involve?

MN - A brief definition would be “everything that sells”. Since the possible clients come from all kinds of advertising and designing agencies, small publishing houses and small firms, thus the photographs must cover a wide range of categories, from product photography and fashion/ glamour, to scenery, portraits, nude, abstract or press photography.

CO - How do you choos your themes?

CO - On average, how much time do you spend on a stock photo, from the idea to the final result?

MN - It depends on the photograph. If I have to look for a special occasion or a particular model, of course it takes longer. Then there is the processing part, that can take from seconds, such as adjusting the contrast or cropping the image, to several hours, in the case I apply specific effects or make a photo collage.

CO - What would be the advantages in stock photography? Or the disadvantages?

MN - Like I said earlier, one of the advantages is that micro stock concentrates the demand and supply of images from all over the world, so it is a simple and easy way to find customers for your photos. Of course, that is if the demand is high enough and the photos uploaded are varied, original and interesting enough to survive from the pool of images. Also, although the copyright belongs to the photographer, once bought, the images kind of loose their identity on the Internet and becomes impossible to track their route in order to know who is using them and on what purpose.

CO - How would you describe your photos? How do you think your customers would describe them?

CO - What characteristics should a stock photo have in order to be accepted and downloaded as many times?

MN - In order to be accepted in the data base, it must respect some general esthetics criteria, to be clear, without chromatic aberrations, with a well thought composition, no noise, etc. In order to be downloaded as often as possible even months or years after being accepted, it must be original, thus having an added value compared to other similar photos.

MN - At first, I tried to copy the photos that had the biggest sales and learned a lot about stock photography by doing this. On a long term, the imitation will not work, because the search engines will show only the good photographs, the original and well thought ones. That is why I try to upload fewer photos and more inspired ones, or to discover new themes, that do not have such a big offer. Of course that in the portfolio remain the older photos as well, that these days I probably would not recognize, yet on the first page always remain the newest and clearest ideas and photos. I do not know who actually purchase my photos, though I believe that there are some customers that return to my portfolio, because they know they can find different photographs on the same theme.

CO - What advice would you give a photographer that wishes to approach this type of photography?

MN - To upload high quality photos and to be very patient. Because building up a rich and diverse portfolio takes a lot of time that eventually will pay off.

Shipler Photography Collection

One of the largest commercial photography projects of the 20th Century, it comprises a collection of 10000 images, presented online (http:// history.utah.gov/research_and_collections/photos/shipler.html) by the Utah State Library Division., from a collection of over 100000 photographs.

The collection spans from 1903 to 1980 and the online images are mostly from the earlier decades. The collection is the work of commercial photographers James William Shipler, his son Harry, and grandson George William. The Shiplers had a photography business, but they also loved to take photographs of their own interests, including sports, travel, and such leisure activities as fishing, biking, and auto racing. The topics depicted in this collection include: Topics: Agriculture, Apartment Houses, Architecture domestic, Business enterprises, Cities and towns, Commercial buildings, Construction industry, Death, Ethnic groups, Floods, Mines and mineral resources, National parks and reserves, Parades, Parks, Recreational areas, School buildings, Sports, Trade unions,Transportation, all from large areas such as Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Ogden (Utah), Salt Lake City (Utah), Utah and Wyoming. The Shipler Negative Collection provides a comprehensive pictorial history of buildings, people, events, etc. in the Intermountain West. The Shipler photographs frame a time period that is gone forever.

The Shiplers were master photographers who practiced their craft with skill and style. The images in this collection, especially during the initial years when they used large format (mostly 8 x 10) glass negatives, are among the finest found anywhere.

This collection documents change in a very accurate manner. The Shiplers were in business for nearly 100 years and had repeat customers.

They were called back to photograph the same businesses and industries over and over again, dramatically documenting changes. These pictures add to our historical knowledge, recording small, often overlooked details. They document a changing society--from horse to automobile to airplanes, from rural to city, from farm to industry, from single family dwelling to apartment houses, and from small shops to large

department stores. Since the Shiplers almost always included people in their photographs, they show those who experienced these changes: young boys in the local Boot Blacks Union, construction workers who built Utah’s buildings, mine workers, and women working in local candy factories.

We therefore invite you to watch a selection of approximative 100 photographs (less than 1%) from the impressive Shipler collection that, along with other similar collections, have placed the basis of commercial photography as we see and experience it today.

Agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture

Apartment Houses

Apartment Houses

Apartment Houses

Apartment Houses

Apartment Houses

Arhitecture, Domestic

Arhitecture, Domestic

Arhitecture, Domestic

Arhitecture, Domestic

Arhitecture, Domestic

Business enterprises

Construction Industry

Construction Industry

Construction Industry

Death

Floods

Floods

Mines and mineral resources

Mines and mineral resources

Mines and mineral resources

Mines and mineral resources

Mines and mineral resources

Parades

Parades

Parades

Parades

Parks

Parks

Parks

Parks

School buildings

School buildings

School buildings

School buildings

School buildings

Sports

Sports

ŠThe Shipler Commercial Photographers Collection

Sports

Sports

Sports

Transportation

ŠThe Shipler Commercial Photographers Collection

Cities And Towns

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