A. I would call myself lucky if I would have a career like Rob C: In the south with a camera and a beautiful model without art directors, clients and iPhone/Blueberry holders in the neck who want the picture yesterday and want the legs of model A posted to the body of model B and the head of model C.
B. That is at least the way I understood Robs career. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
C. Is a photographer important, if he/she photographs so called important people? In the long run I don't think so. Avedon understood this, consequently "In the American West" and the images of his "father" are his real heritage in my opinion. Look what Liebovitz published in her latest books.
Am I able to make a meaningful image? I ask myself every day. And I have no answer. But I keep going on.
Best,
Johannes
Hi Johannes,
A. Yes, it was pretty much like that for me, but perhaps because of two principle factors: first of all, it was a period (Golden Age?) when that was what quite a few photographers were doing because there were clients around who had faith in their companies and were also trying to outdo one another in their publicity; secondly, the lack of art director/client interference was because I had to find my own clients up in Scotland in order to find much work at all. That led to me doing everything myself which, in turn, meant that the budget was mine to spend as I thought best for the production. I was never much good at clubs, pubs, joining in, and all that sort of social stuff and so working alone with my wife to help out suited us both perfectly. We weren’t always left alone, but mostly we were able to go away on location without people hanging about.
The best part of the career was certainly the calendar era, if only because the client interface was brief: first meetings around February to discuss the theme and/or possibility of the production; a casting in London to find the models; the shoot during some time in summer, and then the editing and client approval of the final cut for the production with delivery late November/early December (with luck!). That way, there was no reason for living in the northern part of Europe; I also had airline contacts because of my travel brochure stuff and flights were no problem. Speaking of which, in those days, there was a lot of quid pro quo going on in business: flights/hotels in return for magazine credit lines for tourist boards, hotel groups, travel operators etc. the world was alive with industry and cooperation
B. Broadly, yes, you were right about the career, but like everything else, it had to end with the changing times. That hurts still, today; not just the money but the buzz. The thrill is gone.
C. Does it matter if the subject is ‘important’? I would say: very, very much! And that’s because of the impact that their status makes on me, the photographer. It’s the reason why the better the model then the better the work you can produce: her perceived value raises your game. It can go the other way, too: I was booked by the Scottish Design Council (regular clients) to shoot pics of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh doing the opening of the Centre’s building in Glasgow, decades ago. I got the shots of them arriving and entering the property, and then when it came to HRH signing the Visitor’s Book, I wasn’t allowed into the room by Security. I walked away and sat down in the PR’s office and waited; in a few minutes there was panic as he came running in looking for me. Together we went back to the little gallery where the ‘signing’ was taking place, just in time to catch a raised pen! So in cases like that, it can go the other way: no time to think of anything different, just save the situation as rapidly as you can, which isn’t a good way to work, IMO.
But with models that didn’t happen; the better they were then the further you could go in following your ideas because they were open to doing what you wanted and, better yet, had a head full of good ideas of their own which wasn’t just a repetition of what they did for everybody else. That’s also why people who shoot a lot often tend to find themselves drawn to using the same model a lot: you both develop a silent language of understanding, of communication, that saves a helluva lot of time and stress, and you already know what not to bother trying.
It’s better than sex. (Perhaps it really is a form of sex!?)
Rob C
