Are you really going to tell me you've never learned anything from looking at other's work? I would find that highly amazing if not highly improbable. And if you still insist you don't, then the question becomes why?
Chris, I think we are getting embroiled in semantics.
I grew up digesting
Life (available in India at the time), buying all the
Popular Photography Annuals for several years; the late, great, lamented British magazine edited by Norman Hall called, simply,
Photography where I had my first published girl; buying a huge collection of books by Peter Gowland, Peter Basch, Don Ornitz and Russ Meyer. As I moved along, I admired Bill King, Richard Avedon, Albert Watson. I bought years of subscription to
Playboy, British Vogue (where, much later, I had several spreads of travel fashion shoots),
Nova, Harper's Bazaar, French PHOTO, Pirelli Calendar Book (two editions) and God alone knows what else.
Yes, I saw a helluva lot of stuff, ranging from W. Eugen Smith and, via the fashion kings (and one or two great fashion camera divas) to the pinup kings, as I remarked above.
But did I learn anything?
In the sense that I believe you to mean it, no. That I simply had to be a photographer, yes, that I did confirm for myself. All that drifted off slightly from the original plan was that I had had an idea about travel books: photographing places and writing about them. Got into that mindset because I used to read a lot of such material as a child. That, and detective fiction. An attraction for the movies led me to write to David Lean who, to my surprise, answered and suggested the way into the business was moving to London and a job as a tea boy. I lived in Scotland. No chance.
As for ‘learning’ how to shoot things – I always seemed to know.
I had to go to photographic night school as part of the deal when I joined my first professional photo-unit as a trainee. I lasted a couple of terms and quit the course when I realised the employers didn’t really give a damn if I went or not; the actual push came from within the night the guy ‘teaching’ portraiture on a bloody wooden camera and using photofloods (I already had made up my own flash brolly unit with modelling light, which I used at home) informed me that were he to photograph in the maner of David Bailey (one of my then contemporary heroes), he would abandon photography. As I had no intention of using half-plate cameras, looking at women upside down and buying a neck brace for the sitters (or for myself?), I voted with my feet. I never went back. I now realise that there are certain people who do like looking at women upside down, but I don’t figure I’m one. Maybe I missed a marketing niche?
So if you did refer to stylistics, techniques, I think not. I learned zilch from anyone. However, had I ever been an assistant with one of the stars of the fashion world, I’m sure I would have probably have had to become a clone. On the one hand, I regret never having had the opportunity but, at the same time, I didn’t do too badly, so it ended okay if a smidgen too quickly for the absolute happiness of my bank account!
I know pefectly well that claiming to have always known how to make images might sound like another ego exploding; I can only confirm to you that that’s how it felt. It’s like falling in love: you just know when it’s right, and if you don’t, don’t! The closest I can get to discovering I’ve learned anything is this: I hate vulgarity in pictures; I love to make women as beautiful as I can. None I’ve seen is utterly so, but some can help us create the myth together. Maybe my idols taught me that?
;-)
Rob C