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It seems like light and color play important roles in your work... The only photography course I ever took was that one at the ICP. I kind of taught myself photography, and the way I did it was I bought all kinds of Hollywood portrait books from the 1940s, '50s and '60s. I think I paid something like $5 a piece for them at Barnes & Noble. I picked out pictures that I liked from the books and analyzed them, asking myself why I liked them so much. That's how I started to learn how to light objects. Those pictures use dramatic lighting, and they influenced how I light my subjects today. In the beginning, I shot mostly black-and-white. Eventually, I started moving to color and discovering the inter-relationships among colors. I also started experimenting with different light sources in order to learn their potential, whether to use them alone or mixed. I really like it when color is deep and pops out in a picture.
They're clean and simple, and that's always been my wish. Part of that is because when I first started out, I didn't have much equipment or resources. I had to make due with what I had. But it might also be part of my vision. I like simplicity in life in general, not just photographs. Where do you seek inspiration? In a variety of places. From the different areas of photography that I do, of course, but also from other things, like street photography. I get a lot of inspiration from the street and people in general. I like the interaction, the play between the person I'm photographing and myself. It could be just a couple walking down the street, seeing the buildings in the background, the way an arm is being held around someone, a facial expression. Or when you look into a store from the corner of a street, and you see what's going on inside and then what's going on outside. It could be from the top of a balcony, looking down and saying, Wow! But I also get inspired by great pictures, paintings and performances. They give me a lot of good ideas. How can you guarantee a great photograph in an unpredictable world? I think a lot of it comes from having a good photographer's point of view, and of course experience. A good photographer should always be able to take a great picture with whatever equipment or situation present. That's the challenge. It's about vision. You should be able to finagle a great shot with whatever is available. Who taught you the most about photography? The name that always pops up in my mind is Irving Penn. There are tons of photographers that I like, but in general it's Penn. His portraits are simple, yet he still finds angles and expressions that are unusual, never forced.
Interacting with people. Sometimes, it's the unexpected that happens when you photograph people. Even with fine art photography. I might not have a pure idea of what I want, but I'll just shoot and let things happen. Have you ever felt uneasy while photographing? I learned very early on how to handle larger productions. I remember one of the first shoots I ever did-- I let too many people direct the model. I realized then that if you let everyone talk to the model during a shoot, you quickly lose control. And it takes a lot of effort to get things back under control. A photographer has a subtle relationship with an art director. The more planned you are beforehand, the more comfortable an art director will feel at the shoot. It's important to talk to the art director, ask questions and have a dialogue beforehand so that you know what's going to happen during the shoot. As a photographer, you have to realize that you're the one who is going to be blamed for everything, no matter what. So you definitely need your agency's creative input, but in the end, you're the one who makes things happen. It's a balance. How important is the documentary work that you do? It's very important to me because I learn a lot from it that applies to other aspects of my photography. More importantly, though, is that it enhances my soul. I feel like I have a strong ability to get close to people, and they feel comfortable with me. That's why I love documentary work. I enjoy doing one or two stories a year, in depth.
I actually really do. I like it because it involves production-- models, hair, make- up, stylists, and a creative process with an art director and creative director. That whole undertaking, from putting together the art director's idea to putting my touch on it, is fun. It's teamwork, and my team and I work very well together. I trust the stylist, hair and make-up people and assistants. There's a lot of money on the line, and you can't fail. That's why you need the best people around. Something unexpected always happens on a shoot, and with a good team, it's not a problem. What have you been working on lately? I'd been working on an editorial of Cirque du Soleil and got to know some of the artists. I asked them if they wanted to come down to my studio-- I knew they'd be in town for only another week-- and to my surprise, they said yes. They came down the next day, although I really didn't have anything in mind for what were going to do. I figured, let's wing it. Well, we worked for about six hours, and I gave them some Polaroids to take home. The next morning, I had five other calls from others acrobats, all wanting to participate. So that whole week, I was photographing day and night. It turned out great, and we had a lot of fun. That's one of my strengths-- improvisation. And I think you need a lot of that when you deal with people so that they always feel comfortable. What are your future plans?
I'm really happy with the different areas of photography I'm doing. My goal is to continue to expand that work, and to go to a couple of places a year and do those stories. In the pipeline is a story about the Roma people in Romania, the West Sahara people and a story about women in Bougainville, in the South Pacific. I love editorial photography because I meet people I'd never meet otherwise. The tricky thing with editorial portraits is that you don't usually have much time-- it can be from five minutes to an hour, but usually it's less rather than more. Do you have a dream assignment? There are so many things I'd like to do. I don't think there's a particular person I'd like to shoot. Usually, people start thinking about shooting famous individuals, but that's not really what entices me. I've photographed Bill Clinton, Lauren Bacall, Donna Karan and others, but I must admit I really enjoy photographing people who aren't famous. Like a person in the middle of the desert of Mali. A dream assignment? How about shooting the worldwide campaign for Nike for the next decade? - Contributed by Sarah Richards >> See more work from Kristofer Dan-Bergman>> See other member spotlights on the member spotlight index >> Find out more on how to become an altpick.com member |
