THE MAN BEHIND THE CAMERA

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

How did you land in photography? What caught your interest?

That was actually quite unspectacular. I’ve always been fascinated by beautiful images that managed to engage me. So, I went with it and of course produced a heap of crappy pictures at first. For five years I was busy with Photoshop, devouring endless tutorials and books on the subject. During my training I managed to buy my first Nikon reflex camera with my savings.

The more time went by the more useful material I produced, and now I’m relatively happy with the output, even though I keep trying to improve myself.

What do you like most about your job?

I like the versatility and variety pulling me away from office routine, and I really appreciate delivering great work with great people. In the best case this has little to do with work because everybody gives their 110%, simply because they feel like it. That brings the best results in the end.

What’s your greatest challenge when shooting?

Not many good pictures happen by accident. For everything to work out well in the end I have to at least think about, consider and weigh 14,731 things ahead in time so that I can get the perfect picture later in the office. Yes, that does show in my hairline.

What inspires your photography?

In the beginning it was mainly the work of other photographers. Today, it’s above all the good vibes when the entire crew goes full throttle during a shoot and you know instantly that you are burning really good shots unto the cards in that very moment.

Do you carry a camera in your private life, too?

If I don’t happen to be in the sauna, yes. At least in the car I always have a camera on board.

How do you approach a photoshoot?

That depends entirely on the task. Basically, I give a lot of thought to every single shoot. I go through the process from start to finish in my mind to be ready for all eventualities. On the set things often turn out differently after all. Then I have to be quite spontaneous. For example, when the lens keeps fogging up at -18 degrees Celsius. Or when, against all expectations, the weather changes suddenly but the return ticket is already booked and we have only one available slot to shoot a subject. It never gets boring. I don’t have standard angles, that would be too much of routine for me. As much as it sometimes totally stresses me out, I also love to try out new things all the time.

What do you need to shoot a good photo? How can you take beautiful pictures without great equipment?

I see, the big question. I always say: Taking good pictures has nothing to do with equipment. Or in other words, if you point a camera worth 10,000 euros in the wrong direction, the equipment isn’t going to help.

This means that it’s more important to imagine the subject, assess the light properly and develop a feeling for location and angle. If you got all of that, you will take amazingly good pictures even with a cell phone.

Professionals use professional cameras because they allow them to get the desired picture reliably under all circumstances and with the optimum workflow.

What makes a picture perfect for you?

The mood! A picture must transport emotions! If it captures me and I lose myself in it, it’s a good picture. Bad pictures rush past me and everybody else a million times.

Nowadays, most photos are changed in postproduction, with the keyword being Photoshop. Is photography still necessary?

The short answer is: yes.

The long one: It is very practical to remove disturbing elements or to juice up the picture a bit. But you can’t turn a milk carton into a Ferrari just because you work on it in postproduction for a week. Maybe the robots will be doing that in the future, but as of today the most important thing for a good picture is still a good picture.

What do you look out for when editing your pictures?

I’m not fond of excessive postproduction. The images should have an impact on the viewer, draw attention, looked at for a longer period of time and create a cinema in the mind. To achieve that it’s often enough to clean up the subject a bit, enhance contrasts and add more power to the colours. But, as I said earlier, location, light and angle have a stronger impact on how catchy a picture is.

Dos & Don‘ts of photography / personal tips for the perfect picture

Cameras are increasingly equipped with more functions, and so many think that a good picture can be obtained automatically using the respective features. But that’s not true. It’s not about the buttons on the box, it’s more about how much time you allow yourself to play around with them. Trying things out, getting a feeling for focus and image composition – you can’t buy any of that.

That’s why my tip for anybody who wants to start photography is: Get the camera you have and take pictures of something that inspires you. Over and over again.

Take your time, try out different approaches, be well-prepared and stand back from your pictures from time to time.

Get inspired by other photographers, tutorials and criticism, and don’t try to photoshop something into the picture that isn’t there. That usually kills the mood. This way your pictures will automatically improve step by step. It’s a lengthy process every good photographer goes through. Nobody wakes up one morning and is Helmut Newton.

What was the most unusual place you shot in?

There have been a couple of wild locations. From a pig stall to an abandoned amusement park and a salt desert. But the most unusual photoshoot took place in a fetish studio. But that’s a different story.

The funniest incident during a shoot?

During a shoot I always try to make sure that everybody is having a good time. That’s important especially when you have to be highly focused to deliver on the fourth day in a row. One highlight, however, was definitely the ride in a police escort and 50 super sport cars through Munich. Amidst the traffic jam one driver removed his metal spare can from the G 6x6 to fill up his Bugatti as calm as a cat. In the heart of Munich!

The most annoying incident during a shoot?

In the very beginning, I once dropped a camera in a brook. That day ranks high up on the f++k-it list, but I learned how important it is to always carry a backup camera.

Apart from that, there are always hurdles some way or other: a wet bum, frozen toes, ice-cold fingers and sand (always and everywhere) are the standard. But even that has its own highlights. Last year, for example, the DOTZ winter shoot took place on a cross-country ski track. The cross-country skiers who were present on site had a completely different interpretation of that event than us, and they let us know about it at very high volumes.

Otherwise the good things outweigh everything else. And that’s why I still consider myself so lucky and am grateful that I love doing my job which enables me to meet such great people.