Photographer Julian Laidig: “My biggest project is my very own online magazine HOLE (http://www.hole-magazine.com), which presents stylists, hair and make-up artists, photographers, designers and of course models”
My way to photography was more out of desperation than conviction, to understand this as my future career. Due to the Austrian education system I had to choose by the age of 15, to do either a normal school with graduation or to do a professional training, including graduation. As it made more sense to me to do the professional training,
I was even more motivated to find something suitable. I wasn‘t good enough for the entrance examination in neither management-, graphic design nor multimedia training and so the most obvious one was the job as a photographer with which I had really never dealt before. Over the time I noticed, however, that my photography is quite good and my work got appreciated by many people.
I’m fascinated by the character and appearance of the people with which I’m actually working until today. What is that one person really like? Can I reflect the inside of a person just by their facial expressions? Is it possible for me to trigger emotions to the viewer with just a single photo? Exactly to these three questions I always wanted to have an answer. My challenge was to achieve exactly this – with every photo I took. Only after three years of intensive work with human emotions, facial expressions and gestures, I’ve turned more and more into fashion photography and I’m trying to use all my experience to make expressive photographs even with minimal staging.
I’ve just turned 21 and, therefore, I’m at the very beginning of my career. There is so much more for me to discover in the near future. I’m excited to see where the journey takes me, so I just cannot make any plans ahead. But however, this is too inspiring to me, as that I can turn my back to the portrait and fashion photography. I find this difficult to imagine.
Digital X Analog
Digital photography has caused a complete change in the medium of „photography“. In my opinion there are two different types of photography: On the one hand, the analog photography, which has never made any post production, spoken from the camera shot until the finished image. And on the other hand there is the digital photography, which is mostly dedicated to the digital post production.
In analog photography, you have to work purposefully, with limitations and under certain conditions in order to take the desired image. The photographer must be able to imagine the exact motive and also needs to realize it until the end. Only the contrast, sharpness, brightness, composing, cutting, some colors or perspectives can be changed in the post production. But in the digital photography all of this is, of course, also possible, but even so much more!
The photographer is no longer forced to run after a perfect shot from the start of his shoot, but has the potential, thanks to an image editing program, to transform that not so successful picture into a great one. Digital photography so uses elements, which wouldn‘t be possible like this in the analog photography.
The Hole Mag
Right now my biggest project is my very own online magazine HOLE (http://www.hole-magazine.com), which presents stylists, hair and make-up artists, photographers, designers and of course models. They are presented to a larger audience with an editorial and an interview. I love working on the magazine, because it allows me a closer relation to other people in the fashion industry and I get to know their ways of working. On the other hand I’m happy if I can support other creative artists on their career path.
Worldwide economic crisis on fashion photography?
We should not focus too much on the question, what happens when the industry experiences financial losses. Luckily, fashion is something that will never die. I’m not worried that me or my photos won‘t be needed anymore, even if the entire fashion industry becomes smaller than before.
With photographers it isn‘t so much different than with the designers – noone, who excites the crowd, disappears from one moment to another. But you should always be prepared. Occasionally in these times it can be helpful developing your work even further and it is challenging to achieve something perfect with even limited prerequisites. Creativity is priceless.
The special moments and the models: a win-win situation
The “perfect” moment is when the location, the staging, the pose and the look of the model is in perfect harmony. When I look through the lens and in a fraction of a second, hundreds of stories are told to me – exactly this is the time to push the shutter button.
It is always a win-win situation. The models need the photographer, just like the models are essential for my work. They have photos from me and I’ve good photos for my portfolio.
The funny backstage´s moment: a barely dressed model on a road barrier!
Once I had an outdoor shoot. It was like 41°F and I shot an editorial with summer fashion. I was just about to photograph a barely dressed model on a road barrier. Since I looked most of the time only through the camera lense to focus on my model, I had not noticed that I had brought the traffic and the pedestrians to a complete standstill. All stopped, because they wanted to observe the model.*smile*
Top cool favorite places for a shooting
My current style is pared down and clear, so I could make the most of my editorials in the studio and I’m therefore much more flexible and spontaneous when I plan something.
However, I’m slowly more and more getting the feeling that I‘d like to bring the big city flair or the “quiet range”, like the mountains or the sea, into my pictures.
IMAGE worth a THOUSAND WORDS?
It always depends on the photographer. A picture can only tell you something, if the viewer has the ability to interpret several credible stories in this one picture. Stories which he personally sees, feels or believes to see and feel. Only then you can speak of a nearly perfect image.
Upcoming projects
My current biggest upcoming project is the second edition of HOLE (www.hole-magazine.com), for which I will shoot another three to four editorials. And if I‘ll ever find some more time, I‘d like to organize a major exhibition on “Beauty” in Vienna and Berlin this summer.
Motto: “Start setting yourself unrealistic targets to achieve the realistic ones”.
When you´ll come to my world?
Brazil is beautiful – just like its people! Unfortunately I did not have the time to fly over there yet but as I‘m planning several international projects for later this year there might be a chance that I‘ll be soon in Brazil, too.
