Interview with Vincent Laforet 22/10/10
Natalie Lloyd
Two years ago Broncolor photographer Vincent Laforet was a name associated primarily with high end commercial photography that incorporated innovative tilt-shift techniques with aerial shots. Roll on this year and Vincent has become one of the most progressive men in the industry, pushing the boundaries of photography with his work in the field of HD-capable DSLR cameras. Already, Laforet has collected a hoard of awards ranging from a Pulitzer Prize to becoming a three-time winner at the 2010 Cannes International Advertising Festival, and he assures me that he’s not going to stop now.
N: The transition from your work from still to motion appears so fluid and effortless – still applying your same visual thumbprint to both mediums, do you think it’s hard for a photographer to make this transition? Or is it something that came naturally for you?
V: Everything looks fluid from the outside! I think of there being two types of film making that photographers might be entering (generalizing here of course). There’s the high-end level like the movies you see at the cinema which involve Art Directors, actors and the camera having a lot more movement; and then there’s the other side which has a lower “production value” if you will – which is of course for the photographer to aim form at least initially. Film making is a craft that combines many different skills – not something that anyone can learn overnight – it takes time. That’s understandable – I think that most photographers would find it insulting if a Film Director came into photography thinking he could translate everything he knew into creating a fantastic still image without having to learn the nuances of the still photography craft. There’s a learning curve on both ends. As a film maker you have to learn about the nuances of moving a camera and how to light continuously as opposed to lighting with strobes that photographers usually work in. Photographers create a story in one image, the decisive moment, and that image lives and dies on it’s own merit whereas in film the idea is to get each image/shot to flow to the next seamlessly – you have to know how and when to switch angles and movement to better tell the story – and to allow it to flow.
I think it’s important for photographers to at the very least experiment with video and not be afraid to do so, and to understand that it’s OK to ask questions. I from a friend that Spielberg called an animation director from Pixar in because he was impressed with one of the camera moves he’d used – it was one that he’d never seen. The point is: even Spielberg is looking to continuously learn and grow. My father told me one of the reasons he loves photography is because even after 20 years in the business he hadn’t stop learning.
N: If you had to give one piece of advice to a photographer who currently works solely in still imagery but is looking to make the crossover to motion imagery, what would it be?
V: Stop watching television passively! You have to start deconstructing what you see. Ask yourself: where is the camera? How is it moving? Is it a wide or close-up shot? How is the scene lit? How are the actors places and why is the director choosing this shot, or movement versus another? It’s also incredibly useful to watch really bad movies – you can learn a lot from them, as you can see what is being done in those movies that clearly doesn’t work.
N: It sounds like there is a lot to consider, how do you keep yourself motivated?
V: I have a bit of a ‘disease’ if you will; I really like to be the first to do something and I’m not destined to walk on the moon! Therefore I focus on what I can do in my field. I’m always looking for new ideas, things that haven’t been seen or done before, even in photography I was constantly looking for unique angles or ways of shooting the “same old thing.”
N: The progress of digital technology and open source information has meant that we are now able to share all these innovations at a rate that we’ve never achieved previously; most predominantly through social media. Do you think it’s important for photographers to look at blogs?
V: There are people out there that can live in a cave and still produce the work of a genius… I’m definitely not one of those people … Ever since I was 15, I would look through every magazine, book, and newspaper that I could get my hands on – and not just in my field… I’d look at fashion, fine art, nature – even though I was studying to be a photojournalist… It’s important to look at these and other places for inspiration, to understand what’s trending and what other people are doing. That way you can avoid “falling behind” but I hope more importantly – that you can set your own trends by doing something new – that isn’t being done by others.
You can catch Vincent, Broncolor Speaker at Shoot NYC, October 28th-29th along with workshops on blogging, trending and film making for photographers.
WIN-Initiative is proud to sponsor Shoot NYC 2010
http://www.shoot-nyc.com/
http://www.laforetvisuals.com/
http://www.win-initiative.com/
