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It was by chance, that we discovered photographer Michel Keppens on 500px about two weeks ago. After we've seen his portfolio of amazing pictures, we immediately asked him for an interview. And here we are to introduce you to this talented photographer from Belgium with an interview.
Michel, please tell us a little bit about yourself to begin with. (How old are you, Where were you born and where do you live now, What is your profession and do you have other besides photography?
I am not actively involved in any other artform but photography. I do like to watch, listen and emotionally feel the work of all kinds of artists. I love music, in all its varieties, I also can enjoy an afternoon in an art museum, but most of all I like to watch what is going on around me, be it the wonders of nature or the unpredictable behaviour of people.
I am a self-taught photographer. That means I had to learn everything from books, from the internet and from what I saw from other photographers. I still read a lot and I watch the work of other photographers. All those images I see create a melting pot of ideas in my head and then all of a sudden, there is this one thing that gives me an urge to do something with it. That thing could be a location, a colour, a type of lighting, a person (I love redheads), almost anything really. Lately, I have been working a lot in my new studio to search for its boundaries and limitations and see how far I can push things there and in there I often let the model be my inspiration. I have to admit that the better your work gets, the better the models get that would like to work with you and a lot of the momentary inspiration comes from the interaction with a good model.
I have always been interested in photography. When I was younger, I mostly took photos, on film of course, during trips and holidays. I wasn't very interested in having people on the photos and I even avoided it if I could. The subjects then were landscapes, nature, architecture, special buildings, etc. Anything without people on it. From every trip, I chose an image which I would then print in a 20x30cm format and hang on this one wall at home, creating a kind of wall of memories. And then my cameras broke and I didn't have a lot of time and slowly the passion for photography shrunk to a little flame… Some 5 or 6 years ago I bought a digital camera and started taking photo's again. I joined a local photo club and discovered the joys of working with people as a subject. Since then, I have been on a steep learning curve and with every model I photographed, I learned something new that I had to try as soon as possible with yet another model.
I can't really remember the exact cameras I had when I started, but I do remember I had an Olympus and a Minolta at the time. When I rebooted my photography some years ago, I started with a Nikon D60 with a kit lens and soon after I bought a Nikon D7000 and a Nikkor 50mm 1.4G lens. It is incredible what you can do with a fast prime lens. Then came the speedlights and triggers for off-camera flash, modifiers, etc. Now I have a Nikon D750 and a D600 in my bag with some zoom lenses and some primes and I use Profoto lighting gear.
What is your favourite lens?
Without hesitation I would say my favourite lens is my Nikkor 85mm 1.4G. It is an incredibly sharp lens with a magnificent bokeh. I use it for almost all my portrait sessions. It is fast, it is relatively light (if you compare it to the Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8) and you can still zoom it… with your legs.
It all depends on the type of work and the requirements of the client. The following is more or less my workflow for a TFP shoot. A lot of time goes into the preparation of the shoot. Setting a date and a time. Discussing the theme with the model. Choosing a location (if it is not my studio) and contacting the location owners. Deciding on whether a MUA, hairstylist or stylist will be necessary for the shoot. Then moodboards and more discussions on the theme, so all parties involved agree on what we are going to do. For my part of the teamwork, I think about lighting. What do I want it to look like? What do I need for that? During preparation I make a couple of lighting schemes in my head. That is a starting point and during the actual shoot it naturally evolves from there. The RAWs then go into LR where the best images are chosen and where I do some basic adjustments (WB, highlights and shadows, color correction, …). Those images then go to PS for a detailed retouching process and back to LR when finished.
I see myself influenced by many photographers. I try to keep an open mind for all kinds of people photography. It is amazing what you can learn from simply watching a photo. What colour combinations work, poses, shooting angles, choice of light and the feeling it creates… But if I have to mention some photographers by name, I would say Lindsay Adler had a big influence on me, but also Annie Leibovitz, Sean Archer, Emily Soto and so many more.
I try to use different styles, but in the end, I think my photos are mostly sensual and soft and in colour, although I do like some black and white from time to time.
Among your works, which is your favourite and why?
I use to say that my best shot is the one I am going to take on my next shoot. Being a perfectionist, I always try to improve, to do better than before. Nevertheless, there is this one portrait of Laura Palmans in a brown coat and with a hat on, taken in only natural light that will always be one of my favourites.
There was this one time I was shooting on location. When on location, I often tether wirelessly to my laptop. The way I work is that the RAW image goes on one SD card in slot 1 and on the other SD card in slot 2, a small jpg is created that is then transferred through a Wi-Fi connection. I tested the tether and all worked fine. Images showed up on the laptop as they should. So I started to shoot the first sequence and only after maybe 20 minutes I realised that my first SD-slot did not have a SD card… So I only had the small jpg's, not the RAW's. I was deeply embarrassed when I told the rest of the crew what had happened, but luckily we were still at the beginning of the shoot so not too much damage was done.
To people that start out with photography, I would say that all photographers at one point started with a first camera and a first photo they took and had to learn from there. Nobody is born a legend. What I mean is, you don't get anything for free. If you want to be a good photographer, you will have to put in a lot of time and effort as is the case with everything. Better, more expensive gear will not make you a better photographer. Learning from your mistakes and being passionate about photography will.
We recently have been able to admire some of her fantastic pictures on facebook and 500px. Photographer Jessica Napolitano does not just take photos, she creates artworks, that move between dream and reality. We definitely wanted to introduce you Jessica and were lucky enough, that she accepted to go for an interview with us. She also provided some of her great pictures to show them to you here in Streetfashion MagZZine.
Jessica, please tell us a little bit about yourself to begin with. (How old are you, Where were you born and where do you live now, What is your profession and do you have other besides photography?
Hello everyone, my name is Jessica Napolitano. I am 22 years old and I was born in Gaeta. I live in Italy precisely in a small village called Santi Cosma and Damiano in the province of Latin. In life as well as to dedicate myself to photography, i help in a family company. I love traveling. I love hot countries. I am a very open person, cheerful and always ready to help others.
Fundamental characteristic of my photographs is the creativity, that accompanies me since i'm a lucky girl. Why? Because through photography you have a vision of the reality, that is more ''fantastic and expanse as in a fairytale''. To say it short: It is as if I thought like a ''child", that seeks to create that kind of atmosphere, you find ''there''. As well as being creative I must say I am also a good observer. I observe everything around me and even with a ''simple location'' I can often pull out the best or rather hopefully;) I always loved pictures in general. I think the camera can reveal the secrets, that the naked eye or the mind does not grasp. Everything disappears except the one, that is focused with the lens. Photography is an exercise in observation and a ''challenge'' to consequently creating through it the combination of truth and beauty called art. But another very important thing as well as the ''creative'' is the makeup artist. To me the makeup artist plays a vital role in getting the photos already good before the post-production. I was lucky enough to find ''Lina''. She ''facilitates" the job with her tricks nothing less than from fantastic to perfect. Without her, i think, the result would not be the same!
I always loved photography in general, but I never studied this passion, until I had the good fortune to meet a great person, my boyfriend, who is a portrait photographer. Initially i lent myself to him as a model. Then about 7 months later I decided to stand behind the camera and I truly have to say" I LOVE THIS FORM OF ART ". I love it as you see in my pictures. I love to create atmosphere and the perfect location. To say it short: I love EVERYTHING. It gives me really a lot of satisfaction and i'm even more pleased with the result, that I managed to get it done in such a short time.
I started with a Canon 600 d and now use the Canon M III. My favorite targets are 2:85 mm and 35 mm, of course it depends on many circumstances which one to use. Usually I need about an hour to create my pictures and the programs I use are ''photoshop and lightroom ''.
As I said before, I was ''influenced'' by one person. That is my boyfriend. For me it is now a point of reference as well as in everyday life, even in the work, and it is great to share with him this passion. We help each other and I hope to become more and more clever, because in life you never stop learning.
My favorite photo, I have to say, comes from my last shoot and the title of the photo is ''relajacion''.
The fun thing I like have to tell you, because I always enjoy taking pictures, but I remember one in particular, when i was some weeks ago together with my best friend to take some pictures. She is not a professional model, i was working with, but for me she showed herself very willingly to take pictures. I asked her to do something really easy and trivial that is to ''create movement with her hair'' and at the same time to be able to look into the camera. But all without success. The only thing, that I could capture in that shoot (we were trying an hour to figure it out) was a sea of laughter, looking at the pictures on the display and it really were unnatural poses :) so the photos from that day I call ''Valeria Marini''.