ISSUE

magazineforvisualstorytelling

3SWIMWEAR +BEACHWEAR

wilde

ARTBUYINGANDTRUST

As a photographer I understand thatwhen a client hires me, he or she is buyingsomething that does not yet exist. It is allbased on trust - an element so valuable itmakes gold and platinum look cheap.

Trust leads to lifelong businessrelationships and friendships. Trust buildsempires and enables the creation of greatworks. Trust is the fuel that lets you reachthe stars.

The biggest fear concerns that elusivemoment of creation. With all the expensivecrew and talent hired, and the costly

Trust is the most important partin a business relationship. You needto be able to trust that the personyou are giving a contract to has thefull abilities to meet or exceed yourexpectations.You want to feel that trust, that if

a problem arises, that professionalcan solve it and reach the goal nomatter what. And maybe even rideon the boost that is provided, whenchallenge spikes inspiration.

trustart buying and the elusive moment of creation

location set up: what if there is no spark toset off the chain reaction of great creation?

I’m not talking about preparation.Listening to the client, getting the idea thathe or she wants to see the company berepresented by, mood boards, story books,sample video clips, extensive locationscouting and talent casting: that’s all agiven.

A Performance

I mean the very moment the shoot starts.The energy that is in the air, and the “righthere, right now” atmosphere. The dancer ison the stage, the actor steps onto the scene,the cameras roll, the orchestra startsplaying. There is no doing it again. This isit.

What is this trust based on that the artbuyer and the client have in the creativewho just starts that performance - which aphotography or video shoot actually is. Andin photography shoots, other than filmshoots or theater productions, there is norehearsal.

How can an art buyer or a client trustsomeone they have never worked with? Yes,there is a portfolio, but you almost neverfind the exact picture you need in aphotographer’s portfolio. And even if youdid - you don’t want an artist to copy hisown work.

A client wants original work that is

created in the moment, that sparks withactual life just like a great actingperformance that seems to happen,unrehearsed and unscripted, in front ofyour eyes.

From my experience, a “no spark”moment is unlikely. Like a performer, I getinto that state of mind in which I willperform the shoot during the prep period.At the shoot, I connect to the keyperformers and get that energy to them.There is a telepathic moment in creationwith others. It’s not just what I say, it’s meas a whole that transfers the mood witheverything I say, and how I act. Acting ispart of my work.

About the fears of “blockage”: creationisn’t done through the brain only. It’s notfollowing a set of instructions, and whenthere is a disturbance, you get messed up…No, not at all.

Performance involves your mind, yourmemories, all the things you ever did, read,or experienced - your whole personality isactive in the moment. It is me as a wholewho is out there working with the camera asI have done since I was 15. I am workingout of my whole existence. If anythingchanges, I will react to it, and the shootgoes on. I am in the moment. I amexperiencing it.

Sure, a beginner can be so nervous hemesses up. In my earlier years I noticed

that. But experience continues to train meto focus and react right to things thathappen. If an earthquake swallows thelocation... all right, let’s see how we cancreate the shoot with a hole in the groundinto which the Pacific Ocean flows, andmaking it look like a water ghost in a “TheLord of Ring” style saga. Anything thathappens is a great chance to make thingsmore exciting.

With my experience and character, myown style continues to grow. There’s ascientific explanation why the true artistalways works and doesn’t go blank.

It’s called neural pathways. Every timeyou do something, a pathway is created inthe brain, an avenue of action, and whenyou do it again, it is enforced. Manythousands of times I have taken the cameraand been in the moment and photographedwhat I experienced right now and createdan original image, not a cliche that lookedlike somebody else’s work. Each time theneural pathways were enhanced in mybrain. I couldn’t even break down andbecome a copycat photographer if I wantedto, because my pathways force me to do itmy way.

It’s like riding a bicycle. You don’t need tothink of pedaling or keeping balance, youonly need to think of where you are going.

Where does this go with trust? It’s a gut

thing. The portfolio is the tip of theiceberg. You delve into the character of theartist to see the other 90%. There you findthe character… his future creations. Trust istrust in character. What an artist doesnaturally because he is built like that.

So the basis of trust is this : “Are you forreal?” Does what you do come out ofyourself. When you create, do youexperience it? Or do you just copysomething like a robotic artist copyingwhat’s “hot” right now? Are you like theactor who can make you feel that he’sexperiencing what he’s playing, or are you aham actor roboting off a studied series ofmovements and words?

Are you for real? That’s the basis of trust.When trust is established, the path is opento create truly great work.

Instead of copying a look, matching a setof pictures to create “something like that”,true, original, fresh work is being createdthat resonates with the whole industry.

That’s what clients ultimately want: tohave images of great emotional impactnobody else in the industry has.

COMMEN

TARY

For the real world.

1.

Prepare like NASA: think of alleventualities.

2.

Script the shoot like in aHollywood movie: mood boardand story book.

3.

Only an original artist canshoot in the moment andcreate original and uniquework that causes trueemotions and emotionalinvolvement of the audience.Stage 1

Concept and goal: establish look and feel ofcompleted pictures and character of story.

Stage 2

Create script for the shoot: mood board andstory book.

Stage 3:

Cast talent that can perform the script. Scoutlocation. Hire crew and producer.

Stage 4:

Prep shoot with talent, so they know exactlywhat to perform, instruct makeup, hair, styling

Stage 5:

Create time table for shoot. What will be shotat what location at what time.

Stage 6:

Moonshot - the shoot. Shoot in the moment,create original work and give clientrepresentative opportunity to monitor progressand results of shoot.

SANDY BEACHES

Sometimes is seemed thatthe ocean would reach outbeyond the horizon andconnect straight to theinfinite space of the

universe. Then she doveinto the waves, swimmingwith big strokes towards

the Andromeda galaxy, thehorsehead nebula, or theillustrious star system of

Fomalhaut.

GOLDENInterStellarSwimFashion Story. Models:Aleksandra Nikolic andMalgozata Moksecka,styling Madison Dixon,makeup/hair AngéliqueCerniglia

OnBestFriendsTermsWithTheLureOfTheHorizon

IAm

Radioactive,Baby,AndSoIsMy

World.

TheRoadCutIntoTheLandscapeLikeABlazingThought.

ItSeems

AsIfIt

wereonly

yesterdaythatmom

had a saywhereI go.

IAmLikeVenus,BornFromTheWaves

Caper themovefromtheglassycavesMoveto thegroove

of theprancingwaves

The sea lionWorkedup aWalter MatthauGrumpinessWhenTheSplashingOf the girlsChased awayHis fish.

OceansLoveGirlsLikeMe

IknewYouWouldCome.

MayTheseDaysNeverEnd.

Robert Wildewww.robertwildephoto.com