I had the opportunity to meet and interview Eliot Siegel, a fashion photographer who wrote a book titled 'The Fashion Photography Course - The Essentials' which I'm constantly flicking through for tips after a friend for it for me for my birthday. Eliot also runs a modelling agency and conducts photography workshops, all this on top of being a professional fashion photographer. I had the chance to ask him a few questions on topics I wanted to get opinion's on, such as studying a degree and working in the Fashion Industry.
What made you choose Fashion Photography as a career?
When I was in my final year at university in the USA I was only going to plan on being a Fine Art Photographer, I had my final end of term exhibition up, which was sort of edgy black and white portraits. A new professor came in to critique and he looked around and was very complimentary. He said to me “I bet you’ve never took a commercial class” “Absolutely, you’re right” I answered ”…because I’m an ‘Artist’ I want to be a fine art photographer hanging in galleries” “I hope your parents are rich, it’ll help, the time it takes to get into galleries could be extensive, you like shooting people, take it a step further, fashion!”
I don’t know anything about fashion, my dad’s a plumber. It was a challenge, however he liked my work so much that he would do an indepedant study with me if I wanted to pursue the idea of fashion and get a portfolio together. First thing I went to the library, looked at Paris and Italian Vogues. I was really impressed with the level of photography, these guys are shooting clothing as if there fine art photographs, ones you would display on your wall as opposed to throwing in the rubbish which is what I had thought of commercial photography.
The people at the top end of the market are artists who just happen to be photographing beautiful girls with beautiful clothes on.
How would you describe your style?
Erm, its interesting because when I first started I realized that you really need to have a style, my initial style was following my love of movement, dance and movement. I would have people flying in the studio, flying down the street, flying across the street. Everything in movement, sometimes easy movement, but most of the time big movement. That’s how I started my career, more lately I’ve decided to combine a whole bunch of different things, but keeping it cohesive by actually putting together what’s probably the first collection of polaroid transfer fashion. So we’ll have to see where that goes because that’s just begun.
How do you juggle writing books, a model agency and workshops all with your photography?
Oh I’m terrible at juggling, I often think that if I was really focussed I would just stop doing a lot of the other things and only do 1 or 2. Juggling is difficult, I don’t juggle relationships because I just can’t do it, I do find when things get busy in several different areas I have a hard time dealing with it. Luckily I have a few assistants who help out, but in the end it’s me who has to make all the decisions. But yeah juggling is very difficult for me and I wouldnt suggest it to anyone else. Getting your priorities straight as a photographer is difficult ’cause we like doing so many different things, its in our nature. It’s like finding a style, when you look out and around you see 100 different styles that are just great, everyone is just beautiful and individual. You need to make that choice somewhere along the line, which direction you want to follow as soon as you start going professional, it’s not enviable that position.
What is your career highlight?
Gosh, I don’t know… erm (laughs) not to say it’s been down hill ever since, but the most amazing thing was the feeling when I went to Milan from New York, I took my portfolio around and all the art directors and editors said the same thing, it looks so New York, you really need to spend some time here, maybe do some photographs here then come show us again. One of the interesting things they said was that my portfolio was too much about photography and not enough about fashion. I spent the next 3 months in Milan breaking my backside photographing as many models as I could, and put together a whole new portfolio using the Italian countrysides and rural urban areas. After 3 months I thought to try it again, put your ego on the line and call everyone again, on the first day out I had two appointments and got a job straight away from both of them. Strangely enough I didn’t want to start as a mens wear photographer and they were both for mens magazines. At the first magazine there was a freelance fashion editor, it was in the studio, men in beautiful sharkskin suits flying around the studio. She said when the shoot was over “I’ve got a shoot coming up for women, for Omega magazine, we’ve already booked the photographer, he’s okay at movement but not as good as you”
The money had ran out at that point, I went back to New York, it was Christmas holidays, I was hoping for, but not expecting something to happen, I got a phonecall from Omega saying they want to call me back for at least 2 stories, 24 pages worth. I thought well, that is a Christmas present. I dont think I’ve ever felt anything quite that good, every time I work I enjoy doing what I do so much whether its fashion, fashion is the passion. Photographing women, men and children is exciting to me.
Do you feel its necessary to do a degree? or is it better to just go out and learn it without the safety blanket of university?
Different strokes for different folks I think, the reality of it is when I left university I went back to New York thinking okay I’ve got a great portfolio, I’ll just start working now, what I didn’t know is that’s not the way it goes. So when I started seeing advertising agency’s they asked “who have you assisted in New York?” “Oh nobody, I don’t want to assist I just want to go straight to work”
I could see the wheels turning in their minds, they basically said it would really be to your advantage to do some assisting, even if it was for a year. There is alot to learn, you’ll find out who the model agency’s are, you’ll work with the models, stylists, make up artist’s and fashion stylists. You’ll get to know their agencies, you need to start building up relationships with these people, and get a whole new portfolio together because your university portfolio looks just that, a uni portfolio. Simply because of the models, styling and make-up. They could see the potential in the work but the actual outcome wasn’t good enough to compete with professionals. So you have to assist anyway pretty much, the learning curve is really really difficult. Everything you learn in university technically wise you could learn on your own.
For me the best fashion photographers need a good strong basis in art, so in the fine arts, you can get that a lot more easily by doing a degree or you can do that on your own depending on how self motivated you are. The bottom line really is they don’t care what school you went to, they’re going to look at you, look at your portfolio, talk to you, find out whether you actually know anything. It’s not going to matter whether you have a Bachelors Degree or a Masters Degree, they just need to know whether you’re an okay person, you’re not an idiot, not going to break the lights, drop the cameras. After a year of that you have a much better chance. School or no school it doesn’t really matter, its just personal choice. in photography you don’t need a degree as a professional photographer. The good thing about university is that other people are around to criticize your work.
What do you wish you knew before going into this industry?
That’s the thing about assisting, it helps to teach you a lot about the industry, coming out of university you don’t know anything about what professional models are like, or what real make-up is like y’know?
Who are your personal photography heroes?
Hmm that’s funny… Jacques Henri Lartigue, Richard Avedon, Guy Bourdin, Jean Loup Sieff. I take a bit from everybody, I mean there’s a billion fashion photographers that I love.
Yeah, one of my favourites is David LaChapelle.
The only thing that bothers me, I like LaChapelle’s work. It’s just all digital, totally manipulated, its a complete manufacture. I don’t care about purism as soon as I picked up a digital camera my need to be purist went out the window. I don’t over manipulate, but I’m happy to use Photoshop to make my photographs and people look that much better. The possibilities are endless you could make your portfolio that much more appealing with it.
Describe working in the industry in 3 words
(laughs) The. Industry. Sucks. ERM, working in the industry I don’t have good feelings about the business end of the industry, thats all about money, I don’t do this for the money, I do this for the love of fashion, photography and movement. I just love making images. They’re not concerned with those things, yes they expect the best they can get for their money, but their bottom line is different to mine photography is about love.
What are your plans for the future?
To start spending more time in London and writing the second book. A lot more travelling, I want to spend more time with this new technique, I expect to be in Paris and Milan more.
Your second book, is it elaborating on the first one, or something completely new?
My second book is called ‘Photographing Models: 1000 poses’ aspiring fashion photographers they’re on location or in studio, the model comes out, gets ready and stands there and says ‘I don’t have a clue what you want me to do’ and the photographer thinks ‘I’m new at this, I dont know what I want you to do’ so this book will help clear that up. It has a lot of sequences, how to pose standing, sitting, squatting, anything.
Thank you for the interview!
Thank you.
Eliot’s new book titled ‘Photographing Models: 1000 Poses’ is available to Pre-order HERE.
Interviews posted every Wednesday on TallBoyBlog.blogspot.com
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