finding the icon inspiration
the story of working with the legendary marc hauser
Did it ever happen to you to day dream of working with one of your idols? Surely, most of you have been there at some point in your lives...and we are not the exception! While studying photography, we learned about a lot of great photographers and their practice. Of all, one in particular struck our attention: Marc Hauser.
If you don't know him, let us give a small introduction. Marc was one of the first photographers in Chicago...This is back in the 60s, when film photography was in its golden era. He started his career at the age of 14 [yes, you read that right!] working as an assistant for fashion photographer Stan Malinowski. By the time he was 18 he was working on assignments for big companies like Rolling Stone Magazine, Vanity Fair and Playboy. Three decades later, he has a portfolio of thousands of amazing photographs, many of whom include renown celebrities like David Bowie, Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates, among others [the list is infinite! Google it]
The first time we heard Marc's name was during a lighting class. He is mostly known for studio portraits that have a distinctive look. The lighting in all his photographs is simply perfection, with a gradient from light to dark that is always flattering on his subjects. Each photograph he takes is simple, yet bold. Our minds went crazy, observing his images over and over again, wondering how he achieved every single detail. Little did we know that few years later, we would be asking all our questions to the master himself.
Last year, Marc was in need of an assistant during his sessions. When we saw the job posting we almost couldn't believe it. Visiting his studio in West Town was almost like visiting a "Disney World for photographers". The walls were filled top to bottom with his most iconic portraits and throughout his studio were boxes filled with his work from the past fifty years. We wandered around for a bit, until he arrived and introduced himself. Being in his presence was both fascinating and intimidating at the same time. After talking for a bit about the job, we started talking about his career and portraits. When we asked what did it take to get a great photograph all he said was, "I give everything I've got, to get everything I need. A great photograph cannot happen without trust."
That sentence resonates in the back of our heads to this day and has become our number one rule when taking photographs.
Working with Marc has been an incredible experience that we will cherish forever. He taught us that sometimes the beauty of an image is in its simplicity. He would always say, "You are overthinking too much. Just let yourself go and let the image come to you."
When Amanda came to us for a portrait session, we knew we wanted to create a homage to Marc's philosophy and work. We kept the studio setting as simple as possible: one light, a reflector and a table. We asked Amanda to sit, started photographing and let the perfect image come to us. Maybe we are a bit bias, but we absolutely love how her photographs turned out.
Tell us, who do you dream of working with? Do you have any "golden rules" you like to follow? Leave us a comment below and don't forget to subscribe....It's studio sessions' season and you don't want to miss our special offers!
