I personally am not in this career to make money. I’d rather have respect from my peers and, if you follow your dreams, most of the time, money follows. I think as a photographer in the day and age, you have to have your work border the artistic/commercial line. If your work is too out there, the advertisers will be hesitant to book you. Mario Testino and Nathaniel Goldberg border the line very well. They are commercial photographers BUT shooting amazing editorial as well. When I met with Art Partner during my search for a rep, they told me they are a commercial agency. It’s a balance between art and commerce.
CAMERON KRONE: I think Photoshop is valuable for blemishes and touch ups. Photoshop wasn’t around in the 80’s when Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, and Richard Avedon were around.
The best photographers can get the image 99% there without Photoshop. I think of Zinc when I think of too much Photoshop.
CAMERON KRONE: I’m proud of most all my work at this point. When I started, I was trying to find my vision so everything was experimentation. I found my voice in Sept 2007 and have been following it since.
PONY RYDER: How would you describe your style as a photographer?
CAMERON KRONE: Sleek, classic, minimalistic, clean lines, strong, sophisticated, sensual, modern. I dislike anything that is overlit, which is why Hedi Slimane and Nathaniel Goldberg are my favorite photographers.
CAMERON KRONE: Bob Richardson, Terry’s father, influences me a lot. He didn’t give a fuck what people thought of his work and his B/W work is amazing. Hedi Slimane’s work also inspires me.
He OWNS B/W. Everyone used to tell me to shoot more color but, like Hedi, I want to own it and do my thing. Nathaniel Goldberg’s work is so classic and sophisticated. His lighting is incredibly simple but his work evokes so much emotion and grace.
PONY RYDER: With who do you want to work in future?
CAMERON KRONE: Models: Freja and Anja Rubik
Stylists: Nicola Formechetti, Alastair McKimm
Celebrity: Kiera Knightley, Kanye West. Lenny Kravitz, Barack Obama
CAMERON KRONE: Listening to rap music gets me so pumped. Get a little Jay-Z, Kanye, T.I., Rick Ross and I just imagine dong big things. Michael Phelps listened to Lil Wayne before every race. Kanye West and his entire personal makes me tick.
CAMERON KRONE: I take my best photo ever after every shoot I do. Ask my assistants! After every shoot, I’m like, “Dude, that was the best stuff we’ve ever done!!”
CAMERON KRONE: I became a blogger because I saw how it helped out my friends businesses. I also have so much personal work that I cannot put on my main site.
I want to write about whats going in my life and have it serve as a portal where I can showcase the work of those work inspires me.
Blogs are a great networking tool! If I photograph an amazing new face, I want to tell everyone how good she is and the blog enables me to do this.
CAMERON KRONE: Upgrading to a medium format digital (Hasselblad H1 w. P30 back) made a huge difference in my work. It slowed me down, I took less frames, and the image quality is unmatched. A good playlist gets everyone in a great mood (Ask Ben Watts!) and good assistants are key.
CAMERON KRONE: It’s super tough starting out but dedicate everything you have to it. People will give you all sorts of opinions but take everything with a grain of salt. Knock on doors and don’t stop until they open.
Persistence is everything. Be passionate. Be kind. Take every small opportunity and try to get everything you can out of those. Ask tons of questions to people who inspire you. Have a few mentors, drink coffee, don’t sleep, do 2 things a day that will advance your career.
Fall into debt at first if you have to (Trump was billions in debt at one point). Stand by your work. TEST, TEST, TEST!
Make friends with model agents. Assist until you know how to work the lights but no longer. Go to Parties. Meet people. Follow up with everyone you meet.
PONY RYDER: Personally, what do you enjoy photographing the most?
CAMERON KRONE: I love shooting people the most. Any kind/Any shape!
CAMERON KRONE: A model has to have a spark, a personality that makes her stand out. I hold castings before every job. If a model and I don’t click, how are the pictures going to turn out. You cannot fake chemistry. People see right through it.
CAMERON KRONE: I think so, but it depends on the photographer. At this stage in my career, I cannot “make” a model like Meisel and Testino can. They can pretty much choose to break a new face whenever they please. I, on the other hand, can make beautiful images of these new girls, but it is up to the big dogs to choose and develop the new stars of tomorrow.
CAMERON KRONE: Elisa Sednaoui @ ONE is potentially the best model I’ve worked with. She’s worldly, sophisticated, intelligent, and moves better than anyone I’ve ever shot. Ellen Von Unwerth and I were talking about her backstage @ Marc by Marc show saying how much presence she has.
Katie Fogarty @ NEXT has the most remarkable face. She’s the next big thing. She transcends in front of the camera.
Flo @ Supreme has an amazing face as well. She really inspires me.
Myf @ NEXT is one of my faves as well. The girl is WILD! I had her on top of a statue by Gracie Mansion flicking it off. She started running and jumping, sticking her tongue out, etc. At Marc Jacobs backstage, she was wearing a bat necklace. Myf is the girl!
Other notables include: Helouise @ Women, Noot Seear @ ONE, Kemp Muhl @ Marilyn, Martha Streck @ Supreme, Linda V @ ONE
PONY RYDER: So, by your opinion, who would you say has „the blue chip” vibe?
CAMERON KRONE: Martha Streck, Myf, Katie Fogarty!
CAMERON KRONE: I think solid B/W photos can have much more impact than color photos. There is less information so it comes down to the connection between the model and photographer and the feeling.
With color, you can sometimes make up for the lack of emotion/feeling by using crazy color gels, etc. Avedon was one of the most influential fashion photographers of the 20th century and his work was primarily B/W’s on grey/white/black. I started out shooting primarily color photos but fell into shooting mostly B/W as of late.
My style evolved after 2 solid years of shooting. After doing over 100 model tests, your work seems to take on a life of it’s own and one day you start noticing what your work is all about and what you should be conveying with your images. But, then again, I do work on keeping my style as consistent as possible.
CAMERON KRONE: It’s easier shooting guys. They can just stand there and they don’t really have to pose like girls do. But, girls are more fun to shoot. I get into shooting girls more than guys. Cole is the best male model I’ve shot. He moves so well and you have to give him almost no direction.
CAMERON KRONE: Elisa Sednaoui and Myf Shepard.
Exclusive interview with fashion photographer Cameron Krone is original work and courtesy of Pony Ryder blog.