Anoush Abrar
First of all, some biography please. How did you start, what inspired and what are your current projects. Where do you work and what you do now.First of all sorry for my English…I enter in an art school. I started graphic design, actually I am a graphic designer and then I did a specialisation in photography, then I did a master in photography. My inspiration was a very big curiosity. Actually that's why I took photography because I was a little tired to stay in front of a computer and I really wanted to meet more people. In the end it not so different because I still stay in front of my computer after all. I manly work in Switzerland but we are doing, Aimee and me, a lot of work for international magazines.
What could you explain about your photography style? Why did you choosed that kind of style? What inspired you?I always thought that I don't have a style but I was wrong because when I see all my picture I see a small red line… I never tried to create my own style. I just followed what interested me. I like when there is some paradox in the picture like something nice and ugly, attracting and repulsive…
Ok, but what is your inspiration?My inspiration is mostly movies, sometimes books & stories…etc…I don't really know exactly… Actually I am not inspired in the beginning of my work. I usually do some pictures, some test and I see something interesting and I work on it very deeply. Sometimes it work sometimes not, who never know..
What is your opnion about photography and photoshop? Is it really necessary and editing in photoshop is a really essential thing for photographers?Absolutely not ! Photoshop is just a tools like the camera. 90% of my pictures until now are absolutely not retouched. In the beginning I used photoshop only to erase the dusts. I am not against photoshop but people need to understand that you can do some nice thing with it and also some very bad things. When I take a picture it is already in my mind. I know before that I will need photoshop or not. I know if I need special effect or not and if something is not like what I was planned… Some artist use photoshop in the way that I like : Jeff Wall, Gregory Crewdson… They us it like a tool to arrive at the idea they had 2-3 months or a years before…
Could you describe the process of taking a picture… Le'ts say you decided to shot (http://www.anoush.ch/images/Yanna/05.jpg) How did you start and what did you use?That pictures was for a stylist. We had all the ideas… The only thing that she wanted was horse or something. First you need to find a good location. We went there (1 week before) and we saw carefully the location. We talk & wrote some ideas. Even sometime we draw quickly something… We know that things will change constantly, there always a part of hazardous that you need to control and sometimes not… The days of the shooting you already know most of the chapters, you just need to right the story…
For this picture we us a 4×5 camera with flashes. The picture is exactly like that on the negative…
So you use film cameras, not digital? Why?It is really rare when I use digital. The only digital camera that I have is a little one that I can put in the pocket. Our background is artistic so we have some kind of attachment to the films. When you do a 4×5 shoot it is possible to make a huge print with it… Not with 22M digital back. When we do picture we imagine it on the wall like an art picture. I have noting against digital camera at all. We made a choice 1 years ago between a big digital back and a big scanner. We choose the scanner in the end. When you are in the middle of the Sahara you don't need a computer or battery and memories…just your camera and some films..that's all. In the end it was the best choice because when a magazine hire us for a fashion shoot or a studio portrait we can then rent a digital back or a digital camera. We will have the last one the market and we don't need to clean it and be careful for the transportation…
How many years you are doing photography? Did you learn it in school? Also, do you think it's important to go to photography school?I did photography for almost 5-6 years. Yes I learn it in school but mostly the art field. The rest I lean it by my self and I did a lot of experimentation. I am a professor now in the University of art in Lausanne. I really don't thing that is necessary to go in an art&photography school to be a photographer but it helps a lot. Specially if you go to the right school around the world… For me, going in an art school, was the most important thing that I did in my life. I studied electronic before :)
What would you suggest to youg photographers? Any important things maybe?Do your own thing but be cosecant. Invest yourself and go to the end of your ideas even it will not be good in the end. Show your work but accept critics, specially the bad ones. Be humble and respect the work of the other photographer even you don't like them works because you don't know them and you don't know in witch context they made there pictures. Most important, go see the pictures in the galleries and see books…
What are your plans for the future?I don't really know…probably more fashion/poeple/celebrities and continuing doing my own personal work… You never know and that is the most exciting & frightening part :)
Did you ever have such moments when you are out of ideas and inspiration. What do you do in these situations?Hoooo YES ! Everybody those… I thing the best thing is to not thing about that at all. Just go out with your friends, have a dinner, talk to people, read and see…
Could you tell us about the work process with Aimee? How come you are together and what it behind it?We were in the same class in the art school. We did our own route and we won almost the same contest. One day an art director of a magazine ask us to do a work. We decided to do it together and we really liked it. At this moment we start working together… In contraries of other photographer we are not in couple. We are like sister and brother !
