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Interview with Garrick Wheeler
September 12, 2012 by Tristan in Interviews
It’s been awhile since we’ve posted an interview, so it’s fitting that todays interview features and awesome photographer by the the name of Garrick Wheeler. Check it out.
Tell us a little about yourself?
Im a self taught photographer for about 5 years now, little geeky, and light hearted. I love meeting new people, seeing new faces and places.
Don’t really have much to say about myself : Born in South Africa in 1986 I have always been a creative person. Armed with crayons and a wall, later to become pen and paper or paint and canvas. This creative art progressed through the years, that eventually became the start of a photographic career in 2008. Since then I have worked with many different individuals and groups mainly specialising in the portrait, fashion and editorial forms of photography. Working with state of the art gear and a different approach on photography, using location or studio, and even sometimes a combination of both.
What inspired you to get started in photography?
An image from Kevin Mark pass started it all, I wanted to learn to be a great photographer, Already had a camera, but I had no idea I could actually shoot anything of value. So I took the camera, went to a few meet-ups, and followed some great photographers, listened well, and soon with some hard work it became what it is today for me.
What gear do you take to each shoot and what lens can you not live without?
Lenses I cant live without, the one in my eye, I use mainly a canon 5D mk II, 50 1.4 and a 100 2.0 you don’t need much to create a good photo, just sharp lenses, and a know how, of how to take a great shot, hell, I’ve published pix taken with a blackberry, some images on my site are with an iphone or a blackberry too, try spot them out
How do you market yourself and has social media been an important part?
Of course social media is important, find me a kid without facebook, exactly. ocial media, is the best way I market, take word of mouth, and give it a platform to spread and grow. Sure I have a website, fanpage, blogs and more, but still, you just cant beat how good word of mouth works, deliver a good product, keep your clients happy, and they will come.
What’s your favourite photo that you’ve taken and does it have any significance?
My favourite photo has to be the one im going to take on my next shoot. I have highest rated photos, and yes I’m proud of them, but I’m no where at the level I want to be, so really I cant say I have a favourite photo.
Select a photo you have taken, explain how it was taken and how did you edit it?
Oh now you asking to give my secrets away
very well, we will take my highest rated photo….This shoot was allot of fun, awarded to the lovely Samantha Antonio, for my 2011 competition ( new comp coming soon )
I bought a roll of white paper and the biggest black marker I could find, then my assistants and I marked out all the lines and drew them in. meanwhile my Lovely Make-up artist Monica was prepping the model for hair and make-up. the lighting was a very basic setup with two spots and a beautydish.
We took a few shots with the model in this outfit, playing with different emotions facial expressions and poses all front facing and looking into the camera. Then once I was happy the model headed back to makeup for the next look, And I sat down with all the images and begain cutting out all the ones I did not like, then all the ones with technical flaws (not sharp enough, closed yes, too much photoshopping) and finally I was left with just 1, and I tell you, it was not easy to choose just one!
Then in post, I did a little liquify ( remove small bulges and stuff in clothes to make them fit seamlessly ) then a small amount of skin repair, took about 10 mins, and finally some dodging and burning… thats it.
What processing tool do you use and do you believe in the camera doing all the work or in post ?
Post work takes allot of time, i have some images Ill work on for 8 hours for a single pick, as they say, a picture says a thousand words, my photos LIE! lol. for this reason I do most my work on the camera, also because of this, I can give my client almost ALL the images I take, and Im comfortable with them posting them, but, once edited, you wont want the original, there is a massive difference. for post I use lightroom, and Photoshop.
Whats your favourite photography accessory other than your camera?
hmmm, my iMac, I can play games on it too
hehe. Or my beauty dish, love that thing.Where do you prefer to post your photos online and why there?
500px.com definatly! many great togs are on there, whom some I’ve personally learned from and who trading secrets with regularly .
Do you ever get photographers block and if so what do you do to get inspired again?
I do, but when I do…well that is what it means to be a pro, to do your best, even when your not in the mood to do it. and while pushing through the block it doesn’t take long before all the ideas come streaming back.
Is there anything you wish you had done when you first started in photography that would of made a difference?
Yeah, studied photography instead of It. Even though I teach now, and love doing it, you still cant argue with how good a qualification in the field is, and how much less time it would have taken me to get this far.
Any advice for new photographers wanting to go pro?
Yeah, DONT DO IT! its not as glamorous as people think it is, and if you do do it, be humble, never be stubborn, learn all the time, share knowledge wherever you can, and NEVER, i mean NEVER shoot for free, its never worth it. and mostly, your not the best, get over yourself, and learn more, if your shooting for vogue, then you made it, till then, grow. On that note, Im off to learn
cheers[hr_dotted]
Visit Garrick Wheeler – website, facebook, twitter, modelbase, modelmayhem, blog, youtube and google+
About the Author: Tristan
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