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Featured Artist Interview - Adrian Samson
BY
Adrian Samson
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It is often said that a carpenter is just a man without his tools. So does that mean a photographer is just a man without his camera? Adrian Samson would most probably agree. His unwavering loyalty to his trusty H2 camera is demonstrated in the way he has eyes, and only eyes, for this extension to his hand.
Being well justified loyalty, his camera is the instrument that captures signature photographs.With their glossiness and appealing stylistic treatment, Adrian is a smashing hit in the commercial market. His photographs have garnered him commissions for big household names, his first ever commission being from gaming giant Xbox.
Adrian Samson’s photographs confront their viewers with the flaws and disappointments of reality, often being read like social satires, distorting scenes that feel so very familiar. Contrastingly, their obnoxiously bright colours and exaggerated compositions hint at the humourous, letting you know that life isn’t all that bad after all.
TAXI>>Hey Adrian, a big warm welcome to TAXI! We’re curious about your background. Tell us, what was your first ever memory of taking a photograph?
Adrian Samson>> Hi and Happy New Year to all of you! Oh, I remember my father was a passionate photographer taking family portraits and he bought me a camera when I was nine. It was one of those cheap plastic cameras with a lens that had to be screwed out. It had a small red viewer on the back so you could see the number of the frame on the back of the paper film. I remember clearly shooting my first film.
A friend was throwing heavy stones into the river near the village where I was raised. I tried time and time again to capture the splash. Then forgetting to wind the film, some frames were half stone splashes with the other half showing my room. They were double exposed and I thought they were much cooler like that. Then I inherited my father’s East German Praktika, which was a copy of Nikon FM2. It had a light reading in it, a big step forward.
I kept using it for years until I became a professional photographer at the age of twenty-six. I shot a beautiful series of images in Turkey, Palestine and Israel with the Praktika back mid 90’s. It was the first time I left the country right after the famous revolution.
TAXI>>You were born and raised in Slovakia only shifting to work in London in your twenties. Do you think the culture you were raised in has had an impact on the style of the photographs you produce?
Adrian Samson>> Actually I spent 4 years on the Caribbean, the US and a year in Toronto before I came to London. Yes, living with Americans was something that it took time to adapt to. At the beginning I was taking pictures of tourists on a cruise ship. We used some really cheesy backdrops and stopped the families entering the dining room to have a picture taken. We used some studio lights, and then posed the people the way you would pose wedding couples. It was quite ridiculous but I’m sure those years helped me to get confident shooting and directing people.
I was taking pictures every single day for years. I think that time when I was shooting in those rather comical situations and in front of those awkward backdrops must had have an impact on my future sense of photography. It was cheesy and well constructed and I still like to shoot stuff like that. And I also grew up as a Hungarian and they are known for being quite humorous people. I guess the mixture of my memories of the 80/90’s East Europe with the “holiday” years in the Caribbean shaped my visual perspective. But I believe sensing images is fluid just like everything else. My visual perspective is constantly changing.
TAXI>>Take us through your standard working process from when you shoot the actual photo to when it appears in pages of a magazine or on the wall of a gallery.
Adrian Samson>> If you are asking me about my personal projects, then it starts with idea, notes, many notes and references. I just finished a book called The Girls I Never Knew. It’s about 30 laid back girls doing silly things completely naked in my apartment. A section of it is coming out this summer in a book called Real Natural Vixens by Edition Skylight.
So in this case it would be a year of hard work, writing scenes, running around for props, chasing models and I’d end up shooting around 20 thousand pictures. Once it’s finished comes the next part, chasing publishers, curators and galleries as you said. It’s fun and it keeps me going. London is a crazy place where nothing lasts too long and everything is disposable. It’s even more challenging for an artist to work under these conditions. But on the other hand you don’t have to look too long to find another creative who you can potentially work with because they are everywhere.
When it comes to a commercial job I completely rely on my agent. I never go out to show my book as I think I would need to double myself to do that. However once the job is in I love to get completely involved. Good advertising is not just my job but also my hobby and good advertising photographers are great artists in my eyes. I love the atmosphere of creating a campaign and the challenges it always brings.
Finally it’s a great feeling to pose in front of a billboard you’ve been taking and your friend is taking a crap picture of you with his camera phone.
TAXI>>Your photographs possess a staged like quality tinged with the feeling of the familiar. Do you ever take professional photographs just by chance?
Adrian Samson>> I often ask myself if it’s only me or other professional photographers feel the same about this. I heard many car photographers are the same. The truth is that I never carry a camera and don’t take any pictures other than the ones that we have “produced”. I guess it becomes your ideal to create a certain type of image and the other ones don’t give you the same satisfaction anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to play with someone’s camera, chat about it and see some pretty cool shots coming out but I just don’t get the buzz I used to get back in the old days when I was shooting black kids on the beach against the sun or drunk girls on a party. Unless it’s a particular project I’ve thought through that I’m focused on, it all seems to feel pointless.
It’s the same with the cameras. I used to be a geek and knew all about Nikon and Canon, etc. Now if they ask which one, I honestly don’t know. I try to keep up with the only one I use, a H2.
TAXI>>Your photographs seem to be humorous and witty while still striking the viewer’s conscience at the same time. Are the majority of your photographs depicting social satires?
Adrian Samson>> I think if you are a professional photographer and live in La Rochelle next to Bordeaux you can shoot one day wine bottles, next day fashion for a local designer and the third day puppies for a calendar. If you live in London where there are over 20 thousand photographers you can see that the only names that count are those with a distinctive style.
It’s very important that your photography is recognised one way or the other. It will never be a style that fits for all but it should ring a bell when you look at it. I like the series like The Dating Electric. It’s quite precise and humorous and very much the way I like to shoot. We’ve been laughing all the way during the shoot and that’s very good. You are right, I’ve done lots of work coming out of that.
TAXI>>You are an award winning photographer having taken photographs for Motorola, Ford, Microsoft, Xbox, Sky One and MTV. What do you enjoy about taking commissioned photographs with comparison to taking photographs at your own leisure?
Adrian Samson>> There are such a two different things and both have great benefits on its own. When I’m shooting commissions I have the luxury of the perfect casting, styling, location, set build and so on. Not to mention the top creatives and post production. The good news is that nowadays you can team up with the right guys and the post production including CGi can become more of a normal part of your non commissioned process. That was impossible couple years ago.
On the other hand shooting a personal project gives you an opportunity to become free, exercise your creativity and of course to direct your future commissions. Neither exists without the other. You will be always expected to show loads of personal work because that’s how the art buyers want to remember you and you will not be able to produce those without being commissioned.
I love to shoot commissioned work not just because it earns you money but because it’s a reflection on the work you have done and plus it gives you an opportunity to shoot new concepts which you would never think of. So doing only commissions or only personal work would halve the excitement.
TAXI>>Who was your first big client? Does the excitement of garnering commissions wear off the more they come along?
Adrian Samson>> ? I remember my first agent contacted me when I first won an award but a couple of months later, I realised that it was a wrong choice. Then Angela Woods, my current agent who is highly regarded in the industry convinced me that she knew exactly what sort of representation I needed. I trusted her and after 3 months, she called me with my first Xbox job.
I can’t describe the feeling I had. I think we did a great job for a novice, however looking back I think I was still a bit naïve. There is never enough effort you show when it comes to jobs. Since then I pay much more attention to details and learned how to “make everything possible”. Back to your question, the excitement never wears off. Receiving a call from your agent that the job is confirmed is the best feeling ever. It’s a chemical reaction in your brain. I don’t think you can get ever used to it.
TAXI>>Over the last few years or so, photography has been gaining popularity amongst a younger generation. It has almost become one of those trends that pass as quickly as they come. What advice would you give to young budding photographers who are serious about their art work?
Adrian Samson>> Always try to learn from other peoples mistakes before you waste too much time and money of your own. Here in the UK the most common way of getting into professional photography is to assist for couple years. Then you will have time to decide if you really like it or not and chance to discover what it takes.
Unfortunately I almost fully skipped this step and it has cost me too much on the beginning. I was testing for a year without assisting or having a second job. I guess I was lucky that I could afford it but I could have saved a lot and invest that money more wisely. Besides assisting gives you an enormous chance to learn new techniques from the best photographers. Learning techniques is crucial.
Your goal should be to climb up on the ladder until you reach those who in your opinion are the best. See them dealing with clients, crew and day-to-day business. Once you are there and have seen it all, you will stand a much better chance to run your own business. But if you are still only on the first step of this ladder, you should know that it will be almost as hard as to succeed in professional photography. Also, don’t forget that your own ego could be your worst enemy. So be smart, good hearted and nice all the way.
TAXI>>It would be interesting to see what your work space looks like. Would you like to show us?
Adrian Samson>> My very good friend Krisztian, a fantastic upcoming fashion photographer was here last night and I asked him to take couple of snaps. It was funny, he treated me like a model. You should check out his website www.krisztianzana.com These pictures of me in my studio are the freshest you could get ;)
TAXI>>People have always wondered about the path not travelled. Who would Adrian Samson be if he was not a photographer?
Adrian Samson>> I read The Ads of The World website often and I would definitely try to be a copywriter. I like advertising not just as a guy behind the lens. I think a good copywriter is inspired from every day life just like us photographers. I read the other day something a copywriter said … “I work when I’m looking out the window”. I can relate to that, but the bottom line is that I wouldn’t like to get stuck in a office.
TAXI>> Thanks for chatting with us Adrian, its been a pleasure. Where would you like a TAXI to transport you to right now?
Adrian Samson>> Maybe down to Jaguar Shoes, it’s a great bar down on the corner. But if you let me dream, then Singapore would be a nice trip too.
I wish you the very best guys, the pleasure was mine.
Adrian's works are showcased on his website Adrian Samson.
© 2003 - 2009 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
Being well justified loyalty, his camera is the instrument that captures signature photographs.With their glossiness and appealing stylistic treatment, Adrian is a smashing hit in the commercial market. His photographs have garnered him commissions for big household names, his first ever commission being from gaming giant Xbox.
Adrian Samson’s photographs confront their viewers with the flaws and disappointments of reality, often being read like social satires, distorting scenes that feel so very familiar. Contrastingly, their obnoxiously bright colours and exaggerated compositions hint at the humourous, letting you know that life isn’t all that bad after all.
TAXI>>Hey Adrian, a big warm welcome to TAXI! We’re curious about your background. Tell us, what was your first ever memory of taking a photograph?
Adrian Samson>> Hi and Happy New Year to all of you! Oh, I remember my father was a passionate photographer taking family portraits and he bought me a camera when I was nine. It was one of those cheap plastic cameras with a lens that had to be screwed out. It had a small red viewer on the back so you could see the number of the frame on the back of the paper film. I remember clearly shooting my first film.
A friend was throwing heavy stones into the river near the village where I was raised. I tried time and time again to capture the splash. Then forgetting to wind the film, some frames were half stone splashes with the other half showing my room. They were double exposed and I thought they were much cooler like that. Then I inherited my father’s East German Praktika, which was a copy of Nikon FM2. It had a light reading in it, a big step forward.
I kept using it for years until I became a professional photographer at the age of twenty-six. I shot a beautiful series of images in Turkey, Palestine and Israel with the Praktika back mid 90’s. It was the first time I left the country right after the famous revolution.
TAXI>>You were born and raised in Slovakia only shifting to work in London in your twenties. Do you think the culture you were raised in has had an impact on the style of the photographs you produce?
Adrian Samson>> Actually I spent 4 years on the Caribbean, the US and a year in Toronto before I came to London. Yes, living with Americans was something that it took time to adapt to. At the beginning I was taking pictures of tourists on a cruise ship. We used some really cheesy backdrops and stopped the families entering the dining room to have a picture taken. We used some studio lights, and then posed the people the way you would pose wedding couples. It was quite ridiculous but I’m sure those years helped me to get confident shooting and directing people.
I was taking pictures every single day for years. I think that time when I was shooting in those rather comical situations and in front of those awkward backdrops must had have an impact on my future sense of photography. It was cheesy and well constructed and I still like to shoot stuff like that. And I also grew up as a Hungarian and they are known for being quite humorous people. I guess the mixture of my memories of the 80/90’s East Europe with the “holiday” years in the Caribbean shaped my visual perspective. But I believe sensing images is fluid just like everything else. My visual perspective is constantly changing.
TAXI>>Take us through your standard working process from when you shoot the actual photo to when it appears in pages of a magazine or on the wall of a gallery.
Adrian Samson>> If you are asking me about my personal projects, then it starts with idea, notes, many notes and references. I just finished a book called The Girls I Never Knew. It’s about 30 laid back girls doing silly things completely naked in my apartment. A section of it is coming out this summer in a book called Real Natural Vixens by Edition Skylight.
So in this case it would be a year of hard work, writing scenes, running around for props, chasing models and I’d end up shooting around 20 thousand pictures. Once it’s finished comes the next part, chasing publishers, curators and galleries as you said. It’s fun and it keeps me going. London is a crazy place where nothing lasts too long and everything is disposable. It’s even more challenging for an artist to work under these conditions. But on the other hand you don’t have to look too long to find another creative who you can potentially work with because they are everywhere.
When it comes to a commercial job I completely rely on my agent. I never go out to show my book as I think I would need to double myself to do that. However once the job is in I love to get completely involved. Good advertising is not just my job but also my hobby and good advertising photographers are great artists in my eyes. I love the atmosphere of creating a campaign and the challenges it always brings.
Finally it’s a great feeling to pose in front of a billboard you’ve been taking and your friend is taking a crap picture of you with his camera phone.
TAXI>>Your photographs possess a staged like quality tinged with the feeling of the familiar. Do you ever take professional photographs just by chance?
Adrian Samson>> I often ask myself if it’s only me or other professional photographers feel the same about this. I heard many car photographers are the same. The truth is that I never carry a camera and don’t take any pictures other than the ones that we have “produced”. I guess it becomes your ideal to create a certain type of image and the other ones don’t give you the same satisfaction anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to play with someone’s camera, chat about it and see some pretty cool shots coming out but I just don’t get the buzz I used to get back in the old days when I was shooting black kids on the beach against the sun or drunk girls on a party. Unless it’s a particular project I’ve thought through that I’m focused on, it all seems to feel pointless.
It’s the same with the cameras. I used to be a geek and knew all about Nikon and Canon, etc. Now if they ask which one, I honestly don’t know. I try to keep up with the only one I use, a H2.
TAXI>>Your photographs seem to be humorous and witty while still striking the viewer’s conscience at the same time. Are the majority of your photographs depicting social satires?
Adrian Samson>> I think if you are a professional photographer and live in La Rochelle next to Bordeaux you can shoot one day wine bottles, next day fashion for a local designer and the third day puppies for a calendar. If you live in London where there are over 20 thousand photographers you can see that the only names that count are those with a distinctive style.
It’s very important that your photography is recognised one way or the other. It will never be a style that fits for all but it should ring a bell when you look at it. I like the series like The Dating Electric. It’s quite precise and humorous and very much the way I like to shoot. We’ve been laughing all the way during the shoot and that’s very good. You are right, I’ve done lots of work coming out of that.
TAXI>>You are an award winning photographer having taken photographs for Motorola, Ford, Microsoft, Xbox, Sky One and MTV. What do you enjoy about taking commissioned photographs with comparison to taking photographs at your own leisure?
Adrian Samson>> There are such a two different things and both have great benefits on its own. When I’m shooting commissions I have the luxury of the perfect casting, styling, location, set build and so on. Not to mention the top creatives and post production. The good news is that nowadays you can team up with the right guys and the post production including CGi can become more of a normal part of your non commissioned process. That was impossible couple years ago.
On the other hand shooting a personal project gives you an opportunity to become free, exercise your creativity and of course to direct your future commissions. Neither exists without the other. You will be always expected to show loads of personal work because that’s how the art buyers want to remember you and you will not be able to produce those without being commissioned.
I love to shoot commissioned work not just because it earns you money but because it’s a reflection on the work you have done and plus it gives you an opportunity to shoot new concepts which you would never think of. So doing only commissions or only personal work would halve the excitement.
TAXI>>Who was your first big client? Does the excitement of garnering commissions wear off the more they come along?
Adrian Samson>> ? I remember my first agent contacted me when I first won an award but a couple of months later, I realised that it was a wrong choice. Then Angela Woods, my current agent who is highly regarded in the industry convinced me that she knew exactly what sort of representation I needed. I trusted her and after 3 months, she called me with my first Xbox job.
I can’t describe the feeling I had. I think we did a great job for a novice, however looking back I think I was still a bit naïve. There is never enough effort you show when it comes to jobs. Since then I pay much more attention to details and learned how to “make everything possible”. Back to your question, the excitement never wears off. Receiving a call from your agent that the job is confirmed is the best feeling ever. It’s a chemical reaction in your brain. I don’t think you can get ever used to it.
TAXI>>Over the last few years or so, photography has been gaining popularity amongst a younger generation. It has almost become one of those trends that pass as quickly as they come. What advice would you give to young budding photographers who are serious about their art work?
Adrian Samson>> Always try to learn from other peoples mistakes before you waste too much time and money of your own. Here in the UK the most common way of getting into professional photography is to assist for couple years. Then you will have time to decide if you really like it or not and chance to discover what it takes.
Unfortunately I almost fully skipped this step and it has cost me too much on the beginning. I was testing for a year without assisting or having a second job. I guess I was lucky that I could afford it but I could have saved a lot and invest that money more wisely. Besides assisting gives you an enormous chance to learn new techniques from the best photographers. Learning techniques is crucial.
Your goal should be to climb up on the ladder until you reach those who in your opinion are the best. See them dealing with clients, crew and day-to-day business. Once you are there and have seen it all, you will stand a much better chance to run your own business. But if you are still only on the first step of this ladder, you should know that it will be almost as hard as to succeed in professional photography. Also, don’t forget that your own ego could be your worst enemy. So be smart, good hearted and nice all the way.
TAXI>>It would be interesting to see what your work space looks like. Would you like to show us?
Adrian Samson>> My very good friend Krisztian, a fantastic upcoming fashion photographer was here last night and I asked him to take couple of snaps. It was funny, he treated me like a model. You should check out his website www.krisztianzana.com These pictures of me in my studio are the freshest you could get ;)
TAXI>>People have always wondered about the path not travelled. Who would Adrian Samson be if he was not a photographer?
Adrian Samson>> I read The Ads of The World website often and I would definitely try to be a copywriter. I like advertising not just as a guy behind the lens. I think a good copywriter is inspired from every day life just like us photographers. I read the other day something a copywriter said … “I work when I’m looking out the window”. I can relate to that, but the bottom line is that I wouldn’t like to get stuck in a office.
TAXI>> Thanks for chatting with us Adrian, its been a pleasure. Where would you like a TAXI to transport you to right now?
Adrian Samson>> Maybe down to Jaguar Shoes, it’s a great bar down on the corner. But if you let me dream, then Singapore would be a nice trip too.
I wish you the very best guys, the pleasure was mine.
Adrian's works are showcased on his website Adrian Samson.
© 2003 - 2009 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.