Today we are chatting with the unbelievably talented Toronoto based photographer Andreas, who specializes in journalistic style, black and white photography...and does so brilliantly.
Do you have a photographic voice or style? How did that come to be?
I would say that my "style" is based around the idea that the best images of people are taken at the right moment when something wonderful is happening, and they are captured without being aware. The only way I can capture the images that I show clients is by blending into the wedding - no staging, no "dip and kiss" shots, nothing directed, just straight up documenting of the day. Being a wedding photographer, for me, is an evolution - I'm always learning and trying new things, but staying true to my reportage approach, and to do that I've really simplified the gear that I bring along with me. I shoot with a 5Dmk2, a 50mm, and 85mm lens. I try to cover an entire wedding with one lens though, so that the images are consistent in their look. I've always been drawn to really detailed black and white images, so when I'm shooting I always pre-visualize the images as black and white prints. My very first wedding, over six years ago was shot on black and white film. I was a guest and I brought along my Canon with a 70-200mm lens and a few rolls of 3200ISO black and white film. I suppose that initial experience and reaction to the images from the couple have kept me loving black and white for weddings. I also feel that most of the couples I work with won't want to look at photographs that have been so retouched that it looks overly saturated or artificially "aged" to look old. Fads come and go, but classic wins out every time.