Picture This
We talked to rising star and Storm’s photographer of the month Dieter Brandenburg about how he got started as a snapper and where he wants to go.
How did you get started?
I studied photography
in Wales for three years (before that I was a
graphic designer in Germany). It was a great experience
because it gave me the chance to learn about
lighting and how to use equipment properly – basically
it just improved my work. Then I moved to London,
I’ve been here for about a year now, and I’ve
done so much. I got an internship with both Vogue
and GQ magazines which was great as I could see
how magazines run and I got to meet the people
that work behind the scenes in this business. I’ve
also been lucky enough to work with Mario Testino
and Rankin among others.
What was it like moving from Germany to the
UK?
It was crazy, because it’s so different but
it was also very exciting because it was all new
to me.
Who’s been the best person you’ve worked with so
far?
I like Mario Testino a lot, I did an
internship for three weeks in his office and got
to meet his team and see how he works. That
was fantastic.
How did you get the job at Storm?
I just
turned up and asked if I could take some test
shots of the models and amazingly they gave me
some people to work with. Afterwards, I showed them
my portfolio they said they liked my work. They’re
very nice people at Storm, they give you a chance,
they nurture young talent.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Working
in a store, I guess. And I still have to do
it occasionally to pay some of the bills.
Have you got any tips for would-be
photographers?
I would recommend that everyone use a
Hasselblad camera (laughs). They really are the Mercedes
of the camera world but far too expensive for most
people – myself included. A Nikon or Canon camera
is probably a good choice for most people to get
started with. But the best advice is to work hard
and practice, it’s a very competitive industry and you
have to be really good to reach the top. You
can teach people a lot about photography but to
really make it you do need to be very talented
too.
What do you use?
I have two cameras –
a 35mm camera and a digital one. Mostly, for the
work I’m doing at the moment, I use the digital
one. The film camera is for high quality things,
you know, shoots for magazines and that kind of
thing.
Any tips on taking a good snapshot?
Ah,
snapshots are a law unto themselves. You can easily
take a great photo unintentionally, you know you’re
just messing about and you look at the result and
think, ‘wow, that’s amazing’, that’s the great thing
about those sort of pictures though, they’re very
spontaneous, you shouldn’t try to put too much effort
into them.
What are the worst photography mistakes you see?People put too much makeup on and the picture just ends up looking cheap. It makes me angry just thinking about it.
What are your plans for the future?
At the
moment I’m happy working at Storm because it gives
me the opportunity to try out different things. I
especially like working with the New Faces. But I’d
love to travel more and shoot for magazines –
I’d love to shoot the ‘high end’, top models.
I think I’m ready for it now but I guess
I need to have my own studio and a lot more
equipment before I can realistically expect to do that.
It all takes time, you know.
COMPETITION
Do you love taking
photographs? Do you think you’ve got what it takes
to make it as a snapper? If you do, we want
to see the best pics you’ve taken: send them to
dieter@stormstyle.com and
you could be in with a chance of seeing them
on our site. And as if that’s not incentive
enough, you’ll also win the chance to spend a
day working with Storm snapper Dieter Brandenburg learning
some of the tricks of the trade. So, get busy
and good luck.
