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Rangefinder
Magazine Profile: Michael Biondo by Peter Skinner
But before you decide to quit whatever you’re doing and become a fashion shooter, keep a few things in mind: Staying at the top as a photographer in a fickle industry—and no one would dispute that the ego-ridden world of fashion is indeed trendy and fickle—is not easy, even for an established professional like Biondo who has been plying his craft for more than 18 years. With the number of photographers in the field—and more entering with each photo school graduating class—the competition is stiff, and getting stiffer. Not that Biondo minds that part of it— he welcomes the competition; it keeps him pumped up. “Even after doing it for 18 years, I am still out there competing with the kids, and that’s a good thing,” he says.
It’s a given that the photographer must be excellent technically, talented, organized, professional in all aspects, and be able to work under extreme pressure without showing the sweat. When you’ve got a crew of 40–50 people—art directors, hair and make-up stylists, models, client reps, assistants for all the above—whose collective attention at some point, perhaps the most critical point, is going to be focused on you, the photographer in action, you’d better know what you’re doing and be comfortable doing it. “A major fashion shoot and advertising campaign is a high-stakes game, and there is a lot of money involved and pressure—it gets difficult at times. Not only is it very expensive, but there are also many jobs on the line. The person who hired me has his or her job on the line; in fact, for the duration of the shoot, whether it’s a day or a week, they have put their career in my hands,” says Biondo.
He cites an example of the models’ trouper attitude during a shoot in frigid New England. Everyone in the crew was bundled up against the cold, except the models when they were in front of the camera. While every effort was made to keep them warm and comfortable with blankets and heaters during set preparation, when the shooting began, the models’ only protection against the bitter cold was their flimsy fashion wear. And they had to look relaxed and comfortable throughout. Not one complaint was heard.
Biondo first became interested in photography as a 12-year-old in his hometown of Darien, CT. His father loaned him a camera and young Michael became hooked on making pictures. Some years later he took that passion to a higher level by enrolling in Pratt Institute and graduating with a degree in fine art photography. However, he found himself inexorably drawn to fashion photography. In 1979, while at Pratt, he started assisting commercial photographers, and augmented his academic education with on-the-job training in the real world of professional photography. By the time had completed both “educational programs” he was well equipped for his own freelance career, which began in 1985. And in the almost two decades since, he has found that fashion photography, like the industry itself, which is always driven by trends, has changed. A significant evolution is the way photographers do business. Traditionally, they worked from studios; the more established the photographer, the larger his or her studio. The emphasis was on building bigger businesses. Today’s fashion shooter works more like the traditional freelancer of decades past, keeping overhead as low as possible and not owning a studio. Biondo has a loft in New York City and a home in New Canaan, CT, each equipped with a digital darkroom, i.e., jammed with computers. If he is shooting in New York City, L.A. Paris or France, and needs a studio, he simply rents it.
Early in his career, Biondo photographed celebrities (and he still does) for publications such as Rolling Stone, Interview Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, and Sony Music. Among the celebrities’ portfolio are personalities such as Janet Jackson, Beyonce, the Williams sisters, Elizabeth Shue, Ed Harris, James Earl Jones, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Patricia Velaquez and Yves St. Laurent. Two hotbeds of fashion are Paris and New York, and Biondo is comfortable in both. In 1992 he was offered a contract with W Magazine and WWD and moved to Paris, expanding on his U.S. experience by working in one of the world’s great cities among some of the most talented designers and art directors. Among his freelance clients during that period were Giorgio Armani, Emanuel Ungaro and Valentino. With this invaluable Paris experience under his belt, Biondo moved back to New York in the mid-1990s. Today his client lists reads like a Who’s Who of fashion and publishing—Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Image, LA Confidential, Style, Saks, Neiman Marcus and Virgin Records among them. Biondo has maintained relationships very well by keeping some clients for 10 years or more, which is not easy in such a dynamic and constantly changing industry. The itinerant nature of fashion can be good and bad for a photographer. You might develop a relationship with an art director who moves on, and you have to start developing links with someone new. On the other hand, the departed art director might hire you from his or her new company. “You can’t take this personally. Choosing photographers is a bit like choosing ethnic restaurants—one day the client might want Chinese, the next day Indian or Mexican. Art directors have a lot of really great choices and you have to realize you can’t always be the right photographer for the job,” he explains.
That he continues to get a steady flow of work indicates Michael Biondo is very often the right shooter for the job. His portfolio is replete with edgy, sexy, provocative and superbly lit images. It’s clear that while Biondo says he is currently adopting a more documentary approach to shooting, which would suggest a more simplistic style, nothing is really casual or unplanned. He explains, “Actually I am something of a chameleon, and I change my approach quite a bit. I am not really a conceptual person, but I work with people who are conceptual. How I work on a shoot varies from situation to situation. At times I might be given a layout with the instructions, ‘Here is the concept, illustrate it for me.’ Other times the art director will say, ‘This is what we want from the shoot, use your vision to create it.’ At times it can be free for all. All the people I work with are visually sophisticated so I respect everyone’s opinion on the set. Recently a stylist saw a camera angle that I had missed and made a suggestion—it was a brilliant idea, and I went for it. As I get older, I try to be more of a documentary photographer. There is a delicate balance in the degree in determining how much to intrude in the process.” Like many other contemporary photographers, Biondo is immersing himself in digital technology— “I go to bed reading camera manuals.” Photoshop and computers have become his darkroom, enabling him to create beautiful images without the detrimental effects of darkroom chemicals. Recently he invested in a Canon 1Ds—which he describes as “really phenomenal”—for editorial and personal work, while still using film (Hasselblad, Fujichrome Provia F and Kodak PMC are his camera and film choices) for catalogues and similar work. “Some clients prefer film, and having this option resolves the dilemma of what files to hand the client. Clients need something they are familiar with, but if they request more digital images I will oblige,” he says. However, while still shooting a lot of film, Biondo is quick to highlight the freedom provided by digital technology. Removable portable hard drives combined with high-speed Internet in both his Connecticut and New York City offices allow him to work comfortably from either. He also gives high marks to Phase One Phaselight and Phase One Capture software, which have sped up the editing process. “Workflow is very important to me and developing software that allows me to have a quick preview on the screen, and being able to process in the background is pure genius on Phase One’s part,” he says. A key to avoiding becoming jaded is finding new projects almost akin to self-assignments. To that end Biondo has embarked on working with emerging talent and record companies to develop a look for up-and-coming performers. Recently, he did such an assignment for EMI with young rhythm and blues singer Ricky Fante on location at a well-known Harlem bar, the Lenox Lounge. (Fante’s debut album is scheduled for early 2004.) Biondo encourages aspiring celebrity and fashion photographers to explore similar possibilities within their own communities to gain experience. In 18 years of shooting fashion for editorial and advertising clients, Michael Biondo is well qualified to comment on what are the keys to success. Good luck, although appreciated when it happens, should not be relied on. More important is hard work backed by professionalism and talent. “There is very little room for luck in a career that has longevity. Having the ability and drive to work hard is a talent in itself. If you have that, you can make it.” To see more of Michael Biondo’s work, visit his web site: www.michaelbiondo.com. Freelance writer/photographer and author Peter Skinner, who is recently relocated to his native Australia, has more than 22 years experience in the photo industry in public relations, media liaison, corporate communications and workshop production and coordination. His magazine articles and photography have been published internationally and he has co-authored or edited numerous publications and books including the 5th and 6th editions of the authoritative ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography (Allworth Press). He can be reached at: prsskinner@bigpond.com/.
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How does this sound? Paris one week, the deserts of
Morocco or Utah another, perhaps a tropical beach bordered by swaying
palms not
long after that. All the while you are photographing beautiful women
in these exotic locations—and being paid very well to do it. Probably
sounds not too bad. And New York-based fashion specialist Michael Biondo,
whose work does indeed take him to such locations in the company of beautiful
people, would agree. In fact, he so loves his chosen field that he would
not swap it for any other job in the world.
Even
though he is now an experienced 41-year-old with an impressive portfolio
of international assignments and client list to his credit, Biondo has
no illusions about the effort needed to stay ahead of the pack. He challenges
and pushes himself all the time, both visually and technically, constantly
searching for better ways to create stunning images that keep his clients
happy. “At the end of the day, clients have to be happy and to
have gotten their money’s worth. The whole crew on a shoot has
that goal in mind,” he says.
Most importantly, the
shooter is an integral member of a team, and Biondo emphasizes that from
start to finish. A fashion assignment, regardless
of size, is a collaborative effort. He has been around the people of
the fashion industry for long enough to feel comfortable not only in
his own role but also with his colleagues. He is unstinting in his praise
of the crews he works with— “these people really make my
job a lot easier”—especially the models. Which models are
chosen for an assignment is not a big issue for Michael Biondo—he
knows they will be beautiful, professional and real troupers. “Never,
in my 18 years of shooting fashion, have I seen a model freak out on
the set. They have traveled all over the world, have invested a lot in
their careers, and know this is a serious business. I always know, going
into an assignment, that the models will be great,” he says.
On a large shoot, the photographer actually gets the
least amount of time with the models of anyone in the crew. “There
is a lot of planning, and very little is left to chance. I try to get
as
much time
photographing as possible to allow ‘good accidents’ to happen,
such as a gust of wind at the right time to add motion to the model’s
hair. A really good accident happened recently when a storm came through
and made lighting and the whole scene very dramatic,” he says.
