German Fashion Photographer

"Ich wünschte, meine Augen könnten Fotos machen."

-German Proverb
 

Fashion in Germany

Per Zennström is an international, contemporary fashion photographer, blogger, online publisher and teacher, public speaker passionate about photography, fashion, pop-culture, new media and space where all these things come together, mix, match and mate with business...

So it reads in the header on my blog and while I certainly think that it is a very relevant description of what I do, here I will try to give a bit more personal account of what makes me tick. First of all, I’m incredibly happy to be making my living as a fashion photographer, I really couldn’t think of a better or more exciting profession. I actually get paid to do what I love and that is pretty rare, I believe. I’m fond of saying that I never really felt that I “go to work”. Every day is usually filled with new things to learn and new exciting projects to sink Your teeth into. I feel truly blessed...

I also really enjoy the fact that as a fashion photographer I’m constantly forced to re-invent myself and come up with new fresh ideas and images. There is nothing as old as of last season’s fashion images and I actually value this very fleeting and ephemeral aspect of fashion photography. I come to think of that famous quote, (by Tony Armstrong-Jones ?) about fashion images and wrapping up fish... Fashion images are meant to be consumed and then discarded. But I also firmly believe that some images will survive and go on and take on another meaning outside the fashion context. That is another driving force of mine.

Fashion and fashion photography is really at the very center of this pop-cultural vortex where absolutely anything gets used to “feed the machine” and I find that amusing and very liberating. As a fashion photographer, I’m allowed and maybe even required to use every pop-cultural manifestation to tell the story and that puts my images right in the center of “everything”. Just the other day I came across some very insightful words about the cultural relevance of fashion by designer Hussein Chalayan:

"Fashion is actually a part of culture although fashion, sort of, separates itself as this other world... and “...what fashion shows do is show the new image of the body.”

A dear friend of mine and a person I really respect once told me that

“...as a creative, You always need to tell the same story, but every time You do that You need to tell it in a different way”

That really struck a chord within me and I think that has influenced my way of going about creating images. That is yet another aspect of being a creative... I have started seeing myself as an image-maker as opposed to a being photographer. I sometimes find being "just" a photographer will limit Your ability to tell a story and I’m now employing other ways of communicating like blogging, producing multi-media events, film & video, journalism etc... Don't get me wrong, I still love being a fashion photographer and I hope to do this for a very long time still... Essentially I'd like to try to take care of a bigger piece of various projects. I'm not bored with photography, on the contrary. I just have discovered the fascinating possibilities of things outside pure photography.

Another phenomenon that has struck me is the rise of the blogger and how absolutely everything is shifting and changing within the media industry.

Old media out and new media in... Editors out and bloggers in... Still image out and moving image in... Print out and digital in... Newspapers out and tablets in... Desktop out and mobile in...

Essentially new technology coupled with web 2.0 has given individuals the power to tell their own stories and distribute that to anyone online and that is an incredibly powerful realization. Once You really have understood the possibilities there are so many new avenues opening up. Earlier dependencies on old media (magazines, editors, agencies) are now more or less gone and You, as a connected individual, have now been empowered to control the story You want to tell. We as photographers are right in the middle of this profound shift of power, some of the old business models do not work anymore and there is a scramble to make sense of what’s going on. I choose to see opportunities in all this...

When I started out as a photographer the common wisdom was that the editorial work was the "creative and fun stuff" and later on You got your "payday" by doing advertising, (based on your previous editorial portfolio). The underlying, but not spoken, thought was that everything creative was done editorially and you simply just cashed in by doing advertising. For a long time now I consider the new forms of marketing and advertising the creative, daring, and progressive channel to work in and my hopes are to explore this a lot more in the future.

German Fashion Brand - gÖrtz17

Interview with German Fashion Photographer Per Zennström

-How did you get started? Where did you study?

I studied photography at Göteborgs University for 2 years before dropping out - in earnest, I got an offer I couldn’t refuse - working as an assistant for the most sought-after Swedish fashion photographer Björn Keller.

-What kind of techniques and equipment are you most proud of mastering?

Technology is always evolving and changing. I’m really proud of the fact that I seem to be able to adopt & adapt to the swift changes in the industry. Currently, I’m very curious about “the moving image” and the grey zone between still image and moving image - ie animation and how to use AfterEffects, video, and 3D.

-Expand on what you mean by “exploring the edges of photography and film”.

I find that the most interesting work is usually done on the edges of a practice. People who push the boundaries and toe the line so to speak. What is possible to do in fashion photography that is not the usual run-of-the-mill stuff but pushes the envelope a bit.

-Tell me more about your process. How do you work with clients to make sure they are happy with the results?

I try to get in as early as possible and that has changed my process quite a bit. It used to be that I was simply a hired gun but nowadays I see myself as more of an initiator of ideas that I then try to place with the right partner.

-What is your personal favorite part of the process?

There is undoubtedly a thrill in the very first stages of a project when the ideas are taking shape and the imagination is running wild. I really like this stage.

However, after the ideas have been locked in the more mundane execution starts and I have come to realize that I’m actually very good at this less glamorous part of the process. Making ideas happen is something that I’m good at! I simply get things done.

-What kind of fashion/luxury work have you been involved in?

“A native of Stockholm, his work has taken him all over the world, where he’s worked with some of the biggest brands of our time, including Dior, Guy Laroche, Nina Ricci, Absolut Vodka, Porsche and Bentley, to name a few. He’s lived and worked in the visionary hubs of Paris, New York and Berlin ﹘ adding to his internationally diverse portfolio every step of the way.”

-How do you feel your work can help shape the distribution/publishing industries?

I believe that I can help ambitious and courageous brands to elevate their visual output by exploring the intersection of photography, fashion, pop culture, new media, and technology where they meet, mix and cross-pollinate with business...

-You believe photography should be visible, that it shouldn’t be tucked away or hidden. Can you elaborate a little bit on that?

I don’t consider myself an artist (maybe a commercial artist is a better description) and I definitely don’t believe in “art for art’s sake” You need to have a purpose. My purpose is to help brands and creatives elevate their visual content creation.

Unfortunately, I have met many creatives who are afraid of stating their mission. It seems to be a mark of honor to some to be blissfully floating around in a fairytale land where the real world and it demands doesn’t exist. You simply need to show your work to the world and now we have the tool to do that!

-About Berlin:

I have always had a special relationship to Berlin ever since I was a teenager, trying to be a punk rocker, coming to Berlin by train while “the Wall” was still standing. I remember walking around along the wall, of then West Berlin, with wet and cold shoes and the whole feeling, was just as bleak and romantic as I had always imagined and hoped it would be.

One of the things that have always drawn me to Berlin is are the pop-cultural images or Berlin, especially the grainy, b&w Wim Wenders music videos featuring U2.

While Berlin is not a pretty city, like Paris or Stockholm, where I also have lived, there's something else there that is really appealing to me. I think it is the fact that historically Berlin has been a refuge of sorts for people who didn’t really fit in anywhere else.

When I try to describe Berlin for other people I usually say that “Berlin if not finished” and by that I mean that everywhere you walk around there's space to do stuff. There is both physical -and mental space...

Another important aspect of Berlin is the parallel existence of both an incredible dynamic Start-Up culture as well as the “classic” Berlin Slacker mentality. Somehow I believe that both these seemingly opposites are feeding each other in a strange way.

resources

Per Zennstrom Photography, Bornholmerstrasse 88, 10439 Berlin.