Message: Hi Anton
My names Rebecca, I am a third year photography student at Canterbury Chirst
Church University and am currently working on part of an assignment where I
need to contact a photographer and ask a few questions regarding their
professional practise.
I have myself been working over the last two years within a tower block in
Margate and looking closely at your project at the Barbican-(which is fantastic
by the way) and I wondered if I emailed over a few questions if you would be
available to reply?
Thank you so much for you time already.
Kind regards
Rebecca Littlechild
Anton Rodriguez
<hello@antonrodriguez.co.uk>
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Feb 17
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Hi Rebecca,
Thank you, yeah
sure feel free to send over some questions.
Kind regards
Anton Rodriguez
Hi Anton
That's brilliant,
thank you so very much.
What do you think
of social media as a platform to out put your work? Does your opinion of social
media as a platform change from your commercial work to your personal projects?
What style of
portfolio do you use for your commercial work and why?
Do you market
yourself as a brand, if so, how?
Have you considered
contacting galleries to represent you in your personal projects?
What type of camera
do you use and does the camera type inform your photography?
How do you meet the
people you photograph? (Mainly the Barbican Project)
Do you find being
embedded within the community useful for this project and why? Mainly the
Barbican Project)
Do you meet with
your sitters and discuss the shoot or just arrive on the day? Could you tell me
a little bit on how a typical meet/shot would go?
Thank you again for
your time Anton, I am currently writing my dissertation around photography in
brutal architecture and this will help be a great help.
Kind regards
Rebecca
Hey Rebecca, sorry
for the slow reply, find my answers below.
What do you think
of social media as a platform to out put your work? Does your opinion of social
media as a platform change from your commercial work to your personal projects?
I think using
social media to out put work is great and very important, Its gives your work a
wider audience that may have not been seen your work else ware. I use social
media for both commercial and personal work, I also gain a lot of new
commercials jobs from people seeing my personal work on Instagram,
What style of
portfolio do you use for your commercial work and why?
For commercial work
I often show my website, instagram and will create a portfolio based on the
type of job. I haven’t used a printed portfolio for many years as most of my
clients have seen my work previously.
Do you market
yourself as a brand, if so, how?
No, I do no
marketing other than posting on social media, where I mix my personal lifestyle
and commercial imagery.
Have you considered
contacting galleries to represent you in your personal projects?
Yes, hopefully with
my current project, Barbican Residents, I will be printing a book and doing a
few shows.
What type of camera
do you use and does the camera type inform your photography?
I Use a DSLR, the
camera for me is just the tool. Obviously I use different lenses based on
certain jobs but they are all just an extension of my eye and arm.
How do you meet the
people you photograph? (Mainly the Barbican Project)
In the Barbican we
have a online forum for residents, I put an informal advert online and asked if
any residents would like to be part of my current project.
Do you find being
embedded within the community useful for this project and why? Mainly the Barbican
Project)
Yes, many of the
subjections I’ve photographed are creative, or work in the creative industry.
Usually we end up chatting for hours before taking any pictures, its nice to
speak to like minded individuals and helps the subject feel more relaxed.
Do you meet with
your sitters and discuss the shoot or just arrive on the day? Could you tell me
a little bit on how a typical meet/shot would go?
I meet them for the
first time on the day of the shoot. Usually we will chat beforehand for a good
hour or so and talk about the Barbican, their profession and how they’ve found
it living in the Barnican, this relaxes the subject and helps them feel more
comfortable.
When photographing
the subject, I always ask them to sit where they would usually relax, I don’t
want the subject to feel awkward. The interview part of the project is done
afterwards, I email the resident the questions to answer in their own time.
Anton Rodriguez
Notes on interview
In reviewing Anton's responses, I find it really interesting that he said he gains commercial work from potential clients seeing his personal work via social networks such as Instagram. This has made me think about how I use my Instagram and how I could use this to my advantage.
He also shows his Instagram as part of his portfolio along side his website. He said he creates portfolios depending on what type of job it is, however, he has not dealt with printed portfolios for many years. It is good to be mindful that at any point a potential client could ask to see your work and the likelihood is that the internet would be available. I say this for two points, firstly, to ensure that I have work ready, coherent and easily accessible via the net. But also, in cases such as Instagram, to be mindful what is uploaded as potential clients may have access to this, so it should be kept individual, but professtional at the same time.
