John-Paul Pietrus – Confessions of a fashion photographer
Whether it's capturing the youthful allure of Robert Pattinson or imbuing the eye with the glory of icons like Naomi, Eva and Claudia on the cover of Vogue, John-Paul Pietrus is photographer of the moment. An established and respected name in the fashion industry, he creates pictures that are exciting, beautiful and in my opinion masterpieces! I say this not only because he has the best subjects but because he possesses a certain style that is unmistakable and unforgettable. Beauty Confessional caught up with the London based photographer to find out how he creates his magic.
Q: What was your inspiration for becoming a photographer?
A: It was an accidental inspiration, so to speak. I really had my mind set on studying genetic engineering at MIT. Then I decided last minute to apply to art school, as although I didn't really make any 'art' up until that point, I had a keen interest in fine arts. I concentrated on writing a killer essay as I had absolutely no portfolio, and was accepted to the prestigious Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I was thrilled! After foundation year, I loved studying fine arts and completed my undergrad with a concentration in photography and painting. Before embarking upon my career in fashion photography, I actually was a documentary and news photographer.
Q: Which artists or photographers do you admire?
A: I admire photographers with integrity and who are in pursuit of or hold a personal vision; not 'copycat artists' of which there are many. True pioneers I admire include Guy Bourdin, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, Juergen Teller, Steven Meisel, Hiro, Jeff Wall, the Magnum crew, the National Geographic crew (particularly Steve McCurry). I could write pages and pages of names, but these are who have just come to mind.
Q: 3. Your work portrays a hint of "romanticism". What influences the themes for your photos?
A: I think that you are very correct in noting that, as I do like strong emotions in my work. I try to achieve a sense of personal emotions with my models, whether it is their own emotions, or more likely, an emotion I want to feel, and have them to project. I also find inspiration in literature, travel, paintings and installations... Inspiration is all around us!
Q: You have shot editorials with supermodels like, Naomi, Claudia and Eva and worked with celebrities like Jerry Hall. What is it like working with the most iconic faces in fashion?
A: What's it like? It's damn cool! Each person tells a different story, and that's one thing I love about my job. Whether it is someone famous or a 'new face', they all have a story, a journey that they've been on. The 'icons' bring out, additionally, a sense of awe in me as these are people who inspired me when I was a student, thus to work with them is a remarkable honour and quite exciting!
Q: What qualities do you believe a model should possess in order to produce a unique picture?
A: Quite simple really: either something physically unique by genetics (Sasha Pivovarova's eyes!), or something emotionally or personality unique which can make itself visible physically (Jessica Miller's posing). But it's also down to the photographer and team.
Q: How do you create a masterpiece?
A: I think the term 'masterpiece' is too grandiose for my work. I think that is reserved for the most remarkable and amazing artists, and even then, not in great frequency. If there is one photo I might possibly consider a masterpiece, it would be my "Valentino's Chateau of Non-stop Glamour and Luxe." It's from a series of work which are sculptures I form out of photographs which I have taken. But yes, I'm not so comfortable with the term 'masterpiece' for my work. I think that's for others to decide. If anyone considerstheir own work masterpieces, I think they should get their head checked for ego swelling.
Q: What was it like winning the Giorgio Armani "Get Together" Competition?
A: Amazing! And hilarious as this friend of mine pushed me to join the competition and I was like 'yeah, right, I'll never win that, give me a break' and then the day before the entry deadline she literally yelled at me on the phone to enter a shot, so I chose this one that I really liked of Teiji and Yuko at the pub having a laugh, they had such a cool youthful energy about them. A little while later, I found out I won the competition! So many thanks to my friend Emily for pushing me to do that.
Q: Tell us about the short film for Channel 4 Television that you collaborated with designer Hussein Chalayan on.
A: The very talented British film maker Rupert Murray and his wife, the lovely Chantal, invited five of us to do short films with British designers. I was thrilled to be included as Juergen Teller was one of the five, a personal hero! Then to be paired with Hussein Chalayan, well how cool was that?! So I met Hussein and he let me choose whatever I wanted to use for the film. I filmed my muse, Marisa Heath, on super 8 film and had her travel an esoteric journey where she constructs a physical house out of her various emotions and experiences (tying back to the project of making sculptures out of photos), each in a different outfit. The fact that Hussein's garments were also quite intellectually laden only added to the film. The opening dress was incredible: it was organza layered in the way book pages turn. He's such a genius. Anyway, the films were all three minutes and aired on Channel 4 at 8pm, one of us each night that week. Thank you Rupert and Chantal!
Q: As a photographer you get to travel around the world, if you could live in only one place in the world where would it be and why?
A: I find this question quite fantastic, so I will answer it in that manner. Welcome to JP-shire. Part of the estate is urban, the other part is rural. It's the best of all climates and landscapes and all those wonderful cities I love: London, Beijing, Shanghai, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Prague... The main manor itself is quite Venetian, but with elements of other cultures as well. All of the staircases and the scale of the architecture are from Rome, the fresh water pool tiles from Turkey and Portugal, the chandeliers from Venice, and well Sir Gordon Ramsay himself shares the kitchen with my favourite Szechuan chef from Shanghai. Imagine the rest...
Q: Finish this sentence: "You would be most surprised to know that I like...."
A: "... jumping out of airplanes at 10,000 feet."
Q: What legacy would like to leave in the fashion world?
A: It would be quite nice if some of my images inspire other people in some way, whether it inspires them to be a photographer or creative, or to feel and be happy because of a beautiful moment of joy captured in my photos. Sure, I have big plans and aspirations, but let's start with that.
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