With many forms of print distribution steadily migrating to digital platforms, many previously still-only uses now have motion possibilities. And these motion-capable outlets have different needs than content made for tv or theaters.
When digital out-of-home signage first appeared, there was a rush to use existing tv content on it. The backlash was immediate due to the rapid, distracting, disconcerting flash of motion that was not comprehensible in the brief moments given to such a communication platform. It was just visual noise. Nobody is going to stop and watch an unfolding narrative when on their way to through public transport centers.
And we consume magazine editorial content differently too. In magazines, we like a curated collection of content around the title’s theme. Magazine’s are not where we go to watch a full program. And usually the visuals are complementing a written story — even on digital devices. It’s the mix that is rewarding in magazines, and they tend to be quicker reads than longer-form storytelling.
I love shooting portraits, and they are an essential staple of magazines. Portraits for me are the intimate, low key balance to the more elaborate conceptual and fashion productions I do. I feel that conceptual and fashion shoots are like sculpture, where you meticulously craft an image or scene. And portraits are more like jazz, where the photographer/director and subject spontaneously improvise and and riff off of each other.
