Starting off as a retoucher, Henrik Adamsen eventually quit his day job to become a professional fashion photographer. We were lucky enough to get to know Henrik, the incredible artist behind the project, Silverblack WOOL Campaign AW15. Find out why it wouldn’t be a bad idea to follow in Henrik’s footsteps, if you’re an aspiring artist.
Could you talk a little bit about how you started off as a photo retoucher and your development into a photographer? What was that progression like?
It was actually a very long transition from being a retoucher in the mid 90s… Then moving to London and working there for a while as a retoucher, then AD-assistant / artworker, moving on into graphics design/ArtDirection, and somewhere in there I started shooting just for fun. That then turned into something serious - so I kinda had to give up my day job. I just started getting too many jobs, that I either had to take days off to do, or to take care of them in the evening. In then end, it was the best decision I ever made - I highly recommend it!
Who are some photographers that have inspired your work?
In the beginning it was a lot of Patrick Demarcheliers work that did it for me. But my style progressed into something a lot messier and my inspiration started coming from a lot of different places. Newton, Lindbergh, Bailey etc…
What cameras and lenses do you usually shoot with in the studio? Do you have any thoughts on the growing popularity of mirrorless cameras, like the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and the Fujifilm X-T1?
Funny you should mention it; I’m in fact in the process of buying an X-T1. The camera store where I buy all my equipment, Goecker, has this very nice policy of lending out equipment for you to try, before you buy. That’s pretty sweet!
My opinion? Well so far it has been really nice to work with. I’m buying it because I want a “pocket” sized alternative, that I can bring with me when I’m in London for meetings etc, and I don’t wanna bring my PhaseOne or my Nikon gear. I love the quality of the X-T1, and the build seems really solid. All in all a very cool camera - with some amazing lenses too!
Do you have a certain creative process that you find yourself repeating with each new project, or do approach each one differently than the last? How did you approach Silverblack WOOL Campaign AW15?
For some reason I always have a moment of insecurity where I try to make everything nice and neat. It’s interesting to open up my session-files from a job and seeing how the first 5-10 frames are totally different, in an attempt for something that’s just not me. Then I find myself adjusting light or something to fit my usual style. But I guess it’s some kind of process that I have to ensure that I’m going in the right direction.
Well for the Silverblack WOOL campaign I had this old background that I had painted myself. I thought it’d look great as a slightly messy background when I shot it in daylight with my usual fairly shallow depth of field. I wanted a mix of calm almost hypnotic looks for the close-ups. To show off what the fabric can do, we did some quite crazy, yet in a way also static poses/moves for the wider shots. You can always credit the photographer for great ideas and so on, but it also comes down to having amazing models to work with, such as Anastasiya and Alexander for this particular project. There is only so much you can do if the model doesn’t work. I think these two are amazing - and fit the project really well!
There’s the saying that you should never show someone your contact sheet, but where there any photographs that didn’t make it into Silverblack WOOL Campaign AW15 that you really wish had?
I didn’t know you shouldn’t show anyone your contact-sheet. Oh well, you learn something new every day, haha. No I’m really not afraid of showing people anything. I’m not a stage magician - I don’t have a secret way of doing things. For the Silverblack WOOL campaign, it was literally just me and my camera - and nothing else, in terms of equipment or light. The images are more or less straight out of CaptureOne (the software I shoot to). The same goes for picking shots. I don’t mind telling people that I also shoot a lot of crappy shots during a session. I think part of being a good photographer is just as much in picking the right shots at the end. Taste over technique, I suppose.
When you work with good models - you always end up with SO many shots that work in different ways. In this case the two shots attached (pictured below), just didn’t make it for various reasons. I still love them though. But I guess the one that’s IN the campaign, with Anastasiya on her toes, just works a bit better.
Most of your work on Behance is fashion/portrait photography. Are there other types of photography that strongly interest you, such as street photography, or something else in a slightly less controlled environment?
Not really. I mean I appreciate other styles of photography I just don’t practice them. It’s funny, that you say “controlled environment”. One of the things I love about shooting like I do - is that not everything is in control all the time. It’s one of the wonderful things about shooting a lot in daylight. I love allowing those 10% of “OOPS!” into the picture. I think that’s part of making the picture interesting. It messes it up in such a wonderful and unpredictable way.
Did anything interesting happen as a result of the success of this project? (fans contacting you, job opportunities, blogs picking it up, etc).
I don’t follow too much who posts or re-posts my shots. I’m always happy when people tell me that they like what I do. I got a few really nice and positive mails as a result of this shot. And I have a couple of meetings with potential new clients, because of it too.
Oh yeah, and you guys contacted me for this interview. Thanks for that!
