Home > Culture > Mentor Showcase > The 2007 Best-of Series: Stewart Cohen
The 2007 'Best Of' Series
We have now produced an annual Best Of issue of the ASMP Bulletin for the third year in a row. As before, we selected twenty projects for our issue — but this year, we had nearly 200 excellent submissions! It was a tough decision, and we thank all those who submitted their work. We hope you will enjoy reading about these projects.
Stewart Cohen, Dallas, TX
Web site: www.stewartcohen.com
Project: Mexican luchadores in weird and wonderful settings
Always one step ahead of popular trends, Stewart Cohen’s imaginative style transformed farm-league Mexican wrestlers into real-life super-heros. He traveled south of the border with minimal gear and hired a local producer to supply additional crew and lights. Juggling stills and film kept everyone on the ropes but resulted in a knock-out, stranger-than-fiction look.
All images in this article © Stewart Cohen
ASMP: How long have you been in business?
Since 1985.
ASMP: How long have you been an ASMP member?
Since 1982.
ASMP: What are your photographic specialties?
I photograph people on location.
ASMP: Please describe the processes and techniques central to the making of this work.
Like all my work, it is about people in natural environments. We went to Mexico and worked with what we could find. Very organic, we just let it happen. It was not contrived at all. We went with very little gear, got a couple of guys down in Mexico with some lights who did not speak any English and away we went.
ASMP: What do you consider your most valuable piece of equipment?
My eye and my approach, it has nothing to do with gear.
ASMP: What is unique about your style/approach or what sets you and your work apart from other photographers?
I realize that a career is a long road and you have to keep shooting regardless of anything else. There are tangents I take that may not amount to much now, but you see elements of them pop up in projects years down the road. I am always looking for projects to shoot, whether they are from clients or on my own.
ASMP: Why luchadores, and how extensive was your exploration of this theme?
I thought it would be cool, kind of theatrical. We stuck to small town venues, kind of farm league wrestlers, which made it interesting. The Mexico City wrestlers are a big-time business and I wanted to stay away from the hype. We only did two trips on this project. We shot stills and film on both of them; the second trip was really to shoot a TV spot, but we added time for stills.
ASMP: Was the motivation behind this project primarily personal, for the purposes of your portfolio, for stock purposes, a mixture of all these or something else?
Everything starts personal, and everything is for sale. The proceeds of all my personal projects fund everything.
ASMP: Did you shoot film footage of this project in addition to stills? Please describe your strategy for capture when both forms of media are involved.
I brought down a small lightweight film camera and just went back and forth between stills and film. That kept everyone off balance including myself. It was great.
ASMP: Did you work with local contacts for preproduction, casting, assistants or other services? If so, how did you locate them?
We have a producer we work with in Mexico that we found years ago on a project. We love her and she is a whack so you never know exactly what the results will be. She did the groundwork and got us some local crews and lights. I brought down cameras, some gear, but not a crazy amount.
ASMP: Humor and irony is central to a lot of your recent work. What are your greatest inspirations for generating ideas that speak to these concepts?
If you don’t have a sense of humor, what is left? Reality is so much stranger than anything I can come up with, so when I find stuff that strikes my fancy I shoot it. It is really my personality as well. My inspiration comes from reading and finding people that way.
ASMP: You talk about spontaneity and luck finding shots. What amount of preproduction was involved in this project? How does this balance with the spontaneity aspect? How do you handle releases?
Most importantly, everything is released.
I find myself doing more and more pre-pro. Since I started shooting film, I’ve seen my desire to prep grow and grow. But the net is on this project. We walked into most of the situations cold and just hit it with what looked coolest.
ASMP: You’re represented by a very well known rep firm. How long have you been with them and how did this relationship begin?
I only signed with them at the beginning of this year. We talked for about eight months, feeling each other out and seeing if we were compatible. The Rep-Photographer relationship is key, and it is extremely important that there is mutual respect and admiration. I think we both found that. I was coming off a very successful previous relationship hat lasted ten years and ended very amicably.
ASMP: What does your rep handle and to what degree? Marketing? Estimating? Production assistance? Other aspects? Does this vary depending on the project?
It all varies on projects, but they do all the estimates with our input. They market us in the name of their firm and we also market ourselves individually. I have a great staff and we handle the production and postproduction.
ASMP: What kind of advice would you give to other photographers who are seeking a rep or trying to establish this kind of a relationship?
You need to have a career to attract a good rep. You need to take responsibility for your career as well. They won’t. They should help facilitate the career, but don’t expect to find one and your life will become their responsibility. It doesn’t work like that. It is your life take control.
ASMP: Stock photography has been an important aspect of your career and you have been very successful with this. Please describe how this currently fits into your overall business plan and how this has changed or evolved in recent years.
Stock photography has funded a lot of things for me. Starting out, my philosophy was shoot for the portfolio and people will buy it as stock as well. The philosophy wavered for a few years when we took an ill-guided turn and produced strictly for stock. We are now back at doing it for the portfolio — if it sells, great; if it doesn’t, so what. Most of my wild hare ideas have paid for themselves over the years through stock even if I didn’t think they would.
ASMP: In addition to commercial work, you are very active with self-directed work or personal projects. How do these projects fit into your general business strategy? What is the most important aspect of these kinds of projects for you?
The most important aspect of my career is that I continue to shoot. I explore the world with my camera and interpret it as I see fit. This all fits into the commercial work as well; clients want people with a vision. It takes a lot of work to develop and nurture your vision. You’ve got to love it. It is not my job, it is my life.
ASMP: What do you consider to be the one most important business decision that you have made so far in your career?
When I decided that my career shouldn’t be left in the hands of my clients. If I was going to be a great photographer, it couldn’t depend on the jobs I had or did not have. My fate would be left totally up to me.
