PHOTOGRAPHER
RICCARDO VIMERCATI
Currated and in conversation with creative director Conor Hautaniemi.
April, 2020 Riccardo is in Ibiza, I'm in New York. We have been in quarantine for over a month. I selected eleven images of Ric's that spoke to me, now I'm speaking to him.
CH Thanks for making this happen Ric. There were a lot of your images that appealed visually. However, I wanted to make a little bit of a narrative in terms of the types of images that I picked. Your photos are not just about clothing and I was looking in the images for a connection to the subject and narrative that of pulls it out of the context of a of a fashion photo shoot, something in an image that was obviously more. That was kind of the baseline criteria.
In the first image, here below, I think it's something you did. I see the model’s named Janae, I'm not familiar with her. But you know, what I really liked about this is it felt so natural. There's an artifice in photography, rather than just documenting a moment, you're making one. While I know that’s true, sometimes I’m still fooled. With this image in particular, it’s intimate yet not super clear what the relationship is or what's happening. That mystery draws you in.
RV I feel the same way actually. The thing is, I try to get to that point where you can capture the subject in a more natural way. I never try to build the set, the framing or the pose. Instead, I try to build a relationship and an emotion that can be described later in in the picture. At the end of the day, you're still building something, right? It's more often than not, you meet a person for the first time and you'll spend like two minutes. And you have to take something out of it. And try to find something I like from the subject, like an actor or an actress, and basically mirror or my emotions on them. As I said, it's something that is built that or constructed.
Jenaye, NYC 2018
“I try to find something I like from the subject... and basically mirror or my emotions on them”
CH The Coco image here, this one's a little different for me because for me. The feeling is more her with herself rather than her with you the photographer or with us, the viewers.
RV In this case, she was acting. I wasn’t trying to catch her emotions or personality through my own, but I wanted to see her in excess and in her own head instead of being with me. I'm glad you were seeing what I saw. I think there is a lot of emotion here, but it's just a little different. When you're a photographer, it’s a bit like being a film director.
Coco Rocha, NYC 2019
CH On another topic, in general you really fill your frames. in this case with the shot, it's almost like she's, she's holding the frame together, you know? She really inhabits the photograph. I think that's true for a lot of your photos
RV I actually put a lot of attention on that, I never like to crop my images. Which can be a problem with clients because they always need like a little extra length of the pant or whatever. I like to shoot with a frame like the way I want to see it, not afterwards. There is always a language in photography, like in literature or other forms of art. So you have to decide, the lens we're going to use, lighting and of course framing. It's going to change the final shot. If you should with a long lens or with a wide angle, the same subject will be completely different outcome in terms of the emotions that you're going to pull out of the audience.
“A chef or writer, even if they have beautiful ideas, need to have skills to realize them.”
CH I think it's also appropriate you brought up the, the aspect of a craft and having real photographic knowhow. A lot of photographers don't like to talk about equipment or things like that because it feels dis-attached from that emotional part. But I think having that sort of fluency of your medium in order to pull from it the emotions that you want to get is really important. Especially in the last years, it's seems technique is not that important to many photographers.
RV Right. I agree on the fact that techniques shouldn't be the primary thing. But you can never know the possibilities if you don’t have that knowledge. A chef or writer, even if they have beautiful ideas, need to have skills to realize them.
Anna Cleveland NYC, 2018
CH This third image is another reason why I wanted to bring up framing. This shot with Anna Cleveland really demonstrates that particularly well. The geometry being off a little bit, and her legs really reaching to the corners of the frame make it it's such a surprising and dynamic photo.
RV It’s hard to explain something that feels natural. It's more of an automatic thing. Yeah. I look through the camera and that's what I see. It's actually something that I never spoke about it. When I see the frame that I want, it’s very satisfying. When you know you're cooking and you taste it and it's like, “Oh, this is what I wanted”! If you're shooting digital you can see pretty quickly what you shot. With film you have to obviously wait a little bit to see what's on the negative, but you still remember kind of what was there. When cooking and there's a flavor that just appeals to you, you know immediately. There’s another thing about myself and my photography is that. For me, the main part is taking the picture. So sometimes I don't even need to see the print or to appreciate the outcome. I feel more emotions when I take the picture.
“The main part is taking the picture... sometimes I don't even need to see the print or to appreciate the outcome.”
CH This image is different from the first shot in the hotel room. It's more like Cocoa, where she's kind of, she's putting on a display for you. Also, the New York aspect appeals to me. It feels like, Harlem in the summertime in New York, you just need like one of those fire hydrants in the background, shooting out water!
RV On set, I had the producer find a kid's bike. I don't know why I thought about it. Maybe because I wanted to lower a little bit. It also softens the outfit, which is not very me. She was acting and maybe this one was a little bit more constructed in that way. But I still wanted to have something of myself in that picture.
CH That's a great way of putting it. This Balenciaga look is pretty strong and a little weird. She's a very striking model, but she has these crazy long legs, huge sort of eyes. It would be easy for all those elements to take over the image. So, I really appreciate way that you've skillfully re-directed both the styling and her.
Left, Alecia Morais, NYC 2019
Right, Hillary Rhoda, NYC 2018
CH In keeping with the New York City vibes, the next two shots are also street scenes. They're from different shoots, I see. I put them together because they contrast each other well. The Hilary Rhoda one is pretty gritty, while the other is more glamorous. That one on the left in particular reminded me of some kind of classic New York City street photography.
RV The styling on the image on the left was a very big part of the shoot. Sometimes we get inspired by a location. Sometimes you get inspired by a model, some other times you get inspired by the, by styling. It's not the thing I care about the most, but styling can be a vehicle for a feeling.
CH I know in the rest of the story you kind of see her more clearly, but the attitude come through without even seeing her face.
RV You're right, it's very strong. It's more of a still life for me by not showing her face. But you still want to get some emotions out of it. And, Hilary for example, I feel looking at that face. I feel something deep in her so when I look at the picture. I can’t see anything else.
Elisa Sednaoui, LA 2018
CH The next shot with Elisa... there's a styling aspect to her which tells me the story of like somebody who is just super free with herself. I don't know her personally, but it seems like that's probably who she is in reality. And then there's also this domestic side to the image. Like you’re a friend who's come over for a barbecue.
RV Yeah, that's actually what happened. That's her house. Elisa and I were friends. We're friends who also work together. The first time was about 10 or 11 years ago. This shoot was, was at her place in Los Angeles, and later on we did have a barbeque! In this photo you see on the table behind her, they’re some plates and cups and stuff like that. It's funny, I actually put them there! So that wasn't by chance.
Left, Silhouette, NYC 2017
Right, Alek Wek, Coney Island 2017
CH Here are another two shots. The one on the left is, it's more structured and tailored. And then the one on the right is super relaxed, but also tailored. Both are captivating from an aesthetic point of view. On the left, the silhouette, the light which so creamy, the result is alluring and elegant. The one on the right just feel so cool, fun and confident. I love the name of the restaurant. Rubies, it's just perfect.
RV So the way you described the Alek picture is the way she is actually, cool and super relaxed. The left one, sometimes I do go sees you know, they come to my studio and I take a couple of shots. When I met her, that’s what she was wearing that. You'll never know what to expect. Anyway, I was taking a couple of pictures of her or a face of course. But then, you know, I just saw this picture in my head and just took it. It's not studied but what I was saying before, when I see something, sometimes I get inspired and I want to take pictures. And in this case, it made sense like this without a face, with her arm pointing to the ceiling. I didn't want any space between the shoulders and the background. I wanted a whole shape. And the other one, the whole point of this picture is what's around. You know, the red facade, the shrimp and French fries signs and the name Rubies. If I had gone closer, it wouldn't have made sense.
CH Which is a little bit different from your style normally, which is generally closer to your subject. And this one you just kind of pulled back, but she has such a confidence that it still works.
RV She still holds the frame, I agree. I’m always going close to the subject, but sometimes I take some space to frame what's around. When you study photography, they always tell you not to put the head in the middle of the frame, right? But sometimes I like to do that because it feels like it's a natural picture, one not taken by a photographer.
The Pink Motel, LA 2018
CH The next image is a little different obviously, there's no model in it. It looks like a hotel somewhere in LA or definitely West coast. What drew me to is just a feeling of the atmosphere. I can almost smell like the summer air. I can hear the buzz of the neon lights of the sign. It transports me to a place.
RV That’s right and it's what I was feeling actually when I took the picture. I turned around and I was like, “Oh wow, this is beautiful”. I wanted to take this emotion with me and to frame it. I did frame it and put it on my wall. I don't even remember if it was printed in the magazine. The place was very cinematic, so I needed to get that.
Left and right, Alicia, NYC 2016
CH Let's go onto the next image. This is another go-see, I'm guessing.
RV Yeah... What I like about this, is that it doesn't take a lot to get a good picture for me. When you take a model as just a person with nothing done beyond how they styled themselves, I’m reminded that she's a beautiful woman. Or if it's a guy, he's a cool guy. And you're like, “okay, yeah, that's, that's what we're doing”. It's also a good school for what you when you're working. When you're on set, you have to think about so much. The relationship with the clients, the creativity and the outcomes that you are aiming for. So, in this case, you don't have hair, you don't have styling but you still want to make a good photo. So, you know, it's always a good challenge to make something work with what you have.
CH I think what's also interesting for me about this is her expression. It's different from some of the other photos, which have more of an intimate connection. It’s as though this is somebody who you just stopped on the street and were like, “Hey, I’m Riccardo. Can I take your photograph?” It's like you've just met a stranger and that's also kind of exciting too
RV Yeah, it's what happened. I've met her like 30 seconds before.
CH There’s a vulnerability here that’s really compelling.
Leah, NYC 2017
CH In this one I saw a contrast between the face in the body. I found her face to be angelic and then the body is powerful, like a warrior. Your framing here, cropping the shoulders, expands the size of her body in your mind.
RV When she arrived, she took her jacket and scarf off. Immediately I told her to put it back on. I was thinking about Kelly McGillis in Top Gun, with her oversize jacket. it's true, she’s like a warrior from neck down. In person, she was super sweet, confident and sexy. Also, I really liked that black of the jacket with her very like light blonde hair and a fair complexion. I wanted to push that contrast.
CH And it’s an example of why styling works or can work in an image. It ties into that element of character.
RV True, it tells a story.
Ashley Graham, Milan 2017
CH Next one, Ashley… So, you know, obviously she's well known and gets photographed a lot. What I liked about this that it looks different from other photographs I've seen of her. There is a sort of glamor language that I read and I think is probably her character. But the expression, the mood, it’s vulnerable and strong at the same time. I'm not sure what she thought about the photo, but it seems like it would be a portrait that one could really appreciate of themselves.
RV Yeah, she’s just such a personality and super confident in herself. In this picture, I wanted to find a timeless look. The choice of black and while and even the lighting was to give it that classic look. You never know if you're seeing a mask or not when you're photograph a famous personality. I think they feel a need to protect they're feelings. They're like always smiling, being happy and being super confident. Maybe it's not her, I don't know. I wanted to make her look more real or more intimate. In the case of somebody like Ashley, the confidence is already there and the assuredness of how to present themselves is there. So how then do you make the image your own, right? I actually wanted to take that out of the equation, so I don't want to see the confidence. I want to see the vulnerability of that person. I'm not very interested in seeing his or her confidence. I want to know what's behind the curtain. I already know about Ashley's a super strong personality and confident. But I don't need to take that photograph.
“I don't want to see the confidence. I want to see the vulnerability of that person... I want to know what's behind the curtain.”
Camilla Deterre, LA 2018
CH Last image. In terms of the, just the aesthetics of it are striking. You have the blue water and her figure which is mostly symmetrical in the frame. And then this mood that she has. As thought she’s a mythical creature coming to deliver an important message.
RV Yeah, maybe it's what caught my eyes to begin with. This day we're shooting, I woke up in LA and it was raining like crazy. We were supposed to shoot like a Summery story on the beach with typical LA blue skies. We couldn't go on location, so I decided to shoot at the Villa I was staying in and use the pool as well. I took a lot of pictures actually in the water and myself with her! I had just gotten out and I saw this. I was like, “stop, stay there”. Because I saw this. Yeah, she was a creature. I just really love the way she was and the background as all water. It's monochromatic. The feeling that I had is that she was floating somewhere and wanting to catch that. Even her widespread wide arms, it's part of the point I want it. She's flying to me in this picture, she's not swimming.
CH This feels like a nice closure. She's like, “okay, show's over”. It's really interesting to go through all these images and we ended up talking a little longer than I expected.
RV Yeah, for me too. You never really get an opportunity talk about your work. Talking makes you think and even realize something more about it.
Riccardo Vimercati is a photographer and splits his time between New York City, Milan and Ibiza.
Conor Hautaniemi is a creative director based in New York City.