Morgan FreemanONE-ON-ONE
Andreas Neubauer
From the magazine Schnappschuss No. 55
Andreas Neubauer was born in Munich in 1965 and now commutes between his native city and his adopted home of Berlin.
In addition to numerous exhibitions, he regularly publishes books such as his
"Hoppes Traum - Das sagenhafte Weesenstein", which was published in 1998 and has just been reissued. For Neubauer and his photography, only the one-to-one between model and photographer counts.
After training as an actor, he switched sides and began to stage and photograph actresses and actors. In this issue, the photographer describes his first steps and his attitude to black-and-white photography
I am Andreas Neubauer and I am a photographer, born in the middle of the hippie era in Munich, in 1965.
My dream was initially to become an actor, but performing in front of an audience was difficult for me. Even today, I still prefer to work one on one. I discovered my passion for photography through Jon, a friend. On vacation trips, I always watched him pose me, but when I was supposed to photograph him, he always told me how to frame the picture. It rubbed off on me.
So I saved up for over a year to buy my first camera, a Nikon FM2. I started taking portraits of friends, later it became actors.
I saw my chance to meet actors at big festivals like Cannes, the Berlinale or the Biennale. But if you want more than just catching a picture on the red carpet, you will realize that this is a back-breaking job. In the course of my career, there have always been key moments that have shown me that the profession of "photographer" will never be an easy one.
"And somehow she found time for a photo session with me in between."
From the "Panorama Nudes" series
Katharina ThalbachA lecture by photographer Gabo was very important for me as a beginner. She told a very funny story about how she was commissioned by a star and met a star who didn't want to do it. But she had a plan B to convince him after all.
Young photographers often think that once they have achieved something, it will be easier. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It's not uncommon for months, even years, to pass before an individual appointment that I had previously landed at a festival actually materializes.
Although it's often easier with big stars than with so-called shooting stars, the British actress Emma Thompson stood in the rain for me for five hours, only to say in the evening: "Andreas, now you've only got me in the rain, let's do something else tomorrow so you can have sun too. "
I experienced another key moment with the German actress Meret Becker. Meret was shooting a cinema and TV film at the same time and even performed her own show in the Spiegelzelt at night.
And somehow she found time for a photo session with me in between.
So I changed my work pace and tackled several projects at the same time. It's important to "follow through" instead of working when you're feeling creative and good. I generally like to start projects myself instead of waiting for orders. Whether it's photo sessions or book projects.
Exhibitions followed, including at the Frankfurt and Berlin film museums and the Goethe Institute in Paris. The volume about Rolf Hoppe was followed by the film star book "NEUBAUER", then "PANORAMA NUDES", photographed with a Noblex. A book about Oktoberfest visitors "WIESNLEUT" and the nude book "SEXY UND PUR" were also published.
"I have always remained true to my style. Staged and intimate at the same time."
Inge Meysel
Udo KierAs a former drama student, portraying actors was an obvious choice for me. It is particularly important to me to know the work of my models. I also attach great importance to the right location and sufficient time when planning my sessions. This allows me to work intuitively. The session itself usually runs on the side. I like to talk about all sorts of things during the session and sometimes I even sing to avoid boredom!
It's simply essential to be fluent in a foreign language, which is where the four years I spent abroad always come in handy. I was able to improve my English in London and New York.
I have always remained true to my style. "Staged and intimate at the same time." Advertising images are not for me, I want to capture the moment. I have a preference for black and white images, although this has changed somewhat since I switched to digital photography. In the beginning, I still found it difficult to create my black and white look digitally. But it became much easier to play with color.
"As a former drama student, it made sense for me to portray actors."
Kris Kristoffersen
Shirley MacLaineAnd in the past, when an editorial team heard that the pictures were black and white, they would either say: "Then the pictures must be really great" or "Sorry, we can't do it, we already have a black and white production in the paper." Today it's clear that they could also get the photo in color.
However, I think that some people's preference for black and white also has something to do with their viewing habits. While you usually only get to see very good black and white photos, a lot of garbage is also published in color. You rarely see grey, poor black and white photos, but many color pictures in which color doesn't play a major role.
I'm currently working on five new books. One of them is another nude book with a model I've been working with for years. And, of course, there will also be something about acting. And I'm doing something in the field of acting again myself - a clown workshop with Jango Edwards, who said to me: "You did not stop, you paused for 30 years." Info, publications and
more works by the artist: Andreas Neubauer
www.andreasneubauer.com
Related topics
"Schnappschuss" magazine
The Foto Koch magazine has a modern, creative design and is relatively unique in terms of design and content. further information
"Either ... Or? - Black or white?"
Hamburg photographer Peter K?hn presents himself in our new category in the Schnappschuss. Read now
