Website: http://www.marcogrob.com/
Contact: http://www.marcogrob.com/contact
Marco
Grob strikes for his really distinctive way to portray his subject, using the
perks (or even the constrains) of photography as a medium to highlight an
individual's unique traits. His portraits of celebrities and social icons stand
out: Usually, photographs of famous people (actors, politicians) are always
polished and almost "surgical". Grob enjoys highlighting those little
defect that add character to an individual: a wrinkle in the skin, the depth of
a look, a curve of the human body…
What many
photographers commonly hide is actually under the spotlight on Marco Grob's
work, and this is what makes his portrait truly distinctive and special. In
fact, Marco Grob even relies on a series of techniques to further highlight his
shooting philosophy, such as the frequent use of black and white images with a
relatively marked contrast. His subject are often posing surrounded by a very
neutral background, a way to direct all the focus and attention on the subject
themselves. Most of the poses tell a story about the individual through a look,
a stance or even an item of clothing.
I like
the honesty and expressiveness of Marco Grob’s work, particularly because his
style relies on very few elements that are meant as ornaments. It’s just about
their subject and their natural magnetism and charisma.
Please also give your reply to my email : nhatlq@gmail.com. Many thanks and best regards.
ReplyDeleteNhat.
Could you please tell me more about the source documents or links about Marco Grob's photo - lightning technics as you wrote above
ReplyDelete" ... What many photographers commonly hide is actually under the spotlight on Marco Grob's work, and this is what makes his portrait truly distinctive and special. In fact, Marco Grob even relies on a series of techniques to further highlight his shooting philosophy, such as the frequent use of black and white images with a relatively marked contrast. His subject are often posing surrounded by a very neutral background, a way to direct all the focus and attention on the subject themselves. Most of the poses tell a story about the individual through a look, a stance or even an item of clothing.
"
I'm a fan of Marco Grob photos and his style but did not found any place of his documents about his techniques before.
Many thanks and regards,
Nhat.
Hi Nhat,
DeleteTake a look at the following interview: http://www.digitalphotopro.com/profiles/marco-grob-master-of-faces.html?start=1#.VBF2_7ywLfc
It's a great conversation and Grob talks extensively about his technical process.
The following statement should give you a good idea of how he achieves his distinct style.
Grob: "It's finding the right ratio between the ambient light and flash, not to have it look too lit. I have a basic kit of Elinchrom lights that we bring wherever we go. I just came back from Ethiopia. I direct my first assistant Tara to walk around holding a light with a five-foot softbox. Elinchrom's Ranger RX is a really fantastic piece of gear plugged into the Quadra Hybrid AS RX battery pack, which is 400-watt seconds and hardly weighs anything. I shoot with Hasselblad cameras, which allows me to sync at high shutter speeds, sometimes 1/500th or 1/800th, to bring down the ambient light for the look I want.
".
I hope this helps!
Also please keep in mind the large amount of post production (Photoshop work) that goes into these pieces. I can't give evidence of this however it is extremely obvious (but not in a bad way of course).
DeleteThere is a small mention of it in this article: http://digitalmag.pdnonline.com/pdnonline/201112?pg=92#pg92