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Spraygraphic Interview with Photographer David Muller
By Spraygraphic | March 25, 2009
Spraygraphic Interview with David Muller
SG: Please tell us about yourself?
DM: I’m 35 years young and about to hit my 1 year wedding anniversary. My wife is a celebrity manicurist named Jenna Hipp and we’re happily married. We just got a miniature pot belly pig named Wally about a month ago. Anyway, I moved out to Los Angeles 7 years ago from New Jersey. I had started as an actor in the NY area, having done many national commercials and a few TV appearances and what not. I still dabble in acting, but my schedule doesn’t allow for it the way it used to. I now make my living primarily as a Headshot photographer here in Los Angeles. I’m going on around 3.5- 4 years now. I also shoot Zed Cards for commercial print models and I’ve been dabbling in Beauty shots in my spare time.
SG: Where do you currently live and work?
DM: I currently live in the hills of the Mt. Washington area just near Eagle Rock. I am currently shooting from home, but I just found a wonderful studio in the Toy District which I will begin using May 1st.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
DM: I shoot Digital.
SG: What kind of equipment do you use?
DM: Right now my camera is a Nikon D3. For Headshots I use a fixed 85mm f/1.8 and for models I use a 24-70mm.
When using flash, I have a Hensel Porty 1200 pack, 22 inch beauty dish, 7 inch reflector and set of grid spots. I also was recently given a Broncolor Mobil pack, but have yet to purchase the heads for them, I’m saving up the money!
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
DM: I’m very much self taught when it comes to most of the stuff that I shoot. When I set out to create something that I haven’t done before I tend to go to other photographers websites that inspire me. I look for visuals in magazines and try to look at the light and figure out “how’d they shoot that”? I don’t yet shoot advertising so I’m not dealing with clients who have a specific vision, which allows me the freedom to create what I’m interested in. On the technical side, I shoot my images Raw and edit them in the Adobe Bridge. Afterward, the selected shots are taken into photoshop for retouching.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?
DM: I am fortunate because I get to shoot everyday, so I can’t ever say I feel “blocked” However, doing headshots on a daily basis, can bring with it a certain amount of monotony. When I feel like I need to shoot something to get my
creative juices going, I go through magazines and websites and as cheesy as it may sound I’ll even go onto the message boards on Model Mayhem just to hear and see what other photographers are talking about, even if it doesn’t interest me, It usually sparks something.
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
DM: Tony Duran’s celebrity work! I’m getting into more celebrity portraiture and I find his work really cool, current and inspiring.
SG: What do you look for when you are picking models to work with? Is it a physical feature? Personality? Photogenic? etc…
DM: If I’m being honest, I trust my wife in that department more than I trust myself. She used to have her own modeling agency in Hawaii, so she has a better eye than me. A great model can make or break your shot so I trust someone who has more experience.
SG: Do you bring your camera with you everywhere with you or do you leave it home when you go out on the town?
DM: I take it on trips for sure, but I don’t take it out with me on a daily basis. To be honest, working from home….well, I don’t leave the house much! When I do, I normally want to leave work behind. There are some days that I decide to just take my camera out and just see what’s interesting to shoot.
SG: Where has your work been seen?
DM: This is mildly embarrassing but my first time being published was for the Man Candy section of OK Magazine. I shot a friend named Brian Peeler who was on the Bravo series “Workout”.
SG: Where will it be seen next?
DM: I just did a shot of my wife who gets a lot of stuff published about her. It will be seen in Nail Magazines/Trade Publications, etc.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
DM: Hmmm…Well, I would love to one day shoot an A-List celebrity for Syndication purposes.
SG: What is your favorite color?
DM: Blue
SG: Who is your favorite artist? And Why?
DM: I hope the readers of this don’t want to lynch me, but I’m not much of an Art lover, so I can’t really say that I have one.
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
DM: Haha….I’ve been reading a book my wife gave me…it’s a bit personal, because it deals with relationship stuff, so I will leave the title to your imagination. And I subscribe to GQ, so I’m looking at that too!
SG: Ever do a self portrait? Where is it now?
DM: Yeah, It’s probably in an old hard drive somewhere….it didn’t turn out very well, I was waiting for a client to arrive one day and I was alone. It was hard to get a sharp focus, because my depth of field was shallow…..needless to say, it wasn’t a very good shot, but I’ll do more in the future.
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
DM: My house for sure!
SG: Any final words of advice?
DM: Nothing profound that people haven’t heard before…Always be learning, always challenge yourself by taking on something that you’re not sure you can do, It’s the only way to grow as an artist. Once you see that you can do it, you’ll go into the next project with confidence and more knowledge, having learned from your mistakes.
Topics: Artist Interviews, Photography |
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October 1st, 2009 at 2:25 pm
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