How long have you been shooting professionally?
I shot my first paid portrait session 1 year after I started my schooling at Brooks Institute of Photography. That was 8 years ago.
Do you have any formal training or education in photography?
Yes, I went to Brooks Institute of Photography, where I got my Bachelors in Fine Art. The best thing I could have done… and I’m so happy I did!
What camera do you use? Which lens is your most-used?
I shoot 100% film and LOVE it! My favorite camera to shoot with is the Contax 645 medium format camera with the 80mm f2.0 lens. The glass on that thing is so dreamy.
What additional equipment or gear do you find really helpful?
I also like my Canon 1V 35mm cameras with the 50 1.2 lens. It actually is very much like the 80mm f2.0 on the Contax, but this camera is so much faster which is great for the fast moving images like ceremony, dancing, etc.
How much digital manipulation do you do to your images and what programs do you use?
I don’t do much at all, I might add a little contrast to each image I post, but that takes me 10 sec. each… no joke. I use Photoshop.
Do you have any rituals or mantras that you use to prepare mentally before a session?
No, not really, but actually I’ve really started to work out before each session just to clear my mind and get refreshed after being in the office or in meetings all day.
Can you describe your process for getting your subject into that perfect pose?
I’m not a fan of the word “pose” it just really bothers me for some reason. I like to “direct” my subjects to a place where it feels right for me and feels genuine to my subjects. I use many different ways of getting my clients to feel the moment and to establish genuine communication with each other, I’m just there to feel those moments and to document that. All of it has to do with who you are as a person, how you communicate with your subjects and the energy you bring to the session. I’ve learned to give all of who I am to my subjects and sooner or later they will give me all of who they are. When that happens it’s a success.
How many hours goes into editing a standard session?
Because I shoot 100 % film, all I have to do is just edit the blinkers (images where the subjects blink) and take them off the DVD. This may take me 30 min. for an engagement session and 1-2 hours for a wedding.
What inspires you personally and as a photographer?
I love framing my images and being outside, I love travel, light and color. I use a Holga and Polaroid cameras to slow my shooting down and to really think about each photo that I take. It helps me get inspired for the next wedding or portrait session.
What mode do you shoot in?
I shoot manually on my Contax 90% of the time and Aperture Priority on my 35 mm cameras. I love my light meter, but I can pretty much nail the shutter speed without it. I don’t mess with my f-stop, it always rests at the lowest f-stop.
Do you prefer color or black and white images? How do you decide which one for each image?
As a film shooter you have to think whether an image will be best in black and white or color at the time of shooting. For me it depends on the lighting, the contrast and the overall feeling of the image, you have to think and work fast at weddings, there’s never a dull moment. If I had to choose what I prefer, I would have to say color. I think I understand color and it’s just in me to find the color that feels right to me. I seek out that location, lighting or backdrop at weddings. I also think that color is tougher to shoot, it dates faster than black and white images. With black and white you have less tones to think about and it’s a lot more timeless, the images don’t date as fast, it’s almost a safe way of shooting. If a color image in digital looks too yellow, too green and too hard to fix then I think many photographers mentality is to just turn it into black and white. I don’t think this way… for me it has to be done there and then while I’m in front of my subject. I’m a fan of getting it right the first time in camera. This all comes from experience. For you digital shooters I highly recommend getting it right the first time so you don’t waste your time editing and retouching, this life is too short to be in front of a computer fixing images because your exposure was off.
How would you describe your photographic style?
This is a hard one. I never felt like I had a style until brides and grooms were telling me that my style was organic, fresh, timeless, soft and emotional. I fully agree with them now, but it took me a while to say that I actually had a style.
Do you ever get photographer’s block? How do you overcome that?
I can honestly say I have never had this happen but I do have moments when I start feeling it coming on… the first thing I do after feeling this is I get on the computer and book the next flight after the next wedding. I like to travel to new parts of the world. I love Mexico, it inspires me and clears my mind for the next weddings.
What are your favorite subjects to photograph?
I would have to say a couple who is in LOVE, a wedding or engagement session. They both equally make me happy.
Who have been your influences?
I would have to say my family, and a few photographers who shot all black and white images in the 50’s and 60’s.
Do you listen to music while you edit your images? If so, what’s your favorite music for editing?
Yes, I love Pandora, it’s on all day long.
How do you handle a shy child, pushy parent, or difficult bride?
Hard question because all situations are so different. In the case of a difficult bride I make sure to be upfront and let her know she hired me for the look and feel of my images, if she gives me the time and energy I can capture images that will be in her family forever. Usually that helps… but I have to be honest I don’t have many of these.
How many images do you typically have at the end of a session, portrait or wedding?
I shoot about 30-35 rolls for a 7 hour wedding.
What challenges or struggles did you face early on? How about currently?
I always knew that there was a client for me. But I had no idea where to find that client. My biggest struggle was finding that client without breaking the bank. The best way for me to get there was to just continue to shoot how I saw the world and the rest would follow. It took a while for the referrals to come in, but when they did they didn’t stop.
Now my biggest struggle is saying no, Ha! As much as that sounds crazy… it’s true. I’m very blessed with the clients I have now, but sometimes, I give too much away. The one thing that I have no trouble saying “no” to is my time… My time is too valuable to be giving it away.
Have you ever considered ending your career as a photographer? What were the circumstances?
No, photography is not a job, it’s my life, I would never end my life! Unless of course it was taken away from me.
What is the best advice you have received regarding photography?
The best advice I ever got was to never let equipment tell you how to shoot. You tell the equipment how to shoot. I never really did see equipment as a huge part of my photography. A camera is a box with a lens on it and I can create anything with a box and a lens on it. It’s my eye that does the rest.
What advice would you give another photographer?
I meet a lot of photographers that are trying so hard to be who they aren’t in this industry. It’s not about copying each other. We all see the world so different, why not just transfer that onto film, or digital and share your vision with the world, not someone else’s vision… if you do you will always see your images as someone else’s not yours. That feeling is not genuine.
People often ask me how I developed my style, and how I create images that stand out in today’s highly competitive wedding market. Well, I am a Fine Art Wedding photographer. My approach applies fine art photography to the living, breathing, fast-moving phenomenon that is a wedding. For me, it is all about making something beautiful. Ultimately, my goal is to craft vibrant, energetic, fine art images that are as unique as the people in the photographs. Im humbled to say that I have been published in Many Magazines around the world, including Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Elegant Bride, Instyle Weddings, Inside Weddings, Brides Magazine, Modern Bride, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, Pacific Weddings, Southern Weddings, PDN, American Photo, and many more around the world.
Website:
www.josevillaphoto.com
Blog:
www.josevillablog.com
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/josevilla
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