22.06.09
Debi Angel - Art Director
The right advice and inside track on how to get commissioned
Your career began at The Observer Magazine and you then moved on to launch Elle magazine in the UK, how involved with photography were you at both titles?
Well, after a short time in book publishing, I was involved, amongst some other titles, with a new photographic book on Helmut Newton.
At 'The Observer' we had a great picture editor called Colin Jacobson and I had so much admiration for him and his photographic eye. I loved working on lay-outs with him.
At 'Elle' the images, leaned heavily towards fashion. Photography was commissioned in meetings with the editor, Sally Brampton, fashion directors, and Clive Crook, the art director.
Photographers came in with their images and I usually saw the new names, as well as students from college. At this time I was also involved with commissioning illustration, but Clive would call me into his office and we would edit a fashion story at the end of the day. I was released into the world of great image makers, such as Gilles Tapie, Robert Erdman, Kim Knott, Pamela Hanson, Fabrizzio Ferri, and the young star Andrew Macpherson.
Elle very much reflected the time of it’s launch, the eighties. How do you feel that was reflected by the images you were using in the magazine?
We launched the style of heavy crops and tilted images… a lot of movement in the fashion images, a fresh narrative.
At that time of course we were editing 35mm images, bent over big light boxes with a ‘lupe’ to your eye for hours on end it seemed.
I learnt to look for “like for like”, placing the near poses, that made the story, next to each other in a line and then editing them down to the image that ‘sung out’ to you. Then arranging them into the editorial flow or story, for the ‘well’ of the magazine. ( the ‘well’represented the fashion spreads of the magazine uninterupted by advertising.)
It’s not the same, editing on screen.
You were then the launch Art Director of Elle Decoration magazine which re-defined the photographic approach to interiors, can you tell us a little about how that came about?
The French publishers were heavily involved in the early stages of ‘Elle Decoration’. Like most new launches the new magazine has to be shown to everyone under the sun, but to launch with such a good writer and visual editor as Ilse Crawford was a dream. It was a very small team.
Ilse had worked on the 'World of Interiors' and had a great team of freelance stylists under her belt. We gained the confidence to push the boundries - shooting with a strong style with tight cropping… always considering pacing of the images in the magazine with the photographic editorial.
How do you feel that photography and photographers have changed over your career?
At all times I would see and make time to meet photographers with their work, meeting with the image maker is mostly a treat for me.
Whenever possible I would always ask the photographer to bring in a personal book, images shot without a commision.
Commissions are given and nowadays you may never meet the photographer. I hate this.
Now it has become a portfolio drop off culture.
And how do you feel about the publishing industry’s attitide to photography, particularly with reference to newspapers and magazines?
Working with good images, making the editorial work, I used to get really excited, (especially going back to redesign ‘Elle Deco’ in the late 90’s), by the energy and passion of well designed lay-outs and the tempo of the pages.
Now, the Industry has changed... I liked it pre mac, best... not that I hate working on the mac..not at all, but it’s the touchy feely thing with paper and the smile on the face of a photographer when you thank them for a great shoot. It’s a big part that has been lost.
You now work as a freelance consultant. How do you choose which photographers you want to work with? Where do you find them?
I'm still very keen on young talented image makers, although over the last year I’ve worked mainly with established photographers such as Jan Baldwin, Emily Andersen, and recently with Australian photographer Amanda Prior.
Where do you find them?... good question! I remember keeping a contact book in the early 80’s. It was heavy with telephone numbers.
I still keep a file of ‘tear’s’, printed images torn out of magazines for reference, style, ideas and of course I use the web.
You are also regularly involved in portfolio reviews, do you see the same mistakes cropping up in different photographers books and if so what do they keep doing wrong?
I’ve been involved with the Independent Photographers Gallery in Battle, East Sussex and have been doing portfolio reviews with Lucy Bell.
What mistakes regularly crop up? Well the selection of images I'm shown, make it hard for me to understand why I'm being shown them, when they want to do editorial work. Lack of printed personal work or a small portfolio and bad editing. I also miss good black and white images especially in degree students.
Is technical knowledge important to you when commissioning?
"To infinity and beyond...” YES!
Are there any young photographers whose work particularly interests you?
Young talents such as Gabriella Rizzello, Samantha Goddard, Erol Gemma and Jo Longhurst.
Two other image makers that I enjoy looking at the moment are Matthias Schaller and Susan Paulsen.
And finally what advice do you have for a photographer just starting out?
You must not let technology get in the way of you and the photograph. It has to be a passion. Look at other photographers work. Have hero’s!
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