Photographer profile – Nigel Pacquette
This is Nigel Pacquette, a photographer from London, talking about how he created some of his favourite shots. Several of Nigel’s images appeared on Vogue.it. I met Nigel at a model/photography social event for the Purestorm website, and I really liked his portfolio. It’s polished and varied, and quirkily creative. Lovely stuff. In his own words:
Can you pick your personal favourite photo that you have taken & tell us about it?
Ohh, that’s a tough one. Can I give you a top 3, if I make it quick, lol? In no particular order…
ONE: This shoot consisted of a make-up artist, two agency models, two hair stylists, me and a studio hired for the day. This was to be my second studio shoot, the first one having been for a couple of hours 48 hours earlier at the same studio to familiarise myself with learning how to switch on the lighting and stuff! It’s a favourite because of the pressure I felt, it was my first time working with a team and it demonstrated what a group of individuals can achieve. It was also the first picture I had featured on Vogue.it
TWO: this shot with Katie Green. The idea just came to me when another idea didn’t work. Once it was in my head, I must have had a clear idea of what I wanted the final image to look like as I took over 30 shots before I felt I had one I was happy with. Why is it a favourite? Shooting something a little different, on my birthday, with an established model, doing all the retouching myself (see below where I talk about that a bit more) and getting into Vogue.it again – happy days
THREE: I answered a casting from a New York model by the name of Breezy who was going to be in London for 48 hours. The plan was to shoot in and around the city but one thing I didn’t expect was her wardrobe which was just amazing! We ended up shooting both days she was over.
What’s the difference between having a makeup artist, and having the model do her own makeup?
For the majority of the shoots I’d say the difference between a model doing her make-up and using a MUA is that the latter can be a bit more adventurous and precise. I have a view that if a specialist is employed for each role, things should be of a higher standard. Yes a model can do her hair and make-up but if I was to have a MUA and hair stylist involved, I’d expect the make-up and hair to be better / more advanced. While they may not always be necessary for the shot, if given the choice, I’d rather have one than not – sometime ideas pop into your head and they tend to have a lot more make-up than the model thus giving you a bit more artistic freedom.
Do you find shooting in a busy public area difficult? How do the public react to a photographer and a model working together?
I don’t think I or the models have found it difficult. Living in London, I do try and make things as easy as possible and plan to shoot at the quietest locations and times possible (best time of the week is Sunday morning when people are in bed nursing their Saturday night antics and shops are not yet open so there isn’t a reason for normal people to leave the house). Reactions can be twofold; there was this shoot with Danielle in Battersea Park at 18:00 and not an eyelid was bat. I’ll get to the other side of the coin in a moment.
For a fashion location shoot, you’ll get people stare for a bit as when they see the camera, they immediately think I’m paparazzi and there are either famous people around or the model I’m with is famous. They usually stay in the background but if they come closer and ask, I tend to tell them we’re students doing project for university or something low key so they lose interest and go away. Saying that, on the other side of the coin I did have a shoot on the banks of the Thames at low tide on a Saturday afternoon and we must have drawn repeated crowds of 50 + people.
This was a tricky situation because we were shooting on the sand and they were gathered at the railings on the Southbank looking down on us. In this case, it wasn’t enough for them to be looking, we had the tourists with their cameras out trying to get shots themselves! The tactic I came up with was to make it look like we were finishing up so they lost interest. I remember we had to take 3-4 breaks on that shoot as the crowds were non-stop. Well done to the model Samanah, she took it in her stride and it didn’t put her off at all
Where possible I also try to visit the location at a comparable time and day as the shoot so on shoot day I’ve at least reduced the odds of any unpleasant surprises – I once visited a location on a day of the week different from the shoot and thought all was good only for on the day of the shoot to find there was a hockey match meaning we had to delay and miss some of the light.
What’s the one thing you wish you had known when you first started photography?
For the type of photography that I like shooting, I feel that it’s not enough to be a photographer, post-production skills are essential so I need to be a Photoshop wizard too – I would have started learning sooner. To expand, that aforementioned shoot with Katie Green, was an exercise I set myself. I wanted to see if I booked an established model, studio and then sent off the images to get retouched, could I produce an image of a similar standard to that of some of the photographers I admire. After I took this shot, I stopped to show Katie and told her that if the shoot ended there and then, having captured that shot I would be happy. Yes, it’s my opinion and I could be (just a little) biased when I say the original image was good, however, what came back from the retoucher was another class. Therefore, judging by the feedback I’ve received, the exercise was a success. I’ve since gone to Marina who retouched this image for a tutorial. I can honestly say that for any photographer who is looking to evolve and improve in these genres, money spent on learning this subject will be some of the best value money can buy.
Why do you do it? What do you love about photography?
Put simply, I enjoy taking pictures. It started with my holiday photography but has since evolved to include shooting in and around London, sports, events and of course models. As an amateur / hobbyist / whatever you want to call a person who doesn’t make a living from photography, that doesn’t stop me (and several others) from wanting to excel at it. Being honest, there is my ego that feels really pleased when I’ve taken a good picture, but then there is the other side of me that comes out when I see top class work by other photographers, that deadly sin called envy. I say envious but it’s also terribly motivating – I want to be capable of shooting ‘that’. Did I know that when I started taking pictures I would take it so seriously? No, but that’s not a bad thing; it’s an on-going journey and I’m going to try and enjoy each step.
How would you like to develop your photography in the future?
As I said earlier, I want to continue learning and taking better pictures. I suppose the first thing is that when you look at my pictures if you’re not wow’d, I’d at least like you to think there are of a “professional” standard. The three things I want to concentrate on are collaborating with more make-up artists, wardrobe, and hair stylists; build up relationships with various modelling agencies to test with their models; more Photoshop tutorials.
Oh, and I don’t just shoot women either:-
And finally, what’s with the ‘giving’ page on your website?
When it came to deciding on the website, I decided I didn’t want it to be too clinical with just pictures of models and an info page that spoke about me in the third person (grrr). I wanted some of my personality to come through not to mention to demonstrate my love of other genres of photography. The way I see it, there are too many things in the world we can’t do so when it comes to asking the question why help others less fortunate? The answer is because we can. Therefore I created a non-photography related page dedicated to the charities I support. I figured that if you’re on the site because you like my work, maybe you might be interested in taking a look. I recently donated a couple of pictures to a charity (Atoztrust.org) for an auction and was really pleased when I found out how much money was raised. As in this case, sometimes it doesn’t even cost to help others – something I feel we could all do with thinking about from time to time.
Thank you for talking to I/AM Nigel. Where can we find you on the web?
I/AM 