Could you please briefly introduce yourself, and tell us about your first encounter with photography? Who has influenced you to start taking photographs?
Hi, my name is Jeferson, Brazilian, born in São Paulo. My first contact with photography was when I was a child, photographing my model planes with my cousin, with my father's Kodak Instamatic 177X, however, I never imagined that one day I would work with photography.
In 2012, my wife, who is a journalist, needed someone to make some images for a client who sponsored a motorcycle team. I made the images for her and fell in love with photography definitely. From these photos, I studied, took many courses and decided to leave the stable career of financial manager to live in the world of photography.
From your point of view, what are the most difficult aspects of professional photography?
Professional photography requires constant study. You need to learn something new every day, updated and prepared to know how to do what your customer needs. If you're not ready, you're out of the market. But, that doesn't mean that you need to know how to do all types of photography, specializing in one area is more important than saying you do any type of photography.
As the expert you are, what are the unique features of this kind of photography and the keys to master it?
Professional photography goes far beyond taking the photo, inserting a “preset” into the image and you're done! You need to understand the construction of the image, the light, the positioning, the right shadow and what that photo getting the message across to the audience
In your opinion, how beauty is perceived at the present age? What does photography mean to you personally and what really makes a woman or man beautiful?
Before, each country or time established standards to define what was considered beautiful to fit into fashion. The concepts of beauty these days are changing. The beauty model of an extremely beautiful or thin person is running out and we are entering a standard of beauty that anyone can fit.
What type of models do you prefer to shoot with? Why?
I prefer female models because they have more repertoire, in my head the poses repertoire for example is much broader than that of men, which makes the job much easier. Models with different or alternative patterns are also very interesting to work with.
Are there any other photographers you lookup? Who?
I follow the work of several photographers, this is an important point for inspiring their work and creating a repertoire for their work. I really like the images of Bob Wolfenson, Danilo Borges, Fernanda Calfat and Luiz Tripolli
You are going about conducting a photoshoot, could you take us through the typical planning process for your images?
When I come up with the idea for the photo shoot, I usually look for reference images to show the models and the producer (and in some cases, even the makeup artist) what we're going to do. From the references that the models already understood what we need, we started our photo session.
In addition to being sharp and well lit, your photos are beautifully edited. What is your retouching/production philosophy?
I try not to edit the images too much, in my view, edit the images too much, it takes away people's characteristics and I'm against that.
For example, I don't edit an image of a 50-year-old model and leave it with a 20-year-old appearance, eliminating EVERYTHING that would be characteristic of her, such as wrinkles, expression lines that her age created, in my head if I do that I spoil the image I created. I only soften the expression marks, whoever knows the person knows that they have the expression mark in a certain place, if I remove it, the person is unrecognizable and that's not the idea. Depending on my deadline, I prefer to edit the photos one by one and not in batch like some other photographers do, I believe I waste a little more time, but I gain more quality doing this way.
What would be your tips/advice to models looking to expand their portfolio?
Two tips that I believe are important would be:
WANT to be a model, because being a model goes far beyond being photographed or being the fashion profession. You have to WANT to be and this profession is not easy at all, it's a lot of work, dedication and effort involved.
In a photo shoot, have personality and attitude, this helps in developing the work together with the photographer. Dedication, punctuality and friendliness are key points for a career.
What projects are you working on next, and what are your goals for the future?
I'm studying about the Victorian Era for 2022, I'm in contact with producer and models and this will get me some sessions. The pandemic disrupted the work a lot, as well as the goals I had in mind, however, I believe that in 2022 we will already have our new studio, for new ideas and sessions.
Where can we see more of your works and get connected with you?
You can follow my work on instagram @cj_fotografia or on my website: cjfotografia.com.br
Photographer: CJ Fotografia @cj_fotografia
Model: Jayra Oliveira @eujayraoliveira
Makeup Artist: Dan Silva @dandan_sss
Accessory Designer: Di Capri @dicaprijoia