Artist Talk - Alba Giertz
We sat down with Alba Giertz from Sweden to talk photography, inspiration, and social media. Alba is a talented young photographer and her work is increasingly making waves on and off the interweb. We were interested to find out what drives her, and what her secret is to getting, -needless to say- well deserved attention in today's increasingly crowded world of photographers.
How did you first get interested in photography?
When I was little, or around eight I think, my parents built me a darkroom under the stairs where I learnt to develop film. I shot mainly friends around that time.
Wow that’s such a young age to take this so seriously!
I can’t take credit for it because it was my parents that were cool and encouraged me. I remember the feeling of just having shot a roll of film. It felt like you had a treasure sort of. Being able to capture visuals was very special back then. More special than it is now.
We went from manually to prewritten
Were your parents involved in photography?
No my parents worked in television. My Mom had this crazy wardrobe because she was a host for a talkshow and I used to borrow her clothes and dress up my friends. We had wigs on and it was super dirty. If it would have been anyone else shooting those pictures it would have been very wrong. (Laughs)
Do you still work on film?
Yes I do. I’d say about 20 percent of my work is shot on film.
What’s your format of choice for film? 35mm or Medium format?
I like both. Since quite recently I have been using a Mamiya 7 which is a medium format camera. 35mm and medium format provide different ways of shooting, it’s almost like they shouldn’t be compared.
Jealous
You have a very recognizable style. Using dramatic light, and mixing ambient and often stark artificial light. How did you develop your voice as a photographer?
It’s really hard to narrow it down because I’ve been doing photography for a long time. You experiment to find something you like and then you just evolve that. It’s all quite abstract for me. It’s all about the emotions I sense while shooting or while looking through the batch (and of course being almost too late) that pushes my work forward. Consequently it can be hard when one’s work relies on a gut feeling, because you can’t control your emotions. Sometimes it’s simply not there, and I’m forced to be passive.
Any sign would do
You don’t plan your work or your shoots?
Yes I do, but it depends on what it’s for. If it’s for a job, or I’m working with other people, I plan more, or like a lot a lot a lot more. I’m generally quite nervous, hence I prefer to try the lighting and everything back and forth. And if I can, I will go to the location a few days before to plan. However when I go on set, I can break free from that and do whatever.
What I meant to say was that your work feels very instinctive.
Well, yes I guess I try to be malleable to the scenery. It’s about having your eyes open to what unfolds. You know good natural light here can last for like a second. You see it, and then it’s gone. Sometimes I see something and I literally run with my camera to capture it before it’s lost.
Who are your influences, and why?
I think it also goes back to when I was younger. I used to read and collect foreign fashion magazines as a kid. Which was not a very good thing for my mental health because of the beauty standards. I think it’s deep down in me now whether I like it or not, and I still take a lot from that time, mentally and in my work. Now as an adult, and this is going to sound a bit narcissistic but, I’m not that into looking at what other people do. I think it’s important to know what comes from yourself because as soon as you see something, you pick it up subconsciously and it does affect you. In that aspect, Instagram for example has not been the best platform because it’s like it’s too much photography and you can lose yourself in it. I find it funny when people are like -oh you are a photographer, and they talk about some famous photographer, I’m like: Yea.. Most of the times I have no idea who they’re talking about. (Laughing)
You woke up. But I didn’t
Your work has been widely featured on many platforms, printed and digital. How do you feel about the rise of social media, and Instagram culture in particular and its effect on your work?
I feel a little conflicted about it, as it’s given me a lot. Being able to connect with people has been invaluable. I’ve actually met a few people from there and some have become really close friends. What I don’t like is that you have to please a wider range to make your posts be seen, especially now with the order of the posts not being chronological. I am really against that when it comes to art. Art should never be about being likeable. It should be about being able to tell whatever and do whatever you want and not be about thinking: are people are going to like this? Because if they don’t the post is going to disappear from your followers feeds, so you don’t just lose likes, you lose visibility too. You’re contrived to choose: do what you assume people generally like and be visible, or just do your thing and possibly disappear. The system and algorithm that gives you the rankings kick the already weak, unless you pay the platform not to be kicked at. As a result we become less brave and slowly we’re reshaped into similar subcategory moulds.
Another issue I have is the pace. Everything goes so fast. With that speed things can of course spread rapidly, but it also enables both your images, concept and ideas to get copied with the same speed. People often repost without giving credit. Eventually it just spins and no-one knows who the originator is. Before the internet, if you got published you were the creator and you were entitled to your work. But today, the same second as you post something, someone can go out and take a similar picture and upload it the
same day. If it’s a good visual idea, people will copy it until it’s impossible to track where it came from. It has taken decades for me to develop my style and sort of come to where I’m at today. I find it really important to not do what everybody else does. It’s to a point where I have to let go of work I’ve been refining for years, because I don’t want to be someone who is following a ”trend”. I perceive it as getting my identity stolen when someone imitates a visual concept I have, for it’s forcing me to abandon my concept, no matter how much I love it. I’ve conducted several hunts in the DMs during the past two years, which has made me rather unpopular. No one ever admits it anyway. Which must stem from that people aren’t even aware of that they’ve been influenced. I know this is a bit mental, and not very nice at all. Some of it might just be in my head too. Plus I’m probably guilty of doing the same shit myself.
What is your favourite piece of photography gear?
You know I really agree with the saying, the best camera is the one you have with you. I actually shoot with my phone a lot when I should be shooting with something more solid. And afterwards I’m thinking: why didn’t I just go and get my camera? I really think it’s important to bring your equipment with you everywhere you go, at the least for the period you set out to shoot. It can be kind of hard to relax constantly being on standby but afterwards you hardly ever regret it.
Act normal. I am
Any pro tips for aspiring photographers on how to get their work seen?
Firstly, well this is going to sound weird but: Don’t submit your work! Magazines run in the same direction as everyone else. If you get a good reach in your niche you will be contacted by magazines. If you submit your work, you don’t have the psychological advantage of being contacted by them and be this unattainable “thing” that they’ve found and want. You have to kind of be admired from a distance. If you submit and indirectly ask to get published, you may make the editors feel as if they are doing you a favour and not the other way around. This may not work for everybody, but honestly me ever getting published has never been a result of me submitting anything. Secondly, you have to have your own heartbeat. Let’s say you find a concept that’s already popular and you try to copy it, you’d have to beat everyone in that category to get attention. Though if you create something on your own which no-one else really does then
you are only competing with yourself. And eventually a lot of imitators...nah just kidding. (Laughs)