Webinars Lighting Diagrams Color IQ Test Interviews How-to Videos Most Popular Products
Profession:
Website:
MOC: Shooting in concert situations must be hard. Does using medium format give you an edge?
Richard Agudelo: Absolutely. In fact, it is how I got my name out there in the beginning, because the record companies would see these images of their artists enlarged to 16x20 that had almost no grain. It knocked their socks off and nobody else was making prints that looked so good.
MOC: What advice would you give to aspiring photographers? RA: Testing and self-promotion are very important. Know your gear, the lighting, and angles, and try them all on location. Play with lenses every chance you get. Also, a promo card is super-important. Mine used to have one big picture on the front and four little pictures on the back. I mailed it everywhere. Also, work with local Indie magazines. With time you will establish yourself, and if you want, you can then move into a larger market like New York, L.A., or London. MOC: What gets you up in the morning? RA: I love music and I always have. I am both a musician and a photographer, and being able to combine both made it amazing for me. It also provides a genuine connection between me and my subjects—we understand each other on a musical level, too.
MOC: When did you decide that medium format was the right choice for you? RA: In concert settings you have to push your film. I was doing a shoot for Prince in concert and I was telling the lab guy at my local dealer, "Every time I blow up my [35mm] images, I see so much grain!" The dealer employee loaned me a Mamiya 645 camera, and ever since that day, I never went back to 35mm.
