I want to spend the next year of my life emulating this guy's work. Does that make me lame?

[edward_kang]

<a href=http://www.smallstudio.com/eolo/> Eolo Perfido </a>

<br><br>

He's five years older than me (I'm 24) and I really like his style.

[joshwand]

<p>Not so hard:

<ol>

<li>Go to commercial photography school.

<li>Find one really gorgeous model willing to do TFP (time for prints)

<li>Find a really good makeup artist.

<li>Find a really nice daylight studio.

<li>Make a mint in the fashion photography world. :)

</ol>

<p>This is obviously oversimplifying a bit <g>, but looking

through this guy's portfolio, that was the impression I got.

<p>Once he starts showing his portfolio around Rome and Milan, he

should be made-- that's some <i>quality</i> fashion/beauty stuff he's

got going there.

[joshwand]

<p>Oh, I forgot to mention:

<ul>

<li>Shoot everything with a Mamiya RZ 6x7 system (>$6000).

<li>Crop liberally as needed.

</ul>

<p>:)

[chris_y.]

Hey Josh, whats up? Edward- this guy is good, isnt he?- I think it's

that you can tell he loves this stuff- and he can make you love it

too- Good luck E.K and E.P.-

[Tony Rowlett]

Nice stuff, but the horizontal scrolling crap makes his site suck,

though.

[edward_kang]

Hey guys!

The funny thing is this:

 

<p>

 

1) Eolo has never gone to commercial "photo school". He's been taking

photographs for two years by his own admission.

2) Eolo uses a 35mm Nikon shooting Ilford XP2 for B&W and various

standard color negative emulsions. His only lens is a sigma 105ex

macro.

3) He shoots his stuff in random places and doesn't have anything akin

to a real studio.

4) Most of his stuff is merely done with reflectors, hardly any flash.

 

<p>

 

That's what really impresses me about his work - it's almost entirely

based on his raw vision. He's just a really talented guy, and it's not

like he has anything better in terms of circumstance over what I have

at this moment.

 

<p>

 

It's work like his that makes me think about what I'm doing - always

telling me in the back of my head: he can do this with an nikon 35mm

SLR on film you have and one macro lens. Why aren't you doing the

same?

[chris_y.]

Hmm, he's a little more accomplished than he lets on, a little

hacking around found me his real home site:

 

<p>

 

http://www.necron.com/content.htm

 

<p>

 

even more amazin stuff, not to mention a gold mine of links.....

 

<p>

 

But yes, probably B&W and a medium long 35 mm lens is all you

need.... PDN is forever profiling young photographers who just use an

old K 1000 or a Rollei TLR, they love that shit. Sooner or later

though, even they are gonna want a bigger negative...

[jkantor]

Models who look like that don't have to test for prints. (And won't

unless you can already prove that you can do work like that.) Day

rate for a short (5'7") model with a look like that here in Orlando

is about $600. A good makeup artist/hairstylist is $300. A small

studio for the day, about $250 (including insurance). Figure on at

least $200 for film and processing. Props, clothes, assistant, or

location fees are extra. A realistic budget is $1500-$2000.

 

<p>

 

As for style, it's pretty much generic fashion advertising. When

you've mastered that, then you can make a living and start to work on

your own style. But it's nothing you couldn't do with a bit of

practice - as long as you are actually interested in the shot and not

just the model.

 

<p>

 

(And I'd bet he has a good incident meter too.)

[street-photography]

Hello guys....is Eolo from Rome writing...I received an email about

this discussion and I'm quite surprised about it...:-)

 

<p>

 

So I'll try to give some info about what i'm doing. I hope it can

help...please forgive my not so perfect english.

 

<p>

 

First of all as you may imagine I love photography. When I discoverd

it 3 years ago I discovered what I really like to do.

 

<p>

 

Photography now is for me a lifestyle....I dedicate all my time to

it...trying to improve my style, my technique and my printing

capabilities....at the same time I choosed not to make photography my

work (now i'm working for an italian web agency) and at the moment

I'm living this situation with a great pleasure because I feel I need

to do a lot of experiments to become the photographer I hope I will

be one day.

 

<p>

 

Few American friends told me that I should already transform that in

a business...that I should have the capabilities to do that....but

well..I'm not in hurry....I'm quite lucky to have a good work

and....I would like to have some more time to study

photography ...they told me that this is....an European approach :-)

 

<p>

 

If you navigate the internet a little bit or you go to the nearest

bookstore you will find incredible photographers....giants of

photography that create incredible images. I admire their work and

i'd love one day to be able to be as good as them.

 

<p>

 

I dedicate to photography all my spare time and i'm a lucky guy....I

have a small team of supporters that helps me every time I organize a

shooting session (they have fun) and a lot of people that would like

to be photographed. This helps me to "simulate" a working enviorment.

 

<p>

 

If you want to have a look to the way (and where) we work have a look

to

 

<p>

 

http://www.smallstudio.com/eolo/backstage/

 

<p>

 

while here there is a small selection of images

 

<p>

 

http://www.smallstudio.com/eolo/

 

<p>

 

I know that the gallery is really slow to download...and that as a

webdesigner I should do something a little bit more friendly.

 

<p>

 

Please forgive me...at the moment I'm really so busy...in the near

future I hope to be able to make a new site.

 

<p>

 

As you said i work with a 35mm camera and I mainly use my 105mm while

i also have a 24mm...a 50mm and a 180.

 

<p>

 

Do not get surprised about that...giants of photography such as

Lindbergh works mainly with the 35mm

 

<p>

 

the format do not make a photography.

 

<p>

 

give to a good photographer a compact camera and he will be able to

took a nice photogaphy.

 

<p>

 

Of course as much powerfull is your equipment more potential you will

have in your hands.

 

<p>

 

by the way i normally do not dedicate to much time to my equipment

while i love to think to the different photographic situation i may

try to create.

 

<p>

 

I'm trying to improve my tech skill as always....but Style is my

goal...... buy style is difficult because is not something you

learn...is something that comes out with time....with experience and

with culture. So I suppose is something i may be able to archieve in

the future....starting to work on it now. I'm studying a lot and I

hope to be able to transform what I'm reading in good images.

 

<p>

 

The "models" I'm working with are all friends...just a couple of them

works as a pro model...while other are just beautifull. They dedicate

me some of their time and this has an incredible value for me.

 

<p>

 

Now a couple of big agencies contacted me to make some tests....I'm

very happy...even if entering in their offices i saw their

photographic archives and I found myself so small....:-)

 

<p>

 

So is time to work hard (well is fun so is not so hard) and see what

the future has behind the corner.

 

<p>

 

90% of the time I work in ambient light while as you can see from the

backstages few weeks ago i rented a garage and got a couple of flash

to start to study artificial light. The place is quite "underground"

but works well and for the moment is ok.

 

<p>

 

External Locations are places near my apartment. I normally like to

go around looking for nice places where to make a photo session.

 

<p>

 

All the photographic sessions I do are organized to be as much cheap

we can...photogaphy is already a so expensive discipline that I 'm

spending all my pay in that....:-) makeup is made by a guy that is

studying and that is creating his small portfolio. So he has the

models and a photographet that works form him while I have a makeup

artist that helps me....a good way to collaborate i feel.

 

<p>

 

He also manage to do some hairstyle but this is not his job so....for

the clothes we always ask to all our friends or we buy used stuff in

the sunday market.

 

<p>

 

I used for a lot the Ilford Xp2 beacuse was fast to develop and now i

know it quite well. By the way I'm becoming to experiments different

films and dia trying to understand the one that fits my way. But is

so difficult...as you know...there are billions of variables...so i

continuw with the Xp2 while sometime i shoot few new film.

 

<p>

 

I love (really) fashion photography but may be I shold try to be a

little bit more "fashion oriented" in my shooting. I also love

portrait..and I'm considering to try some streeth photography in the

near future. I love people. That's all.

 

<p>

 

www.necron.com is my old site. I made it when 3D graphic was my hope

for the future...but then...photography took all the space in my

heart and now i found this site a little bit to "old fashion". I keep

it cause it generato so much traffic and I love contacts. As soon

I'll be able to define a design I like www.smallstudio.com will

become my new presence on the net.

 

<p>

 

Well...i hope not to have been too boring. Thanks a lot for the

discussion and ask if needed. I'm here.

 

<p>

 

I hope a fantastic light for all of you and to have always fun with

photography.

 

<p>

 

ciao.

[matt_keller]

I'm glad others are starting to notice Eolo's work. I bookmarked

his site more than a year ago and return weekly to see if there

are new updates. I sent Eolo an email some time ago, and he

very kindly returned a reply, though he's busy, English is not his

first language, and, as he says in the above message, he

dedicates much of his spare time to the pursuit of photography.

 

<p>

 

I'm a little surprised at the dismissive and negative slant of

some of the posts concerning Eolo's work, though. I usually find

posters in this forum much more supportive and thoughtful. Just

taking a moment to read what he's posted on his site (and here,

I'm talking about necron.com) gives the visitor enough

information to know that he's a) not a professional photographer

(insofar as that's not how he earns his living), b) not using hired

models, and c) not using a lot of technical tricks to achieve his

look. Saying the "horizontal scrolling crap makes his site suck"

is not only bad manners, but it's also a matter of opinion. So the

guy's trying to do something different with his site -- what's the

harm, except to people with archaic browsers and Pentium .5

computers?

 

<p>

 

I second Edward's vote: I think Eolo is astoundingly talented.

Granted, he's got a lot of gorgeous friends, but I do, too, and they

don't look like this when I photograph them. Eolo's got the

goods, the sense for "the decisive moment" -- he knows just

when the look in the eyes is there, the connection between

photographer and subject. The eroticism is palpable. It's not

generic fashion photography by a long shot -- try the a future

contemporary of Herb Ritts and Matthew Rolston. And that's only

if he decides he wants to pursue photography as a career! Oh,

to have that be a choice.

 

<p>

 

I'm with you, Edward. I'd give my right arm to have the natural

and intuitive skill this guy has. Bravo, Eolo!

[Tony Rowlett]

<i>"Saying the 'horizontal scrolling crap makes his site suck' is not

only bad manners, but it's also a matter of opinion. So the guy's

trying to do something different with his site -- what's the

harm, except to people with archaic browsers and Pentium .5

computers?"</i><p>

Everything here is a matter of opinion. You're correct about my

statement being bad mannered, especially now that Eolo is here among

us, not that the fact that he wasn't among us before was any

excuse.<p>

But, as novel as it appears to be, horizontal scrolling design is bad

design. It just ain't no good, no matter what version of browser you

have. My mouse doesn't have a horizontal scroll wheel.<p>

I will restate, however, that Eolo's work is really nice stuff! I

love it. And that's all that counts in the long run. And that, my

fellow photographers, is my personal opinion.

[mickey]

"But, as novel as it appears to be, horizontal scrolling design is bad

design. It just ain't no good, no matter what version of browser you

have. My mouse doesn't have a horizontal scroll wheel."

 

<p>

 

As I sit here using a mouse without a vertical or horizontal scroll

wheel can I then surmise that any web design that requires scrolling

in either direction "ain't no good"? Duh....that's what the scroll

bars (you know, those big fat areas on the side and bottom of windows)

are for.

[Tony Rowlett]

Oh, I get it: Use the scroll bars! What a riot! ROTF-LMFHO

[joshwand]

<p>If I appeared "dismissive" earlier it was because I didn't have

the further information from the rest of his site (which is not linked

from his portfolio). It was just my initial impression based only on

looking at his portfolio.

 

<p>With the additional information provided by his website (that

"backstage" page was particularly useful) and by his posting, I

have gained an enormous amount of respect for Mr. Perfido-- he is

a "natural" and has a tremendous gift (as well a particularly

dedicated group of friends for models, assistants, and makeup

artists-- we should all be so lucky).

 

<p>About the side-scrolling portfolio-- I have no problems with it at

all. I agree that clicking the little arrows on the bottom of the

scrollbar would be tedious versus a scrollwheel, but I find the best

way to traverse horizontal pages is to just grab the scroll widget

iteslf and drag to the right a page or so at a time, never letting go

of the mouse button. It's much less click-intensive process and is

much more fluid-- almost tactile.

 

<p>I think I agree with Edward-- I'm definitely going to raid Eolo's

bag of tricks (lighting-wise, anyhow) over the next year, and no, it

doesn't make you (or me) lame. :)

[jkantor]

I don't believe in anyone being a "natural." Eolo's training in

graphic arts is what has given him his foundation. And he has

mastered (at least some) of the basic techniques you need to do

fashion and advertising work at a professional level (though he's

going to need to be able to work in a studio). He could make a living

now, and will undoubtedly go on to continue to grow and become a

great photographer. But open up any women's magazine to any random

page and you'll see similar shots (though, admittedly, quite a few

not up to his standard). Featured photographers have developed - or

at least advertised - unique styles.

 

<p>

 

(And I wonder just how many people who respond so viscerally to his

work really desire to emulate it - or rather are just fantasizing

over his perceived lifestyle?)

 

<p>

 

As a web-design aside, horizontal scrolling (though not quite the way

it's implemented on Eolo's site) is going to become the standard in

the future. We see in panoramas (something photographers should be

aware of), and wide aspect-ratio screens will soon be commonplace.

 

<p>

 

Vertical scrolling is a vestige of text-oriented days (and still fine

for that application). All that current web designers have done is

take two-dimensional text-based magazine design and put that online -

with a bunch of javascript in lieu of true interactivity. The next

generation of web designers - the ones who have grown up with high-

bandwidth interactive multimedia will turn to metaphors which explore

the possibilities of visual design and interactivity in much more

imaginative ways - and the widescreen panorama is going to be a major

part of that (though the scroll bars are going to have to go away!).

[Tony Rowlett]

<i>"As a web-design aside, horizontal scrolling...is going to become

the standard in the future."</i><p>

A prediction; one I'm not so sure of. At least not in today's

world.<p>

<i>"...and wide aspect-ratio screens will soon be commonplace."</i><p>

Probably, but we have no evidence of this so far, and we've been at it

for a decade or so already.<p>

<i>"Vertical scrolling is a vestige of text-oriented

days... All that current web designers have done is take

two-dimensional text-based magazine design and put that online..."</i>

I guess when it goes beyond two dimensions, it'll be crazy, huh? I'll

sure love it like crazy if I'm still alive.<p>

<i>The next generation of web designers...and the widescreen panorama

is going to be a major part of that...will turn to metaphors which

explore the possibilities of visual design and interactivity in

much more imaginative ways - and the widescreen panorama is going to

be a major part of that "</i><p>

Hmm... and the hardware? I wanna see it. It'll be cool! But this

obviously means wider displays. Right now, I have to squint to see my

screen at 1024x768. 800x600 seems pretty nice, but I can't open many

windows with such a modest resolution. Are we talking Phillips HDTV

style monitors? Hope so. Cool. Can't wait. But for right now,

please give me the up and down, and not the sideways stuff. I'm used

to going up and down. Yeah, I can grab that thick, gray scroll bar on

the bottom and shove right side, but it's unnatural and uncomfortable

to do so. Or I'm just getting old.<p>

I ran across another web site recently (I think Kyle C's Leica

Slacker) that has the horizontal scrolling thing. What is it with

horizontal scrolling, or am I the only one on greenspun.com who

thinks it's weird? In both cases, though, the photography is mighty

fine. But presentation has to make a difference.

[will_perlis]

Just out of curiosity, did anyone else react first to a stereotype?

I mean, Eolo's work seems very "Italian" in that everyone appears to

be having lots of fun and doing it with grace and flair? Yes, I'm

fully aware that there are grim and depressed Italians out there, and

all sorts of other flavors too, but that's not what I think of

immediately when I see and hear a Ferrari or Ducati winding up

through the gears.

[chris_y.]

There are grim and depressed Italians? Where??

[jkantor]

The new Apple Powerbook has a wide-aspect-ratio screen. (Only a bit

wider at 1152, but still noticeable.)

 

<p>

 

And about a year ago, I started the design for an online magazine -

which was to be completely designed around horizontal panoramas

(panels approximately 3 normal screens wide). For a low-bandwidth

version I was intending simply to mix headlines, thumbnails, and

graphics. Clicking on one would open up a popup with the full text or

high-res version, or launch a separate video. Not too different from

what we have now, but better suited to the web.

 

<p>

 

A high bandwidth version would be where the idea would be fully

realized. It would have full-size - but static - graphics right on

the panel. (No annoying self-running ones.) Mousing over one would

activate it in place (launch a preview slide show, video, or

animation). Clicking on it would allow you to interact with it there

or to open up a new popup that you could move as you wished or dock

so that it didn't scroll. (Of course, it might link you to an

entirely new panel as well - of which the video or graphic was just a

teaser.) A nonscrolling frame at the top would provide a consistent

top-level menu, while a non-scrolling frame at the bottom would

provide a panel-sensitive one.

 

<p>

 

To fully implement something like this, however, requires features

not implemented (or not implemented well) in current browsers - in

particular the ability to embed video and animation seamlessly on the

page, positional scrolling (as in many computer games or even

Microsoft Office applications) so that scroll bars can be done away

with, live overlapping windows (so that you could be watching a video

in a popup as you scroll through a panel that it overlays),

transparent overlaying of text and graphics on video, as well as

hotspots on video itself - so that, for example, you could click on

the shirt your favorite rock star is wearing and buy it instantly.

 

<p>

 

Panels would be thought of as being layered on top of each other, so

that when you clicked on a link you would go "up" or "down" to

another level (or "over" to another related location). (It's really

much closer to the spatial metaphor of a computer game.) The user

would also be able to create his own panels, by clicking and dragging

bits of content onto them. The idea is to combine a much more natural

type of interactivity with more personalization. (It's also much more

suitable to adaptation to a minibrowser - such as might be found on a

cell phone or pda.)

 

<p>

 

Most importantly for business purposes, the banner ad is done away

with through these techniques and replaced with what is essentially

an interactive version of the full-page magazine ad. The boundary

between advertising and content becomes problematized:

"advertisements" are interactive and (hopefully) informative, and

both "articles" and "entertainment" provide instant links to the

people and products featured (becoming just different entry points

into our society's materialist space).

 

<p>

 

Anyway the future of the web doesn't lie with you or me, it lies with

the generation who currently doesn't have to squint at the high-res

screens and who will grow up with not only the internet, but with

enough processing power and bandwidth to be able to do anything they

can imagine - rather than only what current technology will allow.

[jkantor]

Well I'd say concentrate on learning the basic techniques until you

have them mastered - then worry about how you turn that into a

personal style. And the best way to master a technique is to work at

copying a specific shot until you can do it exactly (and understand

why). So emulating someone else's work is the first necessary step.

 

<p>

 

As for models, I was, in fact, very lucky to find my first model

through the internet: a Russian girl who had the chance to go to

Milan to do runway modeling, but chose to come to the US to go to

college. But she's the only one I've run across that had a high-

fashion look as well as the height. Anyone who has that combination

is probably already modeling (and has been since age 14). Of course,

if you do have some good shots to show them, I'm sure they'd be

interested in TFP. But if you don't, you're in a catch-22. And that

goes for makeup artists too. It just happens that I had a couple of

shots that this girl liked - even though she had shot with some

established photographers before.)

 

<p>

 

But remember, swimsuit models are not high fashion models - and

neither are local catalog models, fetish models, cheerleaders,

homecoming queens, or exotic dancers. The best you can hope for from

these are some editorial or beauty shots.

[jonathan_van_matre]

Just an aside on the issue of "less equipment is more"

inspirations... I was surprised to learn recently that Joyce

Tenneson shoots much of her personal (and very successfully

exhibited/published) work on 35mm with a cheap variable-

aperture "consumer" zoom...of precisely the sort Phil G and others

routinely rail against. End result: portraits of the sort in "Light

Warriors", with luscious tonality. The end justifies the means, in a

very inspiring fashion.

[willie_lim1]

If I am not wrong, Eolo heavily (and I mean HEAVILY) Photoshops his

photographs. Am I right Eolo?

[jkantor]

Retouching is critical for professional level work. Three issues ago,

Design Graphics had a feature article about Helene DeLillo, a

professional retoucher for the fashion industry. The before and after

shots were very impressive: a technically perfect photograph became a

completely perfect finished product. See www.dancingicon.com.

[alan_dale]

Is it just me, or do I hear a lot of sour grapes bitching behind the

comments about this guys site? All these wry, sarcastic comments like,

"Just be rich and have a fantastic studio and expensive

gear...extensive retouching" <p>On the other hand...<i>That's what

really impresses me about his work - it's almost entirely based on his

raw vision. He's just a really talented guy, and it's not like he has

anything better in terms of circumstance over what I have at this

moment.</i><p>What few of you have addressed in your envy and sour

grapes is that HE IS NOT a "raw talent." His illustrations on the

Necron site make it obvious that he has been working visually for years

--- I would guess he probably has been interested in art most of his

life. THAT investment of time and study is worth more than all the

monolights and expensive system cameras.<p>The thing I find

objectionable is people want to talk, talk, talk about what he does and

find something sinister in the fact that he uses photoshop -- but what

image in fashion magazines hasn't been altered in some way?<p>I look at

his site and see really nice work by a talented guy who works hard and

enjoys what he does. Edward Kang --- Take Eolo's portfolio and site as

an inspiration -- if you like what you see, make it your self

assignment to copy him for a while --- but shoot it with what YOU have

availible...eventually, your own pictures will come through. Eolo --

very nice work.

[jkantor]

Well, I'd say "just be rich and have a fancy studio" or move to a

fashion capital of the world and make friends with others trying to

get in the business. A portfolio of shots of the girl next door, is

going to look just like that. Whether you pay for it or your friends

provide it, you need professional quality models, hair, makeup, (and

retouching). We provide the professional eye.