Page 15 - Capture Nov 21-Jan 22

All of a sudden,
I’m making my own stories and crafting my own narrative.
Adam Ferguson
published on 450 billboards all over the world, for example,” he notes. Although work has continued to flow to him, albeit in lower numbers, Antoni has faced an obstacle that tends to creep in when times are uncertain – conservativism. Dealing with the conservative mindsets, he gauges, has been his greatest challenge.
There have been two obvious changes in editorial content this year that Antoni has noticed. “There is far less actual editorial content than there has been in previous years. COVID stopped so many productions overseas and the industry went through a very dry patch of content,” he explains. That dry patch was amplified by a decrease in the number of traditional printed magazines, he adds. “I would also say that editorial content has been democratised. What I mean by that is very few magazines have the budgets that they used to have, so many shoots are done on a shoestring budget now. This is an excellent way to see true talent and effort rise within the industry. When everyone has the same resources, you tend to see true talent rise. So, it’s a great time for new photographers to break through.”
He has adapted his business, but no
more than usual. “I always try to adapt. It’s
subconscious, I think. In short, the demands on photographers have begun shifting to quantity. As such, I’m trying to create a system that makes it easier and more affordable to generate high quality images in large numbers in a day. I have changed many things in this regard. I bought new cameras and lighting that can assist this time-saving approach. I also think more in terms of a total production standpoint. I never just light for stills anymore. I try and light for videographers on my shoots now, for more client consistency in execution across all media.”
The year has also brought Antoni one gift that he treasures. “The best gift of all,” he notes, “has been more time with my two little girls and my wife. This was amazing. I also had time to work on our family home renovation. I’m blessed, that’s for sure.”
William Meppem: A rollercoaster year
Food and lifestyle photographer William Meppem has continued to fuel Australians’ gourmet (and especially, baking) aspirations this year in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food, Good Weekend, and Sunday Life. But the year hasn’t been as easy as he would have liked. His answer to the question about the greatest challenges he has faced is, “Wow, so many!” Detailed they are: dealing with the volatility of the COVID situation; bookings have been on hold, cancelled and taken at short notice; keeping track of the diary as a major chore; it has been particularly tricky to oversee and run studios as well as manage personal photography commissions; and
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© ADAM FERGUSON