andreas h. bitesnich 161
andreas h.
bitesnich
Nationality austrian
Main working locations austria,
Germany, and italy
Photographic method digital
andreas h. bitesnich’s first career was
in retail, but it was seeing a fashion
photographer’s portfolio that sparked
his interest in photography. he bought
his first camera the next day and for two
years sold electrical appliances by day
while immersing himself in photography
at night. in 1989, fueled by a belief that
any ambition can be achieved through
hard work, he made photography his
profession. he is now one of the
world’s biggest names in the field
of nude photography.
http://www.bitesnich.com
When photographing the nude, the key word for me is respect. if someone
is prepared to take their clothes off in front of you, they are demonstrating
a lot of trust in what you will do, and it’s important to let them know that
you appreciate that and will treat their vulnerability with care. in the studio
the model can’t even see you, just the lights, and because they are naked
it’s a very fragile situation. You have to direct the
model loudly and clearly, and make sure they are
happy with what you are asking them to do.
it doesn’t matter whether the model is a
professional or an amateur—what matters is that
they want the same thing that you want. in my
experience i find i always create the most beautiful
things that way since there are two people creating
the image, rather than just the photographer deciding
what to do. this can take place much more easily in the age of digital
photography since you can look at the picture together, make any
corrections, and work as a team.
i feel really comfortable in the studio. When i first started i had the
opportunity to use a studio for two or three years, so lighting became
second nature to me. When i’m working on location i either have no
technical help at all—not even a reflector—or i go to the other extreme,
with two or three assistants changing the film, holding big flashlights, and
dealing with cables and generators. if i ’m up to my chest in water for
a shoot in the sea i need to have people helping me! so for practical
reasons it’s sometimes good to have a team, but for the first four years
of my career, when i worked for the German edition of Playboy magazine,
i just had an assistant to change the film; it was all done very simply.
You really don’t need a lot of equipment to take a good picture.
