LA |

Randall Slavin was born in Hollywood, CA. Mr. Slavin was working a dead end job at a gas station when he wandered into a local photography studio and struck up a friendship with the owner. This studio owner took the young Mr. Slavin under his wing, taught him some photography basics and then promptly fired him a few months later. Faced with nowhere else to turn, he put one foot in front of the other, kept going and never looked back. His photography debuted in the prestigious New York Times Magazine. His work has since appeared in GQ, Esquire, Rolling Stone and many other publications. Randall had his first exhibit in Paris in 2008 and is currently working on his first solo show to be held in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
www.thisphotolife.tumblr.com
www.randallslavin.com

When and how did you become interested in Photography?

I was always interested in images…obsessed with looking at pictures of actors and stuff when i was a kid. I would pour through my family photo albums..so, i guess i was interested in being a photographer long before I consciously realized it..

What gear do you mainly shoot with?

I now shoot primarily with my Canon 5D and for snaps i use the Canon G10..sometimes I use my Hasselblad H3, but only on bigger jobs..i like the speed of the Canon.

What is your #1 source of inspiration?

that’s an interesting one..mostly i just try to keep my eyes open. i tend to get obsessive about things and i get obsessive about new magazines and images and am always stopping to look at books to try and find something new and amazing..and also to see what everyone else is doing..

Many times photographers find themselves with a full schedule of paying gigs, ending up with little time for doing the work they truly love. Do you struggle with finding time for your personal work?

well, i take pictures all the time. much to my friends annoyance. i always have my G10 with me..so, i’m always shooting and looking for pictures. i actually think all of my pictures are personal. they are diaries of what i did that day..it might be a boring,uninspiring assignment,but,it is what i did that day and i want to remember it, I love taking pictures. I would rather be taking pictures any day of the week than NOT taking pictures..i still do free little tests and personal stuff, cuz, i just like the action of being a photographer. it feels good to me. some guys like playing basketball, i like shooting pictures. i don’t just wait to get hired to shoot. also, having a blog has really opened my eye up to other things besides faces. its made me look at the world differently and made me find pictures where i didnt see them before. I was very limited in my vision.

what is your all time favorite genre to shoot (portraiture, conceptual, documentary, commercial, etc..)?

I love shooting simple, raw portraits. i’m really into it right now..minimal lighting. simple backdrop. just..raw. i love it. I also love reportage-type stuff. i think that’s the most fun and the most rewarding for me. just grabbing a camera and shooting is what separates the men from the boys, i think.

Do you have any upcoming shows or events you want our readers to know about?

I’m doing a series of portraits of iconic people of our time. actors,musicians, dancers, writers..its been an amazing and very difficult experience,but,so incredible spending a few moments with some of these people. all the proceeds from this exhibit will go to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Our first exhibit will be in NYC with shows to follow in LA and Hong Kong.

What is the one thing you feel makes your style or your work unique?

I think my pictures have a cinematic quality to them which I like..Maybe it’s my film background and stuff…i like to make little movies. My pictures have an inherent sadness and loneliness to them.

if you could photograph anyone, (past/present/future), who would it be and why?

i would love to shoot Prince. he’s at the top of my list..i would also love to shoot Bill Clinton…President Obama…Kate Moss…
and Peter Beard cuz he has had such a profound impact on my life.

what’s your dream photo field trip

i would love to go to Africa with Peter Beard or on tour with U2..

what’s your post production process?

oh, i don’t really care so much about that shit. i just send it off to the retouchers and that’s it..i like the actual shooting part. the rest is all static.

if you had unlimited resources to purchase any type of camera, what would it be and why?

well, i wouldn’t mind owning a hassy H3 with P60 back, but, my biggest concern would be all the storage!! that’s a ton of shit..too much…

who are your favorite photographers and why?

it really changes over the years. the people i first loved i don’t really pay attention to anymore..i evolve and change…Avedon is the king. He could do it all…fashion, portraits, advertising, reportage..the king…Annie Leibovitz, I feel the same way about…she can do it all. I like Glen Luchford, Javier Vallhonrat…Peter Lindbergh, Mert and Marcus…Gregory Crewdson…Tony Duran…oh jeez…I think Mary Ellen Mark is the greatest living photographer…she blows me away over and over.

what has been the shining moment of your career thus far? (or, describe your “big break”)

oh god..my big break i guess was a shoot that i did with Charlize Theron a few years ago for FLAUNT magazine. they ended up running the story as a separate 45 page book included with the magazine. that shoot brought me a lot of attention and really took my career to another level. I did a photo recently of Eddie Vedder that i’m incredibly proud of because everything was working against me. I was in the ocean, which i hadn’t planned on, high noon (terrible light), with no time and still managed to pull off a really magnificent picture. I haven’t been able to show it to ANYONE, sadly, because it was a personal shot for him. I’m hoping someday I will be able to show it.

do you have any tips/tricks or advice for amateur photo nerds who are looking to shoot full time or students who are just starting out?

first off, i say just shoot..shoot shoot and shoot. just keep doing it. and eventually you will find your voice. it takes a lot of copying and a ton of mistakes to find your niche. To find out the thing that makes you unique so that your work is cohesive and looks like it all came from the same hand is a process that takes time and failure. experimentation.i would also say to just shoot what gets you off. shoot what excites you. shoot what YOU want, not what u think “they” want you to shoot like. Also, if you are into shooting celebrities; here’s my advice for you…(Anthony Mandler told me this years ago and he’s dead right 😉 They hire your lighting. remember that. its true.

what’s the soundtrack to your life and/or your favorite music to listen to while editing?

lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Chet Baker.

what’s your favorite hang (when shooting or not)?

i like hanging at the Chateau Marmont in LA.

best chow (meal/snack) to get you ready for a shoot? or best way to celebrate a brilliant capture?

i don’t really eat before a shoot..during though, i do consume ungodly amounts of tea and diet coke though, so, i guess just caffeine, caffeine and more caffeine.

will you share with us one of your favorite shots?

I don’t really have a favorite shot. I look at certain shoots and i am most proud of everything that went INTO getting the shot. if the conditions were terrible, the subject was difficult or we had no time together and I still pulled off a great shoot. let me think…if I had to pick my favorite shot…oh, I don’t know..I have a list of faves but not one specifically. The shot i have attached of actor Jeremy Renner writing on the wall is a new shot that exemplifies what I do best..(hows that?)

your favorite photo by another photographer?

has your passion for photography changed at all since turning “pro”?

yes. it has grown.

do you have a favorite / lucky item of clothing, outfit or uniform that you like to wear when shooting an important assignment or project?

no, but I always insist on packing my camera at the end of the shoot.I like the ritual of it..taking of the lens, putting the caps on, placing them in their spaces, wrapping up the cords…that’s my only ritual i do.

are you a photography nerd or a camera gangsta?

i’m a photography nerd w/o the education cuz i dont know jack shit about the technical side of photography,but, i know buckets about the history of photography and all the great shooters,editors and everyone who came long before me.

what’s your sign? (we’re conducting a poll)

Leo
🙂

who would you like to see interviewed by photopolus next?

Cameron Krone

©RandallSlavin

If you are a photographer and would like to be featured as a future/potential Art Star on our blog, email us!
info@photopolus.com or ange@angefitzgerald.com, subject: Art Star.
*please include your website and examples of your work
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Randall Slavin is obsessed with faces