Interview with Fashion and Advertising Photographer Jackson Carvalho

Lifestyle - Interview

by Melisa Kaya

Jackson Carvalho's interest in photography and visual arts began in his childhood. This interest developed over time and he decided to pursue a career in the orbit of the visual art. He worked in the digital arts and production industry for a long time, but he always kept his interest in photography. In 2009, he decided to establish his own photography studio, and now he has more than 160 International Photography Awards. In order to learn more about his life and photography career, I talked with Jackson Carvalho.

Jackson, when did you first become interested in photography? What inspired you?

It began in my childhood when my Aunt Diva presented me with an analog camera, and consolidated with two other incentives that she gave me: the taste for reading and the discoveries that can be made with travel. From then on, the universes of the Magazines and the Magazines inspired me to immerse myself in a world that became the great passion of my life: The Passion for the image. Everything I did in my professional career always orbited around the image. That's how I started in the early 1980s to develop 3D graphics animations, then when I founded Arte Digital Studio for video advertising productions and then when I created Intertotal Comunicação, Advertising and Propaganda Agency with several awards. In 2009 I founded the Digital Art Photography Studio, and I currently have more than 160 International Photography Awards.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

After getting your first camera, what did you photograph first?

My first interest was to record the trips I took with my Aunt Diva and also family record photos.

How did you decide to pursue a career in photography? Could you tell us about your educational background before your professional career?

I have always practiced photography as a hobby. Then with the Video Producer and following the Propaganda Agency, I've always been relating to photography. Until 2009, I bought my first Professional Camera, a Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR. It was there that I decided to become a professional through courses I did in São Paulo - IIF International Institute of Photography, New York - ICP International Center of Photography and in London - Future London Academy, the next step was to found my own photography studio facing the areas of fashion photography and Advertising Photography. With the first awards, I was awakened to Fine Art Photography.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

How would you describe your photographic approach?

I have a broad approach with my photography, in different areas. I enjoy photographing architecture, a passion I've cultivated for a long time and that earned me the title of Photographer of the Year in 2017 at the One Eyeland Photo Awards. I also like to photograph Cityscapes and Landscapes, as well as Wildlife. In Wildlife included are my photos of the biggest repercussions in awards and social media with millions of views, added direct hits and reposting by great profiles such as Natgeo. Even in 2014 my photo "Walking in Savannah" was the first winner in the National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest. Already in Fine Art Photography, I have an approach that is the fruit of my dreams, desires, daydreams, dramas, frustrations, emotions and experiences. It is a mix of all that allows me to go from Fine Art Nude to Surrealism with the delightful encounter of the unusual, the new, the self-encounter with me. This is how I see my photographic art and that is how I like to express myself and communicate through my art.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

Who is Jackson Carvalho beyond his photographic career?

A normal person, with varied tastes for good food, good travel, good reading, an admirer of the great masters of painting, fascinated by visual minimalism. I like to create, I like to see and do new things. I define myself as a restless person.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

What kind of services do you offer your clients?

As a photographer, I offer a variety of services, such as fashion editorials and photo shootings, commercial photography for advertising and advertising, and I also do nude art photography. Corporate portraits and corporate photography, and finally photography for the real estate industry.

I also have a domain in digital retouching with the use of tools like Adobe Photoshop and other Creative Cloud Adobe tools. There have recently been appeals from fellow photographers around the world for me to produce video tutorials for sharing my image editing techniques, creative processes, and workflow.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

How did you get your interest in fashion photography and advertising? What is the most special aspect of advertising photography for you?

The capacity that advertising photography offers us to create. Each work allows us to develop something totally new and different from the previous work. This is fascinating, especially the work we do in the studio. We enter an empty room, white and from concepts, fundamentals, technique, and planning we leave this box with something that impinges on people's lives and produces results for companies, brands, and products. This side of advertising photography is seductive for those who like to create and to be hand in hand with innovation and the unused. I consider myself one of these, and that's why I like public photography so much.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

You've worked on multiple campaigns for many globally recognized brands. What kind of projects do you prefer to work on?

Those in which the challenge of doing something from scratch, we need along with the creative agency or marketing department of the customer, virtually "create" the image, even when we have to use models or products, but the great demand is to create the image. These projects are what fascinate me the most.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

Could you tell us about your exhibitions?

I have already exhibited my art photography work in various parts of the world. In New York, in the United States for several opportunities, in Mexico, where I am represented by the gallery of a great friend, Alfredo Sanchez, located in Cancun, Brazil in the São Paulo unit of Saphira and Ventura Art Gallery, in Europe in several cities, and around the world through Yellow Korner, who also represents me and has more than 300 units in all the continents and in the main metropolises. It is very gratifying the recognition and interaction of the public with their work of art. People interact with each one from their subliminal understanding. There is an interactive and interactive dialogue of the work with the observer. It is an emotional way to realize this communication link. I have had several works acquired by collectors put in their personal collections, and I have also had works that were bought for the purpose of giving someone. This is also magical and remunerates the soul, for the fruit of its creation, which has been transformed into a work, becomes part of the daily life of people with symbology, meaning and valuation that become intangible. This is gratifying for the artist.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

In addition to these exhibitions, you have won many notable awards. Could you tell us about the prizes you won?

The awards are a special chapter of my professional and artistic career. There are already over 160 significant international awards and each one is very special and important to me. A highlight for the Trierenberg Super Circuit, based in Linz, Austria and already in its 27th Edition, is considered the World Oscars of Art Photography. For the past four years, I have been honored to be the winner of 5 Gold Medes in this important, highly regarded and disputed competition. Other important highlights are the Graphis Photo Annual in New York, where I won 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze. Another achievement that I highlight in my resume was the Photographer of the Year in the Architecture category of the One Eyeland Photo Awards. As well as so many other awards. For all of them, I have the greatest respect and affection. Being selected by several different jurors' bodies in so many awards, we are told that the creative and technical precision path is within the standards that are considered to be the most appropriate. That's a lot of honor and a lot of luck.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

Is it possible for overseas customers to work with you for the photos of their products?

Yes. I am fully in the possession of agencies, representatives, advertisers, and buyers of photographic media. Just call it, make it economically viable and I will be very happy to participate in different projects around the world.

What factors determine the project budget?

There are several factors, ranging from the purpose to which the work will respond commercially, through challenges, models, a team of professionals involved, post-production and complexity of execution, leasing and displacement costs. Plus, it always fits in the client's budget.

How do you protect the rights to your photographs in this online era?

This is a minefield. In some situations, I came across copyright disrespect. There is no 100% safe rule to avoid these situations. When detected the first step that I seek is a negotiation, when there is no interest of the other party comes into action the legal department. I believe the world is like this. Fortunately, there were a few occasions when this occurred with my work.

Photo by Jackson Carvalho

Could your customers use the photos in any publication, catalog, website, ad or other platforms in the future?

Yes. Even on my site, in the images available, there are the options for Personal Use, Commercial Use, and Prints. It is possible to use by purchasing each specific type of use. In some cases, there is a need for a specific demand configuration that requires customized trading. Each case is different. But it is possible, and it is available on my website or through email contacts.

What advice would you give to photographers who wish to pursue a career in advertising photography?

Experiment, experiment, and experiment. After you do this, restart the process and always try different ways. The advertising photographer is never quite ready. It is in the challenge of making the new that the advertising photographer reinvents himself, and the best work will always be next. Never stop learning and having the humility to consider that you do not know everything. There will always be something new to be created, to be invented. There are millions of ways to shoot. Invent your own and let millions more come into being. And fundamentally: Love what you do, when you put love into your activity, you will have fun and people will pay you well for you to do it. Think about it.

Thank you Jackson for this enjoyable interview.

For more information, please visit the website of Jackson Carvalho

Tuesday, December 11, 2018.

All photos are the property of their respective owners.