Photographer and image creator, passionate about art and science. Interview with a passionate, inspired and inspiring photographer.
RC. Who are you ?
Hi, my name is Julien Apruzzese and I work in Paris as a brand creator. As an art and science enthusiast, photographer and image operator, I have been managing a photography studio since 2013. Concept, light, photography and post-production, I can offer a complete work. And like a painter, I take particular care over pictorial aesthetic, based on an interpretation of reality.
RC. Who/which are your artistic references ?
I adore and deeply respect the masters, such as Irving Penn, Annie Leibovitz, Erwin Olaf, Nadav Kander, Eugenio Recuenco, ... or even Patrick Swirc, Julia Hetta, Frieke Janssens, … In fact my artistic references go beyond the world of photography and I am inspired by everything from the image world. Cinema, painting, drawing, … The photograph of the film "2001, the odyssey of space", the calibration of the series "Mindhunter", the colors of a painting by Alphonse Legros, the composition of the graphic novel "Melvile",...
RC. What was your favorite project ?
"My favorite project will always be the next one". I do like more the process of creation than its achievement. As soon as a project is completed, I'm immediately thinking about how to do better for the next one. But if my favorite creation is the last one, then I'm happy. Today the last international campaign for the Profoto brand typifies my current work.
RC. How do you prepare yourself ?
I need a lot of time to be prepared. This pre-production period allows me to slow down time and get into the details. Many people will tell you that the devil is hiding in the details. On the contrary, I believe that wonderful is in the details. First, the creation of a concept comes to life through simple geometric shapes and color masses, and then, volumes and textures. I'm passionately fond of the magic of creating images. And on principle, any concept can be transformed into images, creation has no limit.
RC. Could you share technical tips with us ?
I would say you need to understand the difference between hard light and hard image. Hard light is related to the size of the darkness created, which is the grading between light and shadow. The smaller the size of the darkness is, the harder the light is. The larger it is, the softer the light is. A hard image is related to the density of shadows. The denser the shadows are, the harder the image is, and... vice versa. It means that we can get a soft image while working with hard lights. Everything is linked to the control of this density by a light of transparency.
RC. Do you have coming plans ?
In less than a month, I will be happy to present, with the photographer named Malo, a new project called "Cross" that we jointly implemented. I was honoured when Malo accepted my proposal for a cross-look on our moments of creation, this latent moment when inspiration is coming. So Malo shot my portrait and I did his. We had "carte blanche".
RC. Which equipment do you work with?
I create my projects with a medium format Fujifilm GFX 50R, Profoto lights and Capture One Pro and Photoshop software.
