Davies and Starr Beauty Portfolio

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Q&A / DAVIES&STARR What inspired you to become a Photographer?

The cover for Pink Floyd’s LP Atom Heart Mother was a photograph of a cow, not the group, I thought that was so cool it was possibly the greatest job in the World. It was 1969 and I was fifteen.

Tell us about the first time you picked up a camera?

In 1973 I photographed a David Bowie concert, then a few weeks later another one, the pictures were well received, seemed I was good at it, I gave up my day job soon after.

Tell us about the Davies and Starr creative partnership.

In the beginning Starr and I used to take the portraits together, two cable releases to the same camera, we could both take pictures, I liked people looking miserable, she liked them smiling, so the client got both, a win-win situation. With Still Life we again worked together to create the images, then we added people to our team, assistants, stylists, digital artists, technicians, we have always thought the more eyes that look at a picture the better. We use ten eyes on average I think.

How does your work as a Creative Director merge with your work as a Photographer?

As a Creative Director, I can express my vision, which th en as Photographer I can resolve and find a solution for, and bring that vision to life. They work hand in hand.

What is your creative process? What about the Creative Direction part?

I review the overall project, evaluate what the end result needs to achieve and the best way to communicate that visually. Once, I get an initial sign off on the concept I then figure out where the camera should go, where the lights should be, I take the picture in my mind. Then with the help of our team we make my ideas a reality.

Is there is a consistent theme or thing that you look for when creating your concepts and shooting?

Simplicity, elegance, letting the products speak for themselves, finding the perfect angle to show them at their best.

You started your career as a Rock n Roll photographer. How did that happen and how did that work influence your work as a still life photographer?

It just happened naturally, someone had to do it, you know, hang out with Rock Stars, travel the World, live the life, but after 15 years we got fed up with dealing with egos, publicists, the whole music business in general, Starr and I wondered what we could do that would give us a photographic job for life, we figured that if the printed word was on white, maybe photographing objects on white was the way to go.

Tell us a bit about the transition from still images into motion.

I had always wanted to animate our patterns, and our Still Life work in general, we had most of the ideas 1015 years ago, we just had to wait for the technology.

Tell us one thing about you that nobody knows.

We made a thirty minute film about Pete Townshend for MTV, broadcast in the first week MTV was on the Air. If a Hollywood film were to be made about your life, who would play the lead role?

Francois Truffaut, he was an Actor and a Director, he was excellent at both.

What is your greatest kept secret?

I have no secrets from myself.

What is your best kept photo secret?

How to photograph a sphere, glass, silver, any kind really, it has no edge, so you have to figure out how to give it one.

If you had one day left on earth, how would you spend the day?

I would watch my twelve favourite Stanley Kubrick films, one last time.

What’s on your play list?

I listen to everything from the 11th Century to the 21st Century, all kinds of music from all over the World, my playlist is always changing.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Everywhere and everything, I even sleep with my eyes open, just in case I might miss seeing something.

If you weren’t a creative director and photographer, what alternate career path might you have taken?

I originally trained as an Aircraft Engineer, fixing Jumbo Jets, I gave that up in 1973 and became a photographer instead.

If you were granted 3 wishes, what would they be? That my hair would regrow to the length of my youth.

That my waistline would reduce itself naturally. That my age would go backwards.

What is your greatest indulgence?

Music, I have 18,000 CD’s Who are your favorite artists?

Hans Holbein the Younger, he painted the portraits of Kings and Queens in England and Europe during the 16th Century. I also like Mark Rothko a lot. Lucien Freud too.

Who influenced you the most?

Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, David Bailey.

Who is/was your mentor?

The first one was Jake Riviera, he managed Elvis Costello, he was the smartest man around, and he inspired you to do great work. I’m self taught so I never assisted anyone, but, I worked for Apple for a number of years, I learned more working for Steve Jobs than anyone else, and not just about photography, he pushed you hard, but he was almost always right, and he too inspired you to do great work. I think anyone who worked for him would say the same.

What is the best project you ever worked on?

We produced a book for the Free Nelson Mandela Concert in 1988, we a sked the twenty best Rock Photographers in London to photograph every aspect of the show, we set up a portrait studio backstage, then we put everyone’s work together and got a book on the shelves a few weeks after the Concert, the proceeds all went to Amnesty International.

What was your most difficult project?

Clinique, we were asked to produce work that was as similar as possible to Irving Penn, there was simply too much for his studio to handle, Clinique asked us to study about fifty of his Ad’s, learning how he did things was enlightening, but also very difficult, he was the master. We were the apprentices.

What shoot have you not done yet that you are dreaming of doing?

The next one.

What is your mantra in life?

The most important thing in the room is a photograph that has yet to be taken.

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copyright notice: This book and all of its contents/images is copyright of Davies and Starr. Š 2013. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited and punishable by law.