Eamonn MacCabe/guest lecture

24th February 2016


Today I had a chance to meet Eamonn MacCabe, picture editor and photographer, currently working for Guardian, London. He told us about his journey into the creative industry, his approaches in different disciplines and long experience in photography. I found it really interesting. He gave us a lot of good tips as well.

He was devoted to few activities in his early career, especially sport and film. He was also a member of garage band. Music was his another big passion. Eamonn has photographed various bands (he stated that bands were actually the worst to photograph and it was crucial to have some sort of concept/idea; often accidents or unexpected surprises occurring would solve the problem of lacking it). There was an in intriguing story about his first portraiture approaches out of old family album (''I was missing the trick by ignoring the photo album.''; he was ripping out photographs out of the reprint gallery and playing with the outcomes). There was another one about his air expedition for a single shot. As I am really interested in filmmaking lately, it was very motivating to hear that it is quite relevant in self-branding. I am hoping to put a little entry of it in my creativity along with the online presence I will be making shortly. There was incredibly big change in the process of photography and video making to compare with traditional methods - it is definitely easier and more convenient now (although the analogue photography is a real magical experience and I really enjoyed doing my support module last year which involved working in the darkroom etc.).

Photograph by E. MacCabe

Everyday moments and good observation of the things around us are great exercise and often source of fantastic photos, he said. I definitely agree with that. I take photo of the weirdest things too sometimes. To keep stuff simple is often the best solution. Other time it is just about the pinch of wit and humour attached to the situation and a bit of interaction with the subject (evident in the above picture where the fancy had was not intended at first and presented by the person surprisingly). Saying 'yes' to offers (trying different poses, props 'would you like me to wear my hat?'etc.) can be definitely beneficial.

Photograph by E. MacCabe (Watching football behind bars)

I really appreciate black and white photography (white expands, black shrinks the overall outlook) and his great use of negative space. Eamonn suggested that often stripping the colour adds emotions, brings the power and soul of the presented form. In case of colourful photos, the palette around is also essential in the overall appearance.

Photograph by E. MacCabe

Similarly to artwork or design, sometimes we are not happy with the outcome. He strongly suggests not to throw away any old or unwanted photographs, as they may get popular one day (''nostalgia sells''). Eamonn MacCabe has also spoken about the best use of portraiture making time: the importance to ''boss your five minutes'' Control of the situation and confidence is often essential. Photographer should learn to say: 'I want you to do this/like this' etc. It is definitely good to do numerous angles too. Sometimes very simple move or little detail can make big difference, for instance the direction of looking or changing position from sitting up-right to leaning on something. He noticed that it is usually hard to get honesty on the photographs. It is important to try to make the subject comfortable (relaxed atmosphere equals excellent results). In case of double portraits there is also the attention to interaction between people required. He also pointed that often the truth of the photograph is not up to the photographer, but picture editor or company and the way it is used.

AP, Royters: picture agencies

LMA picture stock

Daily Telegraph: good resources