Yesterday was the 2014 MET Gala which is one of the most important fashion events of the year. This $25,000 a plate charitable event draws some of the most prolific and legendary names in the fashion industry so it is not surprising to hear that fashion photographer Mario Testino would be present at the event. This year he was not just in attendance, however, he was also the event's photographer!
Mario Testino the legendary fashion photographer with numerous Vogue and Vanity Fair spreads under his belt took on the task of capturing the prestigious event that is the MET 2014. The images appeared on Mario Testino's official Instagram page and offered an exclusive look into the party.
How do you think he did as an event photographer?
Via [DailyMail]
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He was paid to do this? Anyone with a camera phone could have produced the same shots...or wait, was this a camera phone? It doesn't impress me when someone with a big name can get away with this kind of "photography" and be praised for their talent when any random person with a point and shoot could do the same or better.
He used at point and shoot. This was not supposed to be pro LOOKING, it was suppose to be fun.
Because of his high likability and huge credibility in high profile ad work and magazine work, he is able to get people to relax for him, unlike the other guys technically better boring shots.
The other guy didnt get Domenico Dolce to pose like that for him.
Have you seen his portfolio? Insane!
I guarantee if you tried this everyone would look blank and lifeless. Pretty much the expression I have reading your stupid opinion.
Brandon Stanton was allowed to cover some of it and his images turned out much better imo. =) http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/humans-of-new-york-met-gala-bra...
There is an elegance to the Stanton photos that I think reflects the event (a $25,000/seat fundraiser) that I think is missing in Testino's photos. Testino's look like they could have come from anyone at any party... like personal photos of his celebrity friends. That is fine, but hardly the work of a high quality event photographer.
lol - are you fucking joking? Those photos are terrible! So boring and devoid of personality. Every shot the person is smack bang in the middle of the shot. Contrived and rendered just as every other person is.
Learn to read, good lord. Stanton's pics are better than these pictures (in my opinion). I didn't say that Stanton's pics were the most amazing images ever taken.
I think Michael Jordan did a better job at his attempts as a professional in a different arena than this fashion photographer did as an event photographer. And Michael was terrible at baseball haha.
Terrible, and this is what makes creative industries lose respect. Because you have a big name or big contacts, you can get away with distributing garbage like this and it comes off sophisticated, artsy, or with style.
If professional means million flash units with soft diffusers and a pound of photoshop to soften the skin till turn a person in a synthetic robot, well, I prefer a thousand times these photos. Said that I saw that Testino uses a simple point and shoot in parties and not the big medium format that uses to cover magazines in the studio. In both cases the people looks natural, I guess that's the goal.
Yeah cause we'd lose all the natural aspects if Charlize Theron's face wasn't half melted off by ambient blur. There's a little bit of leeway in image quality from this, and commercially lighting the event and slapping a post team on it to perfect it.
Good technical quality is not his jurisdiction, hes a fashion photographer and he takes fashion photography. Which means he focus on fashion and not necessarly postprocessing of light metering.
You are very narrow minded.
Thats why you are where you are and he is where he is.
But all his other work IS focused on post processing, and (to what extent I don't know) light metering. And comparing our accomplishments while ignoring the disparity of our careers is, in short, pointless. The question was asked "how do you think he did as an event photographer", to which my response is, poorly. It has nothing to do with his fashion photography, at which he is obviously quite successful and for good reason. Good technical quality is absolutely his jurisdiction, as he is the one in control of his final product. And in his other work it shows that he takes great pride in it. I simply feel that those values were not upheld in what I seen above.
I think Mario has a lot of assistants just to be able to focus all his attention in fashion matter; deal with the models, the creative team and make the decisions to archive this fantasy world that fashion photography is all about. This includes very often delegating lighting preparing (not the choices) and postprocessing to designated professionals. Thats was my "Good technical quality is not his jurisdiction" sentence is reffered to.
I agree with you that event photography is not his strong point, but i cant backup your commentary "this is what makes creative industries lose respect" just cause his not a event photographer and he is not intended to and thats not what he is selling.
Respect and have a good day.
Looks very good to me. Especially the Charlize and Theron Sean Penn shot!
They are typical instagram shots that just happen to be taken by a well known name. They are definitely not typical Mario Testino photographs that just happen to be on instagram.
That, to me, is the main difference. If the people in the shots weren't celebs, I wouldn't have looked at them twice or thought they were produced by anyone with any particular photographic talent.
Sorry for the boring wording but... snoozer
These aren't the greatest photos but so what? All who claim that they or anyone with a camera can do this...could just anyone get all these celebrities to feel as comfortable as they look in these photos? Like their friend is taking a picture of them? Also, they're posted on his instagram page not being used in Vogue Italia.
All of you complaining about quality overlook what's so beautiful about his photos. His photos invoke emotions, and whoever said this is not typical Testino, you are wrong. Take a look at his book In Your Face, and you will find snapshots like this all over it. A good photo does not have to be "technically" correct to be beautiful. A photo should connect with viewers. Too often I read comments from photographers, and all you guys see is the technical aspects of a photo, and nothing else. Shooting photos for photographers is pointless, because no one ever connects with photos, they just sit around and analyze how it was shot, and if it is "correct." It's like how people complain about Terry Richardson and his "ugly direct lighting." But guess what, his "ugly" lighting doesn't mean shit to non-photographers, because he connects with his subjects, which in turn connects with viewers of his photos. This is why he was the highest paid photographer last year (netting between 50 and 70 million), and Testino gets the same type of connection from his subjects. The only difference between the two of them, other than the pay (although I'm sure Mario is VERY comfortable), is that Testino is a much more versatile photographer.
To those bashing Mario and the photos, are you insisting that he has no idea what he's doing? I don't think he was hired to deliver your standard event photography. Get off his balls, he's on an entirely different playing field than us.
Great photos Mario despite what the jealous would try and claim. I shoot weddings and this sort of photo is super hard to pull off even with talented models