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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

August Bradley: Master Of The Future

While other photographers struggle in the new digital business model, August Bradley is turning his meticulously composed fine-art imagery into commercial success

This Article Features Photo Zoom

August Bradley’s conceptual approach to fashion and commercial imagery is heavy on mystery, allegory and visual narratives that have their roots in classic literature as much as they do fine art—not an easy sell for a photographer working in the gentrified world of advertising. Yet Bradley, a relative newcomer to the photography industry, is highly sought after for his singular vision in an environment where established photographers are working against a tough economy and the upheaval of existing business structures.

Densely complex in theme even if minimal in composition, Bradley’s dramatic photography is hyperstylized in technique and often centered on a “style” component, he says, “though it’s not really about the clothes.” He has many clients that come to him specifically for commercial or fashion photography, but Bradley notes that the stylization is less his brand of fashion photography and more to complement each story and to give the imagery more of a “detachment from our day-to-day perspective.” Props and surreal backgrounds play a big part in selling the riddles in his images, and he prefers to have an element of literary fiction, noting that as an avid reader he has found the best literary fiction to reveal more fundamental truths than the objective world of nonfiction ever could.

“What I love most about great fiction, be it literature or artistic images,” he muses, “is that this is the only way in which we can experience another person’s consciousness. We come closer to experiencing another person’s mind through this kind of art than in any other form of communication. I personally prefer artwork that rewards effort from the audience, that the viewer has to invest something in, and if they do, then there’s a more rich experience as a result.

I don’t even care if the viewer gets the full concept I had in mind at the point of creation—though I think it’s important that there is one—but I want there to be a sense that there’s something bigger than the immediate impression, that something is unfolding, that there’s depth to be explored.

“You can learn more about human psychology from Shakespeare’s plays than from most books on clinical psychology,” he continues. “I strive to depict fictional observations that have an authentic emotional or psychological resonance, despite looking odd and out of the ordinary. I also like my images to have the sense that there’s something bigger going on than what the viewer sees in the frame. I want to convey that something meaningful happened just before the moment was frozen and we’re witnessing the aftermath of it, or that something compelling is about to unfold afterward. My characters are also often engaged with elements of the story outside of the field of view—part of the story is unfolding beyond the frame—which adds a sense of mystery to the narrative.”

Bradley began as a market strategist for a variety of big brand names like Gap, Banana Republic, J.Crew and others, and it also probably helps that he earned an MBA at Harvard Business School while doing economic analysis as an undergraduate. He has recently revamped his website in partnership with liveBooks and Vimeo to offer an immersive experience that’s designed to present an audience with much more than just a portfolio. The site is customized to allow Bradley to present his multimedia content in a format closer to that of an online magazine.