Our interview with fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski, known for his striking imagery and instinctive storytelling, takes us behind the scenes of a creative life shaped by passion and purpose.
The Fashiongton Post: Alexi, do you remember the last photo you took just for yourself—with no brief, no subject, and no intention to publish?
Alexi Lubomirski: Usually it is of my kids. Every birthday I have one wish which is to have one hour, of no one complaining, allowing me to get my proper camera out and take photos of my wife and two sons. of course they never enjoy it during the process, but one year later they absolutely love those photos. Those type of photos are my absolute favorite; images of love between people.
F.P.: Is there a luxury brand whose ethos you feel completely aligned with? Not just aesthetically—but philosophically.
A.L.: I recently met Vanessa Barboni Hallik, founder of the label “Another Tomorrow”, and was blown away by her mission to create a label that truly practiced complete sustainability, organic materials, fair, wages, etc.. It is a mammoth task that she’s taking but she is so determined and I was in awe of her drive.
F.P.: What fashion shoot gave you the biggest adrenaline rush—and did anyone cry?
A.L.: That is a tricky one because there have been so many over the last 22 years. I would say that a cover shoot that I did for Harper’s bazaar America in 2017 with Angelina Jolie in Namibia, surrounded by cheetahs, was definitely up there in terms of excitement. At one point during the shoot, I was trying to get the cover shot of Angelina, set against the Namib desert, and the wind was misbehaving, blowing her hair across her face, and as I struggled to catch the moment when the wind was perfect, I suddenly felt the sensation on my left thigh. I looked down to see a cheetah with its tongue, as rough as sand paper, licking my jeans, probably having smelt the snack in my pocket. I looked nervously towards Angelina for some help but as I turned towards her, I saw that the wind had caught her hair perfectly, and it was fluttering majestically behind her face. My mind was in two places. Should I step away from the cheetah and protect my leg or would I be OK, because I still had one more leg spare, and choose to capture the image. Being the idiot photographer than I am, I chose the latter and ended up getting a fantastic cover shot, consisting of Angelina Jolie, the exquisite desert behind her, three cheetahs meandering around her, and the backstory of me, nearly becoming an “amuse-bouche”
F.P.: What’s the strangest location you’ve ever thought, “This could be a great fashion editorial”?
A.L.: I have seen so many places, thinking that it would be a fantastic location for a fashion shoot, ranging from airplane graveyards, to jet black beach rocks, to a glass sculpture garden on the rooftop of the New York apartment, and even to the back room at a Home Depot where there was just walls and walls of giant cardboard rolls.
F.P.: What does silence mean to you on set? A tool, a tension, a rare luxury?
A.L.: Funnily enough, for a person who loves silence anywhere else, I can’t stand it on set. For me, I have to have music, especially if we are on a studio backdrop. Having music takes the edge off and puts less pressure on me, the subject and the team, to make conversation or behave in a certain way. I’m also a talker on set because for me I have to connect with my subjects, especially when it is a celebrity doing a fashion shoot. I have to understand what the key is, in order for them to open up for me. How do I make them trust me? How do I get them to relax? How do I catch that one magic moment where they are completely unguarded because of something I said? A backdrop of music helps paint the environment.
F.P.: What’s the greatest lesson a model ever taught you—intentionally or not?
A.L.: It wasn’t actually a model that taught me this but a celebrity. Kate Winslet. I was shooting her in a London apartment that was made to look like a Parisian apartment. In my mind, I always have a storyline or a character in mind about who is this character that we have created. I never used to tell the subject about my secret storyline. It was just for me to have in my back pocket. For some reason, when I introduced myself to Kate, I mentioned my storyline to her as a joke, and she nodded and said, “Yeah, that sounds great. I can do that.” I said, “No, no this is just for me to have an idea in my head.” She replied, “Absolutely not, it is great. Let’s do it.” The storyline was that this woman, this character we had created, was having an affair. Every Wednesday afternoon she met her lover at this apartment and today for some reason he had not turned up. Had she been found out? Had he decided to end it with her? Had something happened to him? And then all of a sudden she hears footsteps coming up the stairway. “That’s what I want you to imagine,” I said. “That moment.” Kate walked over to the mantlepiece, put her hand up onto the fireplace and looked over her shoulder towards me, dipped her chin and slightly turned her knee inwards. I was dumbstruck, hypnotized by how she had managed to take my character and give it flesh and bones, right in front of me. I was transported into a storyline, a movie. My assistant started hitting me on the back of my head, saying, “Take the picture! Take the picture!” From that day on, if I ever had a subject, model, or celebrity, who found it difficult to just be themselves in front of the camera, I gave them a storyline to hide behind. That was the greatest gift that she inadvertently gave me.
F.P.: Do you secretly judge how people pose in group photos at weddings?
A.L.: Not in the slightest! Groups are so difficult to do, but some people make them look so easy. I have an old friend who takes wedding pictures and they are complete masters of the group photo. For me to make it interesting, the group photo should not look like a school photo or a military photo or a sports team photo. It should be fluid and organic and as natural as possible.
F.P.: Who’s your dream subject… who absolutely refuses to be photographed or is still hard to approach?
A.L.: This is going to be cheesy, so I apologize in advance: My wife. She is the person who I want to photograph the most, but who I get to photograph the least. Even on my birthday, the photos are more centered around the children, rather than her. Of course, I take photos of her with my phone every now and then, but to actually sit opposite her with my proper camera and be able to study her, the way an artist studies their muse is my absolute dream. Creating art inspired by somebody you love is an incredibly sensual experience. Taking the emotions that you feel and manifesting them into whatever medium suits it best, be it photography, poetry, painting, or sculpture, is a true gift.
F.P.: What question do you wish people asked you more often—but never do?
A.L.: I’m one of those people who likes to jump in deep, straight away, with people in conversation. Sit me next to somebody who I’ve never met before at a dinner party and that is my comfort zone. To be able to ask questions of people you’ve never met before and find out what makes them tick and obtain pearls of wisdom from them is such a gift. And if they ask questions back, then all the better. So I guess the go-to question that I never get asked, but would love to discuss, is: “What do you think life is about?”
F.P.: Ever taken a picture so good you thought: “Okay, I can retire now”? Or such a shot is it still anywhere ahead?
A.L.: I think that if one ever has that thought, then it’s not an honest artist. There is no such thing as a perfect shot which is what keeps us hungry, constantly searching for the ‘perfect’ shot. This is why I think that for the time being, but I don’t know how long for, humans creating art that is fallible, will always trump AI-created art. The imperfections in art, make the art perfect.
F.P.: In a hundred years, if someone finds one of your photographs in a dusty archive, what do you hope they feel before they even read the name?
A.L.: “Connection”. Every photographer is different in what they try to achieve. Some take photos of people as a voyeur, whilst others photograph people as still life objects. For myself, I try to connect with my subject in a way that the viewer feels that they themselves are in front of the subject. I tried to capture emotion, moments between moments, and a connection on a human level.
F.P.: Traditionally, your piece of advice to The Fashiongton Post readers?
A.L.: I have a rule that I live by, called FUTURE HINDSIGHT. This consists of applying any question, concern, worry, or doubt; to how I will feel about that situation on my future deathbed. Will this problem matter? Would I have been happy about my decision? It has made my life incredibly easy. When you are able to look back at your life, from that vantage point, you realize how straightforward all your decisions are, and how easy they are to answer, for your most beneficial outcome.
- Official website of Alexi Lubomirski: www.alexilubomirski.com
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