A keen eye on Japan

KS talks to photographer Akif Hakan Celebi - or just Hakan - a native of Turkey, resident of the US, working currently in Japan. Hakan's areas of work are various, and include glamour and fashion. Yet all the many facets of the East are his subject.

KS: Your photography has a distinct Asian flavor even though you do most of your work in the US. What inspires you to go in that direction?

Akif Hakan Celebi: I am very much influenced by the movies from the Far East, especially the Chinese and the Japanese cinema. I live in Florida most of the year and it looks nothing like Japan, however I am always on the look out for places and even little corners which resemble the far east. Also working with Asian models helps too.

When you are doing photography, it is not about the technical skills and the brand name of the camera you use that take great photos but it is the photographer's eye and mind and how they approach their subject. If you have the composition and the style worked out in your mind before the shoot, you are halfway there. But I always leave room for surprises and let my models act their own way. Sometimes great photos are captured when you least expect it.

Now you are in Japan, is the real deal for you?

I believe the locations play a very important part in creating the moods for the overall photography. In Japan I feel that it is so much easier for me to create these moods because I don't need to worry or spend time looking for locations. Everywhere fits what I have in my mind. So I do not need to travel so far and have been photographing models around my neighborhood. I can discover many interesting spots just around the corner for the looks I am going for.

How do you go about finding and doing photography work in Japan?

It is my second time in Japan. When I came to Osaka three years ago I was not a full-time photographer, however it helped me to get familiar with the city. I have been to Tokyo too, but I much prefer the friendliness and the homely feel of Osaka so I decided to make it my base this time around. I have contacted some people before coming here all through emails and I arranged a shoot with an up-and-coming Japanese singer in Tokyo. I have found out that it is really difficult to work for Japanese magazines or agencies if you are a foreigner without fluent Japanese language skills. Even though they might like your photography, they are afraid of the lack of communication which could result in unwanted final results when doing work, and that is understandable. But you can do some work for magazines outside of Japan while staying here and that is what I aimed to do. I have been shooting Japanese street fashion for mostly US and European magazines.

I am also doing documentary style photography for possible travel magazines. Lastly, I have time for personal portfolio work which is very important because then I can get untraditional and establish my style further. Potential clients usually look at and like a photographer's personal portfolio work to hire them, but then they ask from you to shoot something totally different, which is weird.

When you do this personal work, how do you find models?

I say personal because those photos are not done for commercial purposes. Some get published, some are exhibited. They reflect personal emotions. For the question of finding the models, if I am working on a paid production with a complete team, then the models are provided from model agencies. I have the priority to choose from available models. For personal work, finding models solely depends on your skills as a photographer, if your past work gets the attention of someone she/he will be likely to accept your request for being a model on your project. I usually scout for models all the time, if I see someone who interests my attention whether it be on the street, bar or a shopping arcade, I'd approach them and give them my business card to check out my website first and then mail me back if they are interested.

What's your recommendations for a photographer starting up?

If you aim to do work for web only then a 6 megapixel camera would be good enough. Some people I met in Osaka are event promoters and they constantly go out and photograph people in different clubs to promote these events on the net. They get free admission, free drinks and meet cool people. I guess this could be an interesting side hobby/work for some foreigners here who are interested in photography. On the other hand if you like to get more serious and aim for print work, then it gets to be very expensive. At least a 10 megapixel camera is needed, however the camera by itself does not take great quality photos, you need to couple it with top of the line lenses. If you attach a mediocre lens to a 10mp camera your photo quality would still be mediocre and vice versa. Depending on the type of photography you are going for, there are different lenses you should go for. As a reference, a 35mm lens is equivalent to the distance of how a human eye sees everything. For street documentary, I have been using a 16mm fish-eye lens which covers a very wide area and I can take shots without looking into the visor since I know everything around me would be included, so you can take lots of interesting shots without disturbing people from a close range. Only downside for some would be the distortion around the edges that turns the photo into an oval shape but I like that effect. You can also always crop it afterwards if you are not so fond of it. For landscape photography a 20mm to 28mm lens is vital or a zoom lens which covers that area, however keep in mind that zoom lenses tend to have a decreased quality compare to prime lenses. If you are into shooting portraits I would recommend 50mm or 85mm lenses. Especially the 50mm lenses give interesting emotional effects and will make your portraits more powerful. For close-up photography of flowers, insects, products, a macro lens is needed, however you would need a tripod too to keep the camera still for these shots. For general model photography a fast zoom lens would be ideal which covers a wide range from 24mm to 120mm.

Text: KS • Photos: Akif Hakan Celebi