articles/Profiles/loucakariolides-page3
by Sofie Louca Published 01/10/2010
My role models
Which photographers/artists/politicians/persons have influenced you and why?
I can't put my finger on one person being an influence in my life but one of the first photographers who caught my eye was Sebastiao Salgado. Granted I haven't exactly been influenced to go to a third-world country to photograph the plight of those people, but his images and the emotion he captured in people struck a nerve in me. Deep down, it probably is a secret desire to end up in some little-known country photographing its people! I think most people try out photographing 'this' and 'that', but I was never happier than when photographing people, which must have been why I was so drawn to Salgado's images.
My life and work motto/philosophy
Do you have a guiding principle or a special attitude that is always with you?
Anyone can take a photograph of what is directly in front of them but not everyone can make that image extraordinary. I find that when you take a step back, slow down, and truly see and observe your surroundings, or your subject, you have more of a chance of creating an image that was worth the click of the shutter. If you can craft in-camera the beauty you see with your naked eye, you may just have created a great image.
Your equipment, and favourite camera and lens Which cameras do you work with? Which do you prefer working with? What purpose do you use which camera for? When did you strart working with a Hasselblad?
We own an H4D-40 with an HCD 35-90mm lens and an HC 80mm lens (as well as a Nikon D3 and D3s with various lenses). We've only had the H4D-40 since May so we're a newbie to the Hasselblad family! To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about using a medium-format camera having only ever used an SLR but I adapted to the camera a lot faster than I expected. The Hasselblad is easy to use and more importantly the detail that it captures is truly outstanding - when I became a digital user, I never thought that such quality, detail and sharpness would be achievable so quickly. The H4D-40 is primarily used on post-wedding sessions where we take our clients out on location, set up our Profoto lighting and photograph them in a more posed, fashion-based style rather than the photojournalistic style of the wedding day.
The winning HOC-image
The winning image was taken for a couple who travelled from the UK to Cyprus to hold their wedding. By the time this photo was taken, we were all very tired and a little sunburnt. We had begun shooting early in the morning and it was almost sunset at this point. It was one of the last photos we took but has ended up being one of my favourites from a postwedding session.
The future
What project are you actually working on or would you like to realise in the near future?
At the moment I'm enjoying the challenge of working with every day people, people who aren't comfortable in front of the camera and who, for the most part, don't know how to pose or react to your camera, and creating some remarkable images for them.
Next year Paul and I plan to take a large chunk of the year out to travel as well as participating in a workshop in Santorini in June. Once settled back home I would very much like to take a step into fashion photography as that's where my heart lies.
There are 28 days to get ready for The Society of Photographers Convention and Trade Show at The Novotel London West, Hammersmith ...
which starts on Wednesday 15th January 2025
SWPP - Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers
The Society of Photographers
Clwyd Chambers, Clwyd Street, Rhyl, Denbighshire, LL18 3LA, UK
Tel 00 44 (0) 1745 356935
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