Our
last interview with Jeremy was well over two years ago. We thought it was the
perfect time to change that. With the news of him signing with Dynalite, we
figured we'd catch up with our fellow photographer and see how he's been doing.
As
some of you know, Jeremy was in Los Angeles from the end of June to the
beginning of July, and we assisted him on his shoots and Mayhem Fest.
During this time he also stayed at our house a few nights here and there. Here
is what Jeremy had to say.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: It's been a little over two years since our last
interview, how have things been going for you?
Jeremy Saffer: Excellent. Totally different state of mind, things have
been getting better, and made some major changes to how I do business/shoot
etc. that have worked out really well for me since we last talked.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Can you give us an example?
Jeremy Saffer: Well, I feel like for the past maybe... 3 years...
2007-2010 - I was working very VERY hard with very little to show for it. My
shoots would get bigger, the artists I worked with were more well known, but I
was just floating by and not really moving up... It wasn't a lack of motivation
or anything, I just had it in my head that I had to do as many shoots as
possible with everyone possible and work myself to death in order to be
successful, and at one point I hit a pretty hard low, about a year ago
actually, and I think, as with anyone... When you hit the bottom, there's only
one way to go... up. and I did. It lit a fire under me and one year later, its
a totally different game on every level because of the changes I've made. I
mean, I almost quit... it was bad haha.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: For beginning photographers, I could see that
happening to them. But someone who's been doing this for a while, it must have
been hard on you. What really made you pull yourself out of the rut and keep
going? Any specific shoot or words of wisdom?
Jeremy Saffer: Well, I think with every career... it’s like climbing a
mountain and there are certain plateaus you hit before you get to climb up
again... For me I didn't realize I had to really reinvent myself in order to
get off of a plateau I had been walking down for far too long... But with
anything - you have to pay your dues... SO MANY do not understand that. I fully
understand that, but basically my breaking point was a perfect storm of a few
things happening all at once... First - my money had been drained due to problems
at my house (first a water heater blew, then a few other things, roommates not
paying rent on time, etc, etc.) Second I had to do 27... TWENTY SEVEN - photo
shoots over two days of a certain show... Which were all set up by that shows
P.R. agency. I show up day 1... and literally 4 of the bands know about these
shoots (normally I would go directly to each bands individual publicist but was
told not to) so... cool... I got 4 of 27 shoots done. GREAT - and three of them
were additive shoots - 1 was assigned so I had a few days before my second day
of shooting - I contacted all the management and publicists directly - and day
2 - I did the rest of the shoots ended up doing 31. Absolutely the worst
experience of my entire career thus far - it was mentally and physically abuse
to myself haha, but the THIRD thing to make things awful... one of the
shoots I was supposed to do was a shoot with a band who are friends... their
management was EXTREMELY disrespectful to me, beyond anything I've ever had happen
to me my entire career... - its been smoothed out since - but that was like -
"oof brutal." Fourth - of those 31 shoots... most of them were
"favors" where I was taking a VERY hefty pay cut. I basically got
home from those two days - bummed out - never wanting to ever deal with the
music industry again - looking at my bills being three times my income, and I
snapped. I was either going to get a job at my families company or... I didn't
even know what I was going to do... I was literally looking up jobs - for real..
I was done. Then I came up with an idea to do limited edition prints - do a
different type of seminar - reach out to everyone I've been doing favors for -
working for - working with - etc. I didn't want to come off negatively - but it
was my "look... I've been doing this for this long... its time for us to
step up our game working together," and it worked. I got so motivated -
got pumped again on everything I was doing... and it was great... I sort of
siked myself up... if that makes any sense?
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Reinvention. It's needed from time to time
even when you are as badass as Jeremy Saffer.
Jeremy Saffer: I'm not that bad ass but yeah - I mean - you need to stay
motivated and theres different ways to do that - I've found mine and it’s
important to have.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: You've been doing seminars for a while now,
when did you start doing them? How did you come up with the idea to do the
seminars?
Jeremy Saffer: Well - for seminars - I
saw a bunch I wanted to go to but they were like 1 grand or more each.... and
all in LA. I would constantly get questions about how I do what I do so I
thought, "why not do a seminar, that’s actually affordable, and teach
everything I can..." - which you know... pisses some people off.. A LOT...
haha. But it is what it is. I don't think these "industry secrets"
are really secrets... and teaching people to do what I had to learn the hard
way, is teaching them the RIGHT way to go about it, so they don't run into the
problems I had to deal with. Oooh I get some nasty comments. Other
photographers in the industry don't want MORE photographers in the industry...
They get way sore that I teach it. They have this mentality like, "ok this
16 year old just took Jeremy's seminar, obviously they are now going to steal
my job with Spin Magazine. Fuck Jeremy Saffer." They look at everyone as
competition - like every photographer is after their little slice of industry
which isn't true - I mean - why do you think there’s 20+ photographers at many
shows - because they are taking each other’s jobs? No. They all have different
outlets they are shooting for. I ran into an issue with a photographer this
summer that got wicked cut throat and they clearly saw me as a threat... It's
just pointless... It's like... "are you really that defensive that you
can't share the ENTIRE MUSIC INDUSTRY with other photographers? Get off
it." Different photographers have different looks... different ways of
shooting, editing, etc. There's no need to get sore when other photographers
exist around you. It's better to HELP them, than to try and hurt them. I feel
photographers SHOULD be a supportive community - not the opposite.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: I'm assuming more of the disapproval comes from
veterans of major magazines.
Jeremy Saffer: Oh no - not at all - they have the same mentality I do -
it's those little ziners who get mad - Old ass 40 year olds who shoot for
websites and never get paid in anything but photo credit getting super bummed
out that there's MORE photographers now... Haha - It's like - "cmon - who
are you?" There's two types of photographers in this industry. There's
those who do it because they love it - and those who do what they do for money
and money and more money. Sure we all like recognition - none of us do this for
a lack of that - but I think that goes with both types - Those who love it, and
those who just do it because it's something to do.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: In your seminar, you teach how to get paid
to do what you love, in 30 words or less, give us a brief example of what
someone could expect at one of your seminars.
Jeremy Saffer: I have to count words? Really? OK. Basically the entire
start to finish of going from beginner to pro. Starting with getting passes,
emailing, invoicing, etc. to lighting, selling your work, and making a career
of it. BOOM 30. Take THAT.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Have you done any seminars with any other
photographers, and if so, who? Who would you also like to do a seminar with?
Jeremy Saffer: I did one with Adam
Elmakias - and three with Gage Young. Which at the time was REALLY cool,
because we were really all at the same level, in the same industry, working
with the same bands, but doing it in completely different ways. We have since
all grown up as photographers, moved on to different things, and all gotten
better at doing what we do. I love those dudes like family, I would love to do
an Adam/Gage/Jeremy seminar one day - but it would just be clashy I think - Too
many differences in how we do stuff you know? - But as of right now I really
like doing the solo seminars - Chad Lee had talked about doing a collab
seminar, so it's something that could happen in the future, but I don’t know, I
think after the last two capturing music seminars I'm going to have to come up
with something very different - next level (like more geared towards pros
rather than general).
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: You use bands in the second day of the
seminar for students to shoot, what bands have you used and who were your
favorites?
Jeremy Saffer: Well it’s always different... Thy Will Be Done has been
kind of the staple - I think they've done something like 6 seminars? Vanna has
done 2 or 3? Then we've also had MyChildren MyBride, Our Last Night, September
Mourning, Shai Hulud, and of course in LA we had New Years Day. They are mostly
VERY close friends, I couldn't pick a favorite of those as at least 3 of my
best friends are in there. But I would say Thy Will Be Done has been there the
most, and are TROOOOOPERS. Then at most of these seminars - after the band
shoot - we go to a concert and the kids get to shoot a concert that night -
sometimes a festival.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Your last Massachusetts seminar is in
September, do you have anything special planned?
Jeremy Saffer: Well I've expanded parts
of the seminar to include more information, as I do every time... But I likely
won't be doing anything out of the ordinary for it, other than this being the
last "Capturing Music" seminar in Mass (not the last seminar in Mass,
but the last one for this specific series) - I don't know if I will do another
seminar in Mass (to clear that up) - but if I do - it will be something
completely new and all different - But likely going to debut that in LA if all
goes well the plan is "Capturing Music" Sept. here - Dec. there (LA)
- then move on to something new.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Why did you choose LA for that debut?
Jeremy Saffer: Well I'll likely be living there by then haha -
hopefully.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: You recently visited LA and had a seminar
here, how did that all go? Tell us a bit about your LA trip.
Jeremy Saffer: Well, basically it was very short notice... about a month
- if even that... OK - so short notice I had a free flight to LA - so I called
my ex-roommate/best bud Jessie Lee to see if she was around and had a place I
could crash - and also called YOU (Hanna) to see if YOU had a place I could
crash as she (Jessie Lee) had a very hectic schedule going to about 500,000
warped tour shows. So after I had a place to stay - a free flight - I figured -
ok let’s go for it - why not? - I can't stand LA when I roll through town but
whatever - I'll try it out. I spent over 3 weeks there and didn't want to
leave. Most times I tour or visit anywhere there's that point where it's like -
OK - I'm ready to be in my own bed - in my house - with my dvd collection and
my friends. That didn't happen - I hated leaving - and hated the first month of
being home - Now I'm kind of like - OK I'm getting ready to move - so it's not
THAT terrible - but oh my mentality changed while I was there for sure - I'm
ready to try it out and see how I do there I mean - I had so many shoots there -
almost every day - got to see so many friends I don't often see - got to meet a
lot of industry folk I've worked with for YEARS and never met - and actually
saw my manager and the Adrenaline team for the first time in YEARS - and we
live 4 hours apart!!! But we saw each other in LA! Haha I think I could shoot
there every day and love it - I would just have to find an assistant who knows
how to NOT break my stuff - or train YOU better and kill your dog by throwing
your cat at it. Come get me PETA.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: HAHA. Thanks. Kaito loves you! How dare you!
Jeremy Saffer: But yeah it’s a
different world. The only thing I don't like about LA is it's not like you can
go - "oh, there, that looks cool lets set up lights and shoot there,"
which you can do here - anywhere - and there's a lot of older buildings - and
cool looking stuff where LA is just... LA - and if you set up lights - you're
either in A LOT of peoples way - or police are going to roll up and shut you
down or fine you. Here you can flat out take a nude model in face paint and go
wherever and shoot - usually not an issue - there - nowhere to do that really
unless you travel pretty far.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: So in a way, you feel like LA is a bit more
restricted then Massachusetts in that sense. Do you find LA better to shoot in
in general except for that hang up, or would you prefer Massachusetts?
Jeremy Saffer: I mean - EVERYONE
is in LA - the labels, 25+ venues in a 2 hour radius - and tons of celebs,
bands, producers... bands who AREN'T from LA go there to record. If only we had
that sort of hub in Western Massachusetts I would likely stay - that and no
humidity would be nice the biggest thing is - winter and summer are awful
for shooting here because of snow and humidity - then there's rain - it rains a
lot here... it doesn't so much in California as I understand it but anyway
- yeah LA is absolutely more restrictive and there's WAY more photographers
there - Mayhem had like 100+ photographers - some with dumb little stools they
stood on in the photo pit (fucking ridiculous) - here there's maybe 20... and
no fucking stools!
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: I remember your fury about the stools.
Jeremy Saffer:
Also - no Randy Johnson - try photographing over THAT dude... He's taller than
the people on stools! Like 8'20". Yeah fuck those stools - they should NOT
be allowed at venues - and now I get when I see press emails saying "No
step stools allowed at the venue" - I REALLY hope that goes world wide -
so obnoxious.
LA.S.S. PHOTO: Haha, you get a press email with that in
there!?!?!?
Jeremy Saffer: Oh yeah - "First three songs, no flash, no
step stools." I never knew what that meant til that Mayhem
Fest warped tour didn't have any because they don't allow
it because it’s dangerous and obnoxious.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: What if you got endorsed by a stool company?!
Jeremy Saffer: For what? Reaching shit
in my kitchen? I wouldn't accept. "Hi we are Stools of Rock, we want you
to use our stool." - I would straight up be like - I got a stool for
you... and for those who for whatever reason don't know - stool is also slang
for poop. So. There's that.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Speaking of endorsements, you recently
signed with Dynalite, can you tells us why you choose them over any other
lighting company and what equipment of theirs you use?
Jeremy Saffer: Yeah I've been using
the Dynalite Jackrabbit kit since first doing on location photos with lighting
- I had a few choices, at the time Alien Bees were pretty new - and after doing
a lot of research , I bought two Jackrabbit kits (4 heads) - and have been
using them ever since and for good reason! They provide the most consistent
lighting I've ever seen for an on location kit... There is ZERO color temp
shift even when you change light settings, they always fire at the same power
as the previous shot - but most importantly - they can work in cold (VERY COLD)
and very VERY hot conditions and provide the same quality in either. I shot Our
Last Night - on a frozen lake - literally the coldest day ever - AND it was
windy - which made it worst - Dynalites did not fail at all... I often have
them out in the sun literally for 12 hours during Warped Tour photo sessions
and they work perfectly fine. I tried out Alien Bees and what a mess those
are... Literally - out of 50 shots - same settings - 25 different results - the
color temp shifts SO much - If you change the settings it shifts even more -
total Walmart brand lighting. I get what new photogs use them - because they
Photoshop the shit out of them so temp doesn't matter - Nor does a half-firing
ill powered light - but they are SUPER cheap... so I get it... But - as with
anything - you get what you pay for. But yeah any on location shoot I've done -
Dynalite. Such incredible lighting - and even when they are completely SMASHED
- like - legit broken... they still fire perfectly fine. I'm blown away - they
took a 5 foot heavy SMASH to concrete - CAVED IN the back of TWO lights!!!!
(somewhat to the fault of wind, and to the fault of the person doing the
interview right now) - But they fired, and got the job done, and are still
firing and working with shoots I've been doing since (as i cycle them in for
repair).
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: For a session shoot, how do you set up your
lighting? What is your usual "go to" set up that you prefer to work
with? For example, what kind of lights, reflectors, flashes, etc.
Jeremy Saffer: OK- So I generally use 1, 2, and 3 light set ups on
location - mostly 3 and 1. - rarely 2 and rarely but sometimes 5. I used to do
ALL shoots with two lights - for a while I was using two Uni400jrs (Dynalite)
with two Coldtone umbrellas (Dynalite) and shot everything split lighting
forever because... I guess I thought it looked awesome - but now I look
back and cringe at some of my older photos - as I think most do so - I moved
away from soft light and started shooting more hard light - using a beauty dish
as a main for most shoots - then using two bare Parabolics as rim lights one of
my go to set ups is a bare parabolic on either side behind the subject(s) at
about a 45 degree angle - flagged off so no light hits my lens - with a boomed
beauty dish - all Uni400s - usually the bares at 40% power and the main at 30%
(as its closer). Then I'll often boom the dish straight down for some photos to
get that classic butterfly lighting from above but lately I've been getting
weird - I shot in a stairwell the other day and used one light up a full story
pointed at the wall behind the stairs - and another pointing at the actual
stairs - far behind the subjects - and a beauty dish main - I blasted the
Parabolics at about 50% and the main was set at its normal 30% - and it looks
REALLY cool – it’s all about knowing what happens when you throw a light
somewhere at a certain power in a certain direction in studio however - I
tend to go back and forth from soft lighting (two 3x4 soft boxes) and hard
lighting (the set ups above) - especially if there's one subject if there's a
full band ill sometimes do the triangular style lighting then add split soft
boxes pointed downward to fill in the lower body with soft light.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Now, when you shoot live shows, how do you
work your magic? Explain how you feel when you get that perfect shot, and what
it means to you and what kind of tools of the trade you use when you shoot a
live show.
Jeremy Saffer: I've seen some photographers set up actual lights on
stage with triggers - or flashes with triggers - then there are purists who
REFUSE to use a flash - or those who use only an off camera flash on a hotshoe
wire for me - I just use a Speedlite and the Lumiquest 80/20 with frost
diffusion basically what it does is shoots 80% of the light up - and bounces
20% forward - but diffused it also adds another 4-5 inches to your light -
which is awesome because your subject is often at least 4-8 feet above you. The
way I shoot - is generally ISO 400 - drag the shutter around a 10th - 30th to
bleed in the lighting provided at the concert - and at F5.6-11 (depending on
distance and if it’s one person or full stage) - So the flash locks in your
subject and the shutter drags in the lighting making for a perfectly blended
photo I think shooting natural light is SUPER lame - I mean - I get it - it's a
cool look - but you’re shooting what's there - show me Warped Tour photos taken
by 1,000 photographers and they generally all look the same right? - You show
me photos taken by someone using a flash - and they generally either have their
own style - or at least look a bit different than the work of everyone else in
the photo pit - you get more control with it - you create something that is
your own rather than just capturing what’s right there in front of you
anyway and I'm not trying to trash shooting non-flash - it does take
technical ability to snag that and make it look good - but I think having the
control and being able to create or add to the lighting - makes the shot. At
least for what I'm going for. Also if all goes well there may likely be the
Lumiquest Concert kit - which would include everything I use for shows.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: So it doesn't bug you when photographers use
flash. There's a lot of discrepancies over photographers who use flash at an
indoor show.
Jeremy Saffer: No - why would it? It shouldn’t bother ANY photographer
if a photographer is using flash or not - it doesn’t affect your photo. If
you're shooting video - yeah - you see flashes - but if you're shooting without
flash - other photographers using flash have ZERO effect on your images unless
you somehow capture an image the same time a flash is going off - which may
happen maybe once or twice during a full show - at most. Usually the photogs
who get mad at photogs who use flash are the ones who don’t know how to
properly use them - in my experience anyway. Like photographers who use
non-diffused flashes - pointed to the side or directly at the artist - oof - I
could see that being a BLINDING issue haha. But it still wouldn’t effect anyone
else's images.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Who else are you endorsed by?
Jeremy Saffer: I am endorsed by Monster Energy Drinks, but really it's
more for those who I'm shooting with than me. It helps keep the artists lively
during our shoots, as most of them are on tour, and sometimes have to wake up
super early for shoots, it helps keep them alive! I also wear Peter Says denim
shorts and jeans - which is awesome - best jeans out there for sure and a great
company - I also do some photos for them - and of course Seventh Dagger, which
is a straight edge label and clothing company - if you see me wearing a
straight edge shirt (which is often) it's Seventh Dagger. - they also print my
merch - and I do a lot of photos for their records and catalogs - I just shot
the new Armed for Battle record cover - and not too long ago the most recent
XrepresentX record cover.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: In 2008, you put a book out titled, "Bring
the Noise." You have a new book coming out some time soon with models in
corpse paint, what's the inspiration behind that? Do you have a title for it
yet?
Jeremy Saffer: I have a tentative title. I don't want to say it quite
yet - a lot in the works in SLOW MOTION behind the book. But I guess that is a
good thing because I can keep shooting for it until it's ready to be put together.
But basically I was shooting a t-shirt design for my friend Karim - NLSL
clothing - you might see him on tour right now slinging merch for Cannibal
Corpse or know him as Black Dahlia's long time tour manager and stage ape...
Anyway - the concept was a recreation of this is hardcore/pulp - but corpse
paint - this is black metal/NLSL. So I did that shoot with a model who is into
black metal as I am - and decided - OK - nude model in corpse paint - let's
shoot a bunch more - and we did - and it instantly brought me back to a time
when I would buy records solely on how cool the cover was - generally with a
nude women or someone in corpse paint so it snowballed into being a project -
then it took over my life a bit - and I shot a bunch for it - I think i have
over 120 models now? Something insane like that - who have shot for it I tried
to balance model and entertainment photography where if I got sick of one I did
the other - but since last losing my taste for most model work I've been VERY
slow to return to it - I've been VERY busy with band work - and bands are
easier to work with than models 90% of the time. So anyway - the book... if all
goes well it'll be out before Christmas - but because the wheels tend to turn
really slowly on the business side of things - it'll likely be spring or fall
2013 - at some point if it doesn't happen - I'll make it happen on my own - I
would just rather have it be put out with distribution on a label - not out of
my pocket - you know i really have three books ready to go it’s just figuring
out - how to put them out - and when.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: What are the other 3 books about?
Jeremy Saffer: 1. the corpse paint book 2. a follow up to Bring the
Noise (band and celeb portraits) 3. an instructional book about music photography
- like my seminar but written. 4. a book of live photography. and 5. a book of
my fine art nude work (which has been published in Europe a lot but not really
here in the US) OK so 5. Wait 6. There's a book coming out next April - I'm not
sure if I can talk about it yet? But it's featuring all my photography. It's
going to be a REALLY cool book - but being that I'm not sure I can talk about
it - I can't really give details other than my photography is in it - but the
stuff that's going to be in it aside from photos - is going to be REALLY
awesome and interesting.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: What can you tell us about it in the mean
time?
Jeremy Saffer: I can say it's the
written history of a certain music...thing... based in metal and hardcore -
that I've been a part of since I started my career - and it's going to be the
culmination of a decade and a half of work. That may be too easy to figure out
- but it's in the works - and it's going to be incredible - I cannot WAIT to
read all the amazing stories in it.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Aside from working on your books, you have 2
covers this month, one for Outburn featuring Miss May I, and Hails &
Horns featuring Baroness. What can you tell us about landing a cover? Do you
know beforehand you're shooting for the cover, or are you told later on?
Jeremy Saffer: Usually it's beforehand - and it's planned well in
advance so you have the concept - the time frame of the shoot - you know you
need A LOT of vertical images with some headroom above the subjects for logo
space - etc. - But on rare occasion you'll shoot something and it'll end up
being the cover after you've already shot it. Like currently a shoot I already
did may be on the next cover of one of those two magazines mentioned above -
but for some weird reason, magazines like to keep photographers in the dark
sometimes - and I find out when the rest of the world finds out I literally
don't see the cover until it goes public. But it's really cool to get two
covers the same month - I don't think that's ever happened to me before now. It
just gets weird when you're shooting for various outlets (freelance) and
different magazines want similar bits and pieces from the same shoot - that's
when things get sticky - and that's why you want as much variety as possible -
I'll even go so far as to shoot a band twice in two days for different outlets.
Now if I could ever get the cover of Rolling Stone... ever... (won't happen)
but that's my number 1 dream as a photographer... As long as it's not a photo
of like... Snooki and her mutant offspring or something like that... but even
then I'd probably still take it.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Do you have anything exciting going on for
September? Any covers or awesome photos in magazines?
Jeremy Saffer: Yeah I mean - a shoot I just did is going to likely be a
cover, I'm just now allowed to say who or what - but it's absolutely a
controversial shoot so it'll raise a few eyebrows for sure - But September for
me is going to be pretty easy. I nearly have nothing booked which is good -
because I REALLY need to catch up on personal stuff such as my blog (which I
updated every shoot in 2010 - most shoots in 2011 - and FOUR shoots in 2012) -
and my behind the scenes video stuff I've been shooting since my first Jeffree
Star shoot has gone so long just sitting on my hard drive waiting to come out
and offend people! Gahh - So much work to do and so little time. But I have
spreads in September coming out in AP, a BUNCH of stuff in the next two issues
of Revolver, of course the next Outburn, and the next Hails and Horns. But I
believe the next Outburn comes out in October - as does the next Hails.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: I recently saw in an issued press release about
you signing with Dynalite that you recreated the cover art of Revolver with
Corey Taylor of Slipknot/Stone Sour and Kerry King of Slayer. How did that come
about?
Jeremy Saffer: Well there's a bit of a back story to this.. Not a long
one... but basically I've been "on call" waiting for some more
Revolver shoots to land my way - So I got an assignment to head out to upstate
New York and photograph a comic book artist by the name of Greg Capullo (I knew
the name, but didn't know why at the time) - for Revolver and I was explained
it was for the "Favorite Shit" section - was given examples - etc.
It's basically a spot where the featured person is photographed with some of
his favorite stuff - and talks about it. So I did some research and being a
HUGE Mcfarlane nerd (Spawn/horror figures etc) - I found out Greg was his right
hand man - and even took over Spawn, and Haunt, and did the Creech - and was
now doing Batman - and the next cover of Revolver so I head up there to do the
shoot - shot photos of him working on the INCREDIBLE cover he drew of Kerry
fighting Corey - and we became buds because we are both metal nerds and into
the same stuff... DIO!... What else needs to be said there? Dio fans generally
get along haha. So anyway - I did that shoot - the issue came out - and from
what I understand it went something like this... Kerry saw the cover and said
"No way man, I would take him out! I could destroy him, we gotta redo
this!!!" But his wording was probably a bit more... intense.. haha even if
he was kidding. So the word got around and they asked me to go out to upstate
New York Mayhem Fest and recreate the cover - I was stuck in a venue made of
brick!!! So I found a VERY small and tight hallway in the basement of catering
that had a black wall (which is what I needed) - and I got Kerry and Corey
together to recreate the cover... - rather than duke it out. But it was fun! -
as Kerry walked downstairs he yelled, "TAYLORRR!!! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR
ASS!!!" - So Corey spoke in a Kerry King like voice and said "GOD
DAMN IT I'M GOING TO GO DO SOME PUSH UPS FIRST!" Haha they have an awesome
playful banter but also a very strong mutual respect which is awesome. So we
did that cover recreation which will be in the next issue of Revolver which
hits the first week of September I believe - and it's PRETTY damn close! As for
who would win in a fight... I think Kerry has more strength - but Corey would
likely be much faster - so if they ever did duke it out - it'd probably end
pretty evenly.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: You recently shot Memphis May Fire for AP, and
it's my understanding that this is your first spread in AP in a few years, how
did that happen? What is the "story" behind it?
Jeremy Saffer: Well - I used to do a slew of work for AP back in the day
when I was first starting - mostly live photos - and a few spreads- maybe 3?
But I fell out of contact with them when I started doing a lot of work with
Outburn and staff has constantly changed over there - so I've been trying and
trying to get back in the door there - and while I was shooting Michael Vampire
for Revolver at Warped Tour - my buddy Matty walked by and was like "Damn
dude! Didn't know you'd be here we gotta shoot an AP thing." So I
explained I was going to be at the show in 3 days - AND they had a day off
after that so we could shoot in the studio so it all got locked in - and this
is actually their first spread in AP ever - and my first in maybe over 5 years
- maybe more also - and very important - this is the FIRST fun shoot Memphis
have ever done... they usually only do serious shots - but we had fun with it -
so you'll get to see a side of the band you haven't seen before - which is
often my goal when doing a shoot... we shot over two days and got some GREAT
images. I'm really pumped on aaand hopefully I'll be shooting a bit more for AP
in the future *fingers crossed*.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: If someone was doing an impromptu photo shoot of
YOU, what would it consist of?
Jeremy Saffer: Me doing everything hahaha - I hate photos of me. But I
actually have a photo shoot coming up this week - Not very excited about it...
I've literally done every professional photo of me you've ever seen with a
timer. Basically I told this photographer - ok - DARK - lots of shadows -
minimal highlights if any at all. DARK DARK DARK DARK DARK! - dark!
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: What does your DVD collection consist of? What is
your movie guilty pleasure?
Jeremy Saffer: Everything - It's a bit over 3000 dvds strong. A lot of
signed stuff - rare and limited editions - boxed sets - imports - but it's
taken over - I need to downsize. Well today I wanted to watch music related
comedies - and my collection is pretty huge so I could do that - I watched
Wayne's World 1 and 2 - Airheads - Empire Records and Detroit Rock City. I
didn't watch them watch them - I sort of had them on as background as I was
editing - but you know - being able to say - ok - comedies about music - let's
do this. But the best one is probably Be Cool - it's a music INDUSTRY comedy -
not many people know about it for some reason - oh and Get Him to the Greek is
a pretty good music comedy... I should probably watch that tomorrow.
L.A.S.S. PHOTO: Who is your ultimate favorite musician, dead or
alive, that you want/would have wanted to shoot before you die?
Jeremy Saffer: Well my favorite singer of all time ever for metal/rock
is Ronnie James Dio - I never got a chance to do a photo shoot with him and I
would say my dream shoot would have been Dio Sabbath or Heaven and Hell (which
is the same thing) - Michael Jackson was my favorite performer/singer of pop -
so being able to photograph him would have been incredible - I shot Dio live
but never got a chance to shoot Michael - and of course Peter Steele would have
been awesome to photograph but I never tried to so I never did... as
for living... I want to shoot all the legends - Lemmy, Scott Ian, Metallica,
Rollins. Madonna, Kiss, Crue, King Diamond - and so many more - the list could
go on forever - but every now and again I get really lucky and I get to check
one off the list it's really random though - like - I would LOVE to do a photo
shoot with Bill Cosby - and he lives about 30 minutes away from me. I just
don't think I have any way of making that happen as much as I would love to. I
have this whole.... weird... concept/theory - kind of like in that Zorro movie
where you are in a circle - and everyone else is outside of it as you grow in
what you do - the circle gets bigger and more people outside of that circle are
in your circle and then you can work with them - ya know Anthony Hopkins words
it much more eloquently than I could. You know I'd love to take a really
serious and really fun photo of him - to have them juxtaposed to one another
maybe a very grainy black and white tri-x shot with very selective lighting on
a black background - single rim - hard front lighting. Then a fun bright shot -
maybe Jell-O everywhere? Or him lost in a sea of cups of Jell-O? I dunno either
way Bill Cosby is fucking awesome.
Upon
decided to interview Jeremy, we decided to involve everyone. We posted about
people sending in their questions and we got some good ones. The best questions
is to win a free print. Here is Jeremy's answers to all your questions!
@JosephBTB
asked: Everyone has their own unique way of shooting. What do you think makes
yours different than others?
A) I'm not sure what makes
my work different from others.. or the way I shoot different as I haven't
watched many other photographers shoot - however I think this is a good
question to ask people who follow many photographers - they could answer that
better than I could.
@hellwas2fun
asked: What goes through your head when shooting/ before shooting? Are you
amazed/anxious or do you have other thoughts?
A) Depends on the
shoot - every now and again I get tense before shoots and work myself up - but
most wouldn't be able to see it - those who know me well - maybe - but I stay
on point, clear headed, and professional during all shoots... Sometimes I'm
anxious or excited, but mostly I'm just thinking - OK - if this light is
pointed this way and at 40% power... and this light is at 30% power.. Oh wait -
are all the batteries on, OK, lets double check that, OK, test shot looks good,
OK I'm ready to go... ten minutes til the shoot... longest...ten minutes..
ever... OK I'm ready - let's do this and make everyone happy with the results!
@Wrongdom asked: With so many photographers
competing for artist shoots, how do you stay ahead of the game and so high in
demand?
A) Well I don't think so
many photographers are competing for artist shoots really... but you have to
have a reason to do a shoot... I can't just say "Oh hey Slayer, let's do a
shoot, just because" - It has to be for an outlet, and the way I keep busy
is by having a consistent stream of work from magazines, music companies, and
record labels - and when you work often, people notice.
A) Garlic Parm.
@antiqueclockall
asked: What would you do for a Klondike bar? If lactose intolerant, what would
you do for a bowl of Italian shaved ice?
A) Honestly I'm not
lactose intolerant but I like Italian ice WAY more than Klondike bar - and
depending on the day - I would probably do a few ridiculous things to have a
large bowl of Italian ice. But being that - despite rumors - I'm not actually
fun. It would probably limit what I would actually do for a tasty cold dessert.
@Lawlz_Rose
asked: Out of all of your photo shoots, have any really stood out for you in
your career? Good or bad?
A) Well many have
certainly given me some fun and interesting stories - mostly good... But the
shoots that sticks out the most to me in my career are probably Alice Cooper,
Robert Englund, Megadeth, Slayer, basically the artists I grew up with images
of them on my wall - getting to create something I would, as a kid, cut out and
put on my wall - those ones are my favorite shots even if they are really rare
because I'm a jaded old man haha.
@omandmsquidgy
asked: If you were a porn star what would your name be & if you could
choose anyone who would be your co-star?
A) Who asked this - Bryan
Stars? I'm not a porn fan. So I'll just go with my own name - and if I could
date anyone ever.. it'd be 1980's Madonna - for sure. megababe back
then.
A) Because I haven't
changed much since I was 12 years old... long hair - band shirt - all black
clothing.. I'm 28 now - pretty sure when I'm 90 I'll be repping all black
clothes and a Megadeth shirt that's about 60 years old. ...which means I would
have to buy it two years from now...
@HateMeRateMe
asked: What are the pros and cons of doing band photography? Do you prefer
shooting in a studio or outdoors?
A) Music photography has a
lot of weird politics involved, it's so multifaceted that I can't even start to
scratch the surface of explaining it, but sometimes you have to walk on egg
shells to get the job done, and obviously with the music industry in a
financial downward spiral you have to be creative if you want to make a living
doing this. Shooting in studio is VERY boring to me - I'd rather shoot on
location at all times - because a background is just so dull even though it
works for some bands and some shots - I'd rather have a really cool looking location
most of the time.
After interviewing Jeremy for 4 hours, I asked if he had anything
else he'd like to add to our interview or think we should know. He declined... then started writing more.
His closing
remarks? "Listen to Black Sabbath (the Dio years)!"
For
more info on anything you read in the interview, check out Jeremy's websites
below:
Until
next time kiddies, hugs&kisses, Hanna!
