Zsuzsanna Wagenhoffer is a Hungarian fashion photographer living in Paris. Alongside her photography skills we discover her passion and love for horses and nature. UZURI had the opportunity to interview this impressive and talented woman
Zsuzsanna Wagenhoffer is a Hungarian fashion photographer living in Paris
Alongside her photography skills we discover her passion and love for horses and nature. UZURI had the opportunity to interview this impressive and talented woman
What is your current state of mind before we start the interview?
It depends on the people I’m with, the atmosphere of the day, the place we are,.... just like the sea how it gets warm and blue with the sun, grey and cold in the rain and strong with the wind.... But I feel good
You work with a lot of horses, and you can’t really give them direction, but you seem to get great emotion from them. How do you do that?
I give them the freedom to make me understand how they would like to express themselves, and after a while we develop a symbiosis like the collaboration of thought and motion. They have taught me to be patient and calm.
Is there a nice antidote in shooting the horses? They being completely oblivious to the worries of the world and still innocent?
I think we should be conscious about all the things they do and with us. Sometimes people just use them like machines abusing their trust working them hard for their own gains, and then when they become less useful they discard them!
How do you combine fashion, beauty, animals, and still life photography?
Everything has its own beauty: If I am shooting fashion I like to incorporate family life, like the thrill of the circus with all its parts. Beauty in animals is abundant, animals have grace and beauty, and I try to find these qualities in my models. Still life is like a micro-cosmos engulfed with inspiring images much like a toy is in a child’s world.
You cross art photography, commercial and editorial – is there one you enjoy most?
I enjoy the way and direction to get to the destination
How did you come to aircraft photography?
It is between animals and still life: I can't really change the position, but technology and design are fascinating to discover. The aircraft has a universe inside and from outside, is like a huge animal
So you do the retouching yourself? Do you get help? How important is Photoshop in your final images?
Yes, I do my own retouching because it's much like finishing off a painting,... during the shooting I can stay (more) polite - I don't need to say anymore to people in the background "please get out of my image”, I also don't need to say systematically to my assistant "please clean things around", and I don't have to break down models with telling them what I eventually consider not aesthetic on them!! My "mouse does the reworking"
Do you have a regular team that helps you?
Yes, for me is very important to keep "the family spirit" as far as possible
Do you have a tip for beginners to intermediate with photographers that will help them improve their photography?
If they have the passion and belief they will attain satisfaction, even if the route to perfection can be long, they just need to appreciate this and be patient without losing their direction to the destination
What is the future?
Photography depends on light. The complexity of light creating other dimensions is something I would like to conquer. It is complicated to explain thoroughly