Create spotlight: Douglas Lloyd Principal/Creative Director, Lloyd (+co)

What are the current trends in fashion photography?

It sounds flippant, but the only true trend I see is the lack of one. It seems more and more that anything goes, from classical to digitally messed-with, hyper-color to rich black-and-white, snapshot to composed. It all seems to work if you get all the elements right.



What print campaigns have really caught your eye recently and why?

The iPod campaign, for its graphic use of photography for a fast-becoming-iconic product. Marc Jacobs, for their guts to completely go for it with the imagery. Target?not so new, and not so much for the actual visuals, but for their consistent ability to make me think differently about a brand.



What do you look for in the photog-raphers you hire?

It depends on the project. If it's an advertising job, a familiarity with the work and the personality of the photographer is as key as the appropriateness of the imagery. So much of the job is about that relationship, not only between the creative and photographer, but with the talent, client and crew as well.

I think the most successful fashion image makers have an eye for marketing as well as a talent for photography. It really goes beyond just creating a pretty picture at this point.



Which fashion photographers do you admire?

The list is long, but here are three whom I've been into as of late:

Irving Penn. Obvious, but I really admire his ability to reduce an image to its basic elements and still consistently produce strong, elegant, iconic photos.

Bruce Weber. I love his contribution to relaxing the fashion norm and breaking the conventions of advertising photography.

Ron Galella. A paparazzo, but very influential for a generation of image makers.



Fashion photography seems to have permeated general advertising photography to the extent that a campaign for say, Cross Pens, now looks like a fashion spread. Do you think that this is a good thing?

It's inevitable I guess, in this overly media saturated environment in which we all live and work. As in music, movies and other forms of pop culture, everything is a hybrid, cross-pollenated sample of some other time, discipline or style. It keeps you on your toes, always looking for something to stay ahead of the general trends.



A lot of the campaigns you've worked on veer more toward understated, traditional photography, rather than to digitally manipulated imagery. Is that a fair comment? What are your views on digital manipulation?

For the most part, I'd say that's a fair assessment of our work at Lloyd (+ co). However, that said, a lot of the "natural" images we produce end up being heavily worked on in post to achieve that look.

As far as obviously manipulating images, there is definitely a place for it with certain projects. I tend to have a more classic view of photography in advertising, especially for luxury brands, as I feel it conveys more of an aspirational quality.



There seems to be a move away from the snapshot esthetic that was prevalent a few years ago. Is this a move that you approve of?

I still think that a couple photographers are doing great images in that genre. Both Juergen Teller and Terry Richardson have a real niche there, and have managed to span both their fine-art work and commercial projects with that throw-away feeling that is right for certain things.



What inspires you?

Conversations and arguments, good and bad movies, old and new books, street kids in Portland and harajuku and any music.



What is your favorite piece of technology?

My TREO 600. It's outdated now, but works well and I'm awaiting the 700.