My equipment is an extension of my vision and I’m as critical of it as I am of myself.

A Los Angeles based photographer with frequent shoots in New York City,  I wanted to move  away from shooting look-book style catalogs, where it’s about shooting as many outfits a day as possible, and begin shooting more editorial/branding style catalogs where it’s about taking the time to create images which not only show the clothes beautifully, but which are striking, iconic and define a brand.

I felt that to attract this type of client I would need several published editorials to show what I could do beyond what I had already done.

I had built a very efficient system for shooting high quality, high volume look-books with a medium format digital back, but when I decided I wanted go to the next level creatively I decided I should be open to change and consider a digital back other than my current brand. I noticed a lot of high-end fashion shooters in NYC were using Leaf. Following more research, I found that Leaf really dominated the high end fashion market in NYC. I wanted to take an NYC approach to fashion and Leaf seemed to be part of that. In addition I really liked that the Leaf Aptus 65S  was capable of 1 frame a second. I believe in medium format digital for fashion because the resolution and color accuracy are essential for showing the clothes and the model in the most compelling way. But 1 FPS is also necessary to get the shot. If you’re waiting for the back to respond and the moment passes, then the shot is lost. I also liked that the screen was large enough that I could judge changing lighting and check focus without having to be tethered to a monitor. I feel this is very empowering. Photographers lose something when clients look at the screen and decide when you have the shot.

Finally, I had always heard Leaf had a more film-like look, some said artistic, some said painterly. When I tested the Leaf and compared the images to my back, what I immediately got was that while my back´s images somehow appeared more eye catching at first glance, the Leaf captures had more soul. There was a smoothness and graduation of tone which was satisfying. And what I really liked was that with virtually all other digital systems I´ve used when you over expose past a certain point you just lose everything. It´s like fall off a cliff.

With Leaf you can actually overexpose and still get graduated details in the whites almost in the way you can with film.

The thing is, by the time a photographer is using a medium format digital back, the photographer’s  personal reputation is much more of a consideration than cost savings when considering the switch to another digital back. When I was considering switching to a different  back I knew it needed to not simply be equal to my current digital back, but offer superior image quality, superior functionality, ease of use and dependability, or why risk the change. And I think that would be the case for most photographers.

Beyond that, there is also an inherent loyalty to a product that you have been creating with. This causes a bit of blindness about the product you use to just being better. I started out using another digital system, because they had the simplest most reliable software.

Yet, in the end, I saw the light and now wish I had considered Leaf long before ...
 
About Kevin Janow
Kevin was born in NYC and raised in the midwest. In his teens he was seduced by the perfectly executed glossy fashion and product images he saw in editorials and advertising of the eighties. He wanted to make images that were that perfect. However, his love for the moving image was stronger and after his BFA in Photography and Cinema, he headed west to UCLA and an MFA in Film Production. After graduation he proceeded to direct music videos and write feature screenplays. But commercial photography was never far from his heart or soul and in 2003 he opened his studio in downtown Los Angeles, specializing in fashion and portrait photography.
 
Kevin´s photographic vision is inspired and informed by the clean sexy lines of modern architecture, industrial design and the raw beauty of industrial decay. Porsche meets punk.
 
Kevin works with the Leaf Aptus digital back, Hasselblad cameras and lenses and Broncolor lighting.