Press - Bradley Patrick

profile
bradley patrick
celebrity shooter
IN DETAIL
Jack Black
This shoot with comedian
and actor Jack Black was
for the worldwide publicity of
Shark Tale, the 2004 animated
film by DreamWorks Films.
Celebrity
Shooter
Home-grown talent Bradley Patrick has schmoozed with the stars
of the silver screen, on and off the set. Lisa Perkovic finds out how
he went from stills shooter to celebrity portrait photographer.
Where did you learn to take photos,
and how did you start in the industry?
I started photography young, learning
at school and teaching myself. I grew up
reading National Geographic Magazine
and immersed myself in the world of the
Masters – Steve McCurry is probably my
favourite photographer of all time. He
was my inspiration, so were Richard
Avedon and Helmut Newton.
After school I did a correspondence
course at the Australian News Syndicate,
because I wanted to learn how to sell my
pictures. I knew more about the technical
aspects than most students do at that
point, but I wanted to know how to get
out there and run a business. I wanted
to learn how to go from student
to working professional.
Back then you could either apply
for a cadetship at a newspaper or try
assisting professional photographers.
I chose the latter and ended up assisting
for a rock and roll photographer. I was put
on as the second assistant. It becomes
pretty obvious when you start out if you
want to be an assistant or a photographer.
I always wanted to be a photographer.
I was a second assistant for a month
before being promoted to the first
assistant because I had the initiative
to take things to the next level.
PROFILE
Name: Bradley Patrick
Town: Sydney
Website:
bradleypatrick.com
Favourite type
of photography: Portraits
It wasn’t just about handling a camera
or setting up lights. It was all about the
people skills. They’re integral when you
shoot portraits. You might be technically
proficient but if you don’t have the people
skills, you’re not going to get that far.
How did you make the move
into celebrity shooting?
I got a bit tired of the music industry.
It was fun when you’re young, going
to parties and meeting people. You’re
shooting but you don’t have a life apart
from that. It went on for three to four
years, by then I was working as a second
photographer for a lot of the promotional
work we did as my skill level jumped.
“It was all about the people
skills. They’re integral when
you shoot portraits”
42 | Your guide to PORTRAITS
Your guide to PORTRAITS | 43
profile
IMAGES
uma thurman
I’m a huge fan
of Uma Thurman.
Dangerous Liaisons
was one of my
favourite films
growing up. It was
awesome shooting
her with Ben Affleck
for the movie
Paycheck.
bradley patrick
I really love film, so I tried to think
about how I could use that passion in
my photography. At that point in time,
Sydney’s Planet Hollywood restaurant
was about to open. It was my idea to
approach Planet Hollywood and shoot
the movie stars who went there. We
progressed from there, doing social
shots of every movie star who came
into town.
Soon I was shooting portraiture
of the celebrities for publicity firms
and the movie companies they were
representing. I built up a trust level
in the industry.
It was about forming relationships
with publicists and managers. When
you’re a trusted individual in that circle
of people, the work was a natural
progression. It got to a point where
celebrity shooter
I was hiring other photographers to
shoot the social work. I still had control
over the shots but I was doing the big
portraits of the celebrities to be used
for publicity around the world.
I went to LA for the first time in 1997,
when I was invited to photograph behind
the scenes at the Golden Globes with an
Australian editor. It was pretty amazing
and the relationships I formed there have
progressed to the point where last year
I was invited as a guest, to walk the red
carpet and watch the awards. That’s what
I mean about relationships, if you foster
them they’ll grow.
What did you learn working on movie
sets shooting Motion stills in America?
I’ve worked on the sets of around
50 films and some of the most amazing
experiences I’ve ever had have been
on the set of films. There’s a huge buzz
if you’re a film buff, walking into a cinema
and seeing your poster. Or seeing your
stills in a magazine when you’re on the
bus. It’s kind of cool.
One of the first films I did was The
Quiet American in 2002, with Michael
Caine and Brendan Fraser. I was there
for Entertainment Weekly, working out
of New York. It wasn’t for the production
company, It was amazing working
with director Phillip Noyce and
cinematographer Christopher Doyle.
How Michael Caine handles himself
on set is the definition of complete
professionalism. I learnt a lot in a
very short time on that set.
Working for the production
companies, we’d get the script a
month before shooting. I’d give my
input about which days and scenes
would be good to shoot on. Any shot
had to be top-shelf for them to use
anywhere, in any situation. I would
shoot every shot like it was for a poster.
I’ll always be a photographer, I’ll always
have that passion of being the guy behind
the camera, but it comes full circle. I’ve
just completed my first feature film script.
I’ll be going to LA in January next year
for the Golden Globes but I’ll also be
pitching the film and hopefully it’ll go
into production at the end of next year.
Working on sets was my film school.
I learnt how to carry myself, how to
interact with the actors, how to work as
a team. It isn’t just about you, it’s about
the team. That applies to all photography
I do, whether it’s fashion or conceptual
advertising. It’s a team effort. Make-up,
stylists, producer – everyone is important.
What’s different about working
with celebrities?
The level of trust when you’re doing
that sort of work is vital. It’s the most
important thing if you’re shooting high
profile people. You’ve got to maintain a
certain distance between you and them,
where you keep professional integrity.
Even if I’m a fan I’m not going to cross
the line.
Portraits 101
Natural light
I love to use natural light more than anything,
although I’ve shot with ProFoto gear for the last 18
years. There’s just nothing that will replicate the sun
in the sky. Natural light is the best.
44 | Your guide to PORTRAITS
A lot of really high-profile and wellknown photographers are now celebrities
in their own right. People like David
LaChapelle and Peter Lindbergh have
earned that respect, but fundamentally
they’re still the guys behind the camera.
They maintain control. You don’t ever
want to give that up if you want to have
integrity in your work.
Do celebrities or their managers try
and control the shoot?
No, not in any shoot I’ve ever done. From
shooting celebrities such as Eddie Murphy
and Mike Myers to Cameron Diaz, Uma
Thurman and Jodie Foster, that’s never
happened. They know who you are, they
know you’re a professional. I’ve never
been in a situation where someone’s told
me to do this or do that. They walk into
the studio I’ve set up and that’s how
we’re shooting it. You’ve got to be
completely confident in your ability.
The fundamental thing in any shoot
is to ask: what are you doing it for? Is
it for a periodical or is it being used in
publicity campaigns that will go around
the world? It might be an art project or
for a charity. There’s so many different
avenues shooting high-profile people.
How does shooting a celebrity
differ from shooting other people?
Do they work the camera more?
They’re familiar with being shot all the
time. For me it’s important to remember
you’re shooting a celebrity when they’re
not playing a role. They’re themselves.
If you’re shooting Uma Thurman,
she’s not playing a sexy role, but she’s
obviously a sexy woman, so you’re
going to get that in the photo anyway.
But what else are you going to try to get
out of it? You’ve got to remember it’s
always your own interpretation of
what you’re trying to create.
What tactics do you have for getting
more from the shot and interacting
with the subject?
Fundamentally it’s about creating the
mood on set. You do your research about
who you’re shooting. What kind of music
and food they like, whether they’ve been
to the same places you’ve been around
the world. You’ve got to find something
you can connect with.
It’s about going outside the square
and thinking of something a bit different.
I remember shooting Ben Affleck and
Uma Thurman at the Beverly Wilshire
Hotel for the movie Paycheck in 2003.
I knew Ben was an amateur photographer
so I brought an antique Rollei to the
shoot. When he came in I said to him
“I hear you’re a photographer as well,”
and he said, “Yeah, I dabble a little bit.”
I gave the camera to him and said, “Do you
want to put a roll of film through it and
take some photos?” He loved it. I’ve got
pictures of him taking photos of Uma
IMAGES
Morgan Freeman (above)
Mr Freeman had done maybe 50
interviews that day for the film Nurse
Betty. I was supposed to have 20 minutes
with him, in the bar area of the Park Hyatt.
I could do a whole portrait book on the
Park Hyatt. I’ve probably done 100 shoots
all over that place. The brief was to get
something really iconic, so I thought black
and white. Shooting someone with that
kind of character in his face was always
going to be amazing. I used one light, a
big 600 watt ProFoto monobloc with a
big Octabank diffuser. I used the Mamiya
RZ67 PRO II on 120mm Max Scarla film,
which is a black and white slide film.
He gave me two hours of his time
because we got on so well. I gave him
an 8mm camera, just so he had something
to do. He’s an older gentleman but he’s got
a lot of energy. He was giving me the time
so I was going to use it. That was a luxury.
I ended up taking him all around the hotel.
We did a shot against a wall with shells
all over it which got a page in Empire
magazine but the black and white shots
were the covers on four or five periodicals
all around the world. I could see I’d
captured something that was special.
Your guide to PORTRAITS | 45
profile
bradley patrick
Thurman with that camera. No-one will
see those shots until I release a book.
Shooting someone like Jodie Foster
(see Parting Shot, page 114) was massive
for me. I knew it was going to be
dramatic and that I was going to get
a lot out of it in a short space of time.
She was promoting the film Panic Room.
I shot her first on the roof of the Park
Hyatt in Sydney. We got on so well
I asked the publicist looking after her
if we could have more time. I wouldn’t
usually do that but she said yes and
I did another shoot two days later.
I got two shoots with Jodie Foster
in the space of a week. That was
pretty amazing. I was shooting on
a Mamiya RZ67 PRO II, 6x7cm with
two and a quarter colour slide film.
With the Morgan Freeman shoot
we required so many different looks,
so I decided to shoot on four different
types of film. One of those was so rarely
used but we did find one lab in Australia
still processing it and the result was well
worth the investment. Always go beyond
what others expect you to do.
stages of popularity. Look at Terry
Richardson. He was shooting on a
little Instamatic camera and now he’s
shooting for some of the biggest fashion
magazines in the world. Terry was
shooting on a Yashica T4 35mm
celebrity shooter
on a generic background so the clients
could get longevity out of the photo.
It was all about keeping things simple.
Not that I’m comparing myself, but look
at Richard Avendon’s work, it’s black and
white, with one background. You see the
emotion in the photo. Those photos will
stand up long after we’re gone. I aspire to
do stuff like that every time. And to bring
that to every job, not just celebrity
shoots. People get that sense of realism,
it’s not about what they’re wearing or
where the subject is, it’s about what
they’re feeling. That’s the most important
thing for me.
creates cinema in every picture, whether
he’s shooting models in black and white
or doing a Pirelli calendar – which I’ve
got a copy of. Even if it’s not a shoot
I’m looking to do, I’m always looking
at what other people do.
“Shooting digital is like driving
a Rolls-Royce. It’s impossible
to make a mistake”
point-and-shoot for Vogue and Harper’s
Bazaar at parties and now he’s shooting
covers with a Nikon D3, but shooting
everything the same way he first did –
up against a white wall, with flash on the
side. It’s simple but he has his own style.
I really admire Peter Lindbergh. He
How has digital photography changed
your shooting?
Back in the days of shooting film you
had to know what you were doing.
That was the love of it. Shooting digital
is like driving a Rolls-Royce. It’s impossible
to make a mistake. And there’s no excuse
if you do, because once you step into the
arena where people are actually paying
you to do things, it’s assumed you know
what you’re doing.
Shooting digital you’ve got nowhere
to hide. It was such an eye opener when
we all made the switch. The clients are
right there; they’re more educated than
they were about photography and postproduction, they’re much more involved.
When we were shooting on film it was
with slide film; you learned a lot about
lighting, shooting live and using really
wide aperture lenses.
Using prime lenses is key to my work
now. If you want to be a professional,
you need to be shooting with prime
lenses, especially for portraits.
How would you describe your style?
I like to keep things simple. It’s very
dramatic and cinematic – but less is more.
My shots aren’t about the background;
they’re about the emotion in the
person’s face and what they’re doing.
A lot of the work I did in America was
Celebrities go in and out of favour.
Are there different trends for celebrity
portraits too? What magazines are
looking for?
There are lots of different genres and
styles out there and they go through
PRO TIP
It’s not about taking 100 pictures
because you have the technology to
do so. It’s not going to make the result
better. You should be able to get the
frame in five to ten images.
What gear do you use?
After shooting Canon for the last 18
years, I’ve just switched to Sony and
I’m now one of the Alpha ambassadors
in Australia and New Zealand. The Canon
cameras were great – I shot with an 85mm
f/1.2 and a 50mm f/1.2 and those kinds
of lenses for years, but Sony has the
most amazing technology I’ve ever
seen. I was blown away by it.
When I started assisting, the
photographer was using Nikon D4, with
the old titanium bodies. Those things
were okay but heavy. Then all the press
photographers switched to Canon so
everyone else switched to Canon.
I now shoot with an Alpha A77.
There’s 24MP, 12 fps and an amazing
face detection technology. If you’re
shooting live music and you’re tracking
something across the stage, that camera
will hold up. It’s unbelievable.
I’m very excited about developments
we’ll be seeing soon. With the Carl Zeiss
lenses, shooting with their gear is like
having a Hasselblad lens on a 35mm
body. The autofocus is faster than
anything I’ve used before.
Most of my important portraits have
been shot on a big camera. That’s because
of what the end result will be. I want it to
be the sharpest, best image I can deliver.
Now you don’t need Medium Format
cameras. I’ll be using the A77 from now on.
That’s the thing with digital technology,
it’s reached a point where you don’t need
to go to medium format. You’re shooting
24MP in a RAW frame, and the picture will
be published 11cm by 14cm at its biggest,
that’s if it’s for an art book, but it’ll be a lot
smaller for a periodical like Vanity Fair. IMAGES
Ben Lee (above)
IMAGES
Radha Mitchell
Radha has become a really good friend. This
shot was from a general spec shoot when she
was first in LA. She’s not a hippy but she loves
the environment, so we did it outside. I got a
whole different feel from her because of the
light. That one particular shot shows off the
beautiful California light, with no reflectors.
We were at Venice Beach, up on a roof and
I had all these lights, but I didn’t use one of
them. The light over there in California is
great – the smog is a natural diffuser so
at 3pm the light is unbelievable.
What people don’t seem to realise when
you’re keeping it simple is that whatever the
light is reflecting off you can use. Where we
were on the roof it was all yellowish. I was
bouncing that light into her face. I shot this
on the Mamiya RZ67 PRO II.
Downstairs we did a whole other fashion
shoot with a cat that we found in the alley.
No-one has seen those because the
magazines all liked this one particular shot.
46 | Your guide to PORTRAITS
There was an
amazing little Studio
in Sydney called
Lazerlight Studio,
right in Darlinghurst.
They had a daylight
studio up top on the
roof. That’s where I
took this shot of Ben
Lee. He’s running and
jumping. We had a
whole moveable cyc
up there. It was on
wheels, on the roof,
and it was awesome.
When you get to
America, that stuff
is the norm. Over
there, whatever you
can think about and
conceptualise, they
can pull off. I’m going
to bring more of
that to Australia.
Monica
bellucci (right)
Monica has appeared
in numerous titles
around the world.
This shot was for the
Italian film Malena.
Your guide to PORTRAITS | 47
profile
bradley patrick
The most
important
lessons
At the end of the day, it’s all
about the interaction with your
subject, immersing yourself in
the environment.
celebrity shooter
SugarLove Pictures
IMAGES
My wife Leigh Taylor and I formed
SugarLove Pictures. We met on a
photo shoot, where I was the assistant
and she was the model. I didn’t see her
for three years after that. We met up
again at the Tropnest Writers’ Festival,
but I moved to New York three months
later. It was where I needed to be but
we’ve been together ever since I got
back. I use the phrase: she’s the wizard
behind the curtain and I’m the tin man
out the front.
The name for the company comes
from the fact I have three sugars in my
coffee and I take pictures for a living.
Sugar. Love. Pictures. We have a studio
in Woollahra in Sydney and we’d like
to get a bigger space.
I want to expand the studio and
the first stage of that is launching
the SugarLove Masterclass.
Anthony
LaPaglia
I love shooting on
rooftops. I used to
have an apartment
in Clovelly in Sydney,
which had a rooftop.
I did three or four
shoots up there. The
light is really great.
BRADLEY’S FIVE PORTRAIT TIPS:
01
02
Have a plan: it’ll help you
stay in control at all times.
Do a storyboard: this
helps with the plan and
will be great for visualising what
you want to achieve.
03
Know your lighting:
once you learn that,
you can pretty much do anything
with your work.
04
SugarLove Masterclass
I’ve always wanted to give back to
the industry in some way and people
are always asking me to teach them
techniques. So I decided to do a
Masterclass. The first one was held in July,
Engage with your subject.
05
as a weekend-long series of practical and
technical lessons for all skill levels.
I’m very humbled by the people
who attended. They came from all over
Australia – Brisbane, Melbourne, even
Perth. It was an eye-opening experience
for them, because it’s wasn’t all about the
technical side. We focused on interaction
with subjects, so classes applied to any
genre, from landscapes to baby portraits.
I wanted to show them that if you’re not
engaging with your environment, you
have no right to be there.
Parting words
When I get a bigger studio, I want the
students I teach to come over and use
it. I won’t charge them. Photography in
Australia is often a closed shop for young
people. Photographers guarding their
secrets is often the norm. I don’t believe
in that. When I’m gone, I want to inspire
people. I don’t want to be that guy that
never said anything.
For more from Bradley, visit
sugarlovemasterclass.com
and bradleypatrick.com
Set the mood: if you have
the mood, you can pretty
much get people to do whatever
you want. Within reason.
IMAGES
Jake Gyllenhaal and
Anne Hathaway
This was for the 2010 movie Love and Other
Drugs. The brief was to keep it simple, to
get as much coverage as possible and try
to get shots where they look like they’re
a couple and having fun. That was easy to
do. They’d been photographed in LA a few
weeks before but the studio wasn’t happy
with the result. They needed shots to be
used in marketing and PR campaigns all
over Australia and Asia.
To get as much coverage as possible in
a short space of time, I had four different
setups. I used my Mamiya RZ67 PRO II
and had Keno light, natural light, Profoto
strobes and Red Heads. I probably only
took 15 shots at each setup. I I used
different backgrounds, one with wallpaper
designed by Catherine Martin. That kept
it interesting yet simple. You don’t have
to have an elaborate set to make it look
amazing. Whether it’s a piece of furniture,
wallpaper, a palm tree, whatever – it’s what
you do with it.
IMAGES
Joel
Edgerton
(above) This
shot was taken in
Melbourne. It was
a spontaneous
party trick that we
captured in the first
frame. We went out
for beers after that.
Rose Byrne
(right) Vanity Fair was
a big introduction for
me in America. It was
a dream publication
to be in, especially
as it was an Aussie
I’d photographed.
This was at the start
of her career, now
she’s kicked on and
we’re still friends.
To get them relaxed I took it upon myself
to buy them each a gift, just something
simple. My thinking was these guys are
here for a day, they’re probably not going
to get to see any of Sydney, so what can
I give them of Sydney and myself that
they’ll remember and can take with them?
I bought Anne the Sarah Blasko CD, she
was taken aback and loved it. I gave Jake
the first album Silver Chair did. That night
I saw them at the premiere and after party.
They made a point of coming over to me
and saying, “We’ve been listening to the
CDs all day in the limousines.” It’s a simple
thing but after I gave that to them, they
were relaxed for the shoot.
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