BEHIND THE LENS
WITH
JEREMY SAFFER
~~~
HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS
JEREMY SAFFER
~~~
HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS
METAL PULP AND PAPER: Hello Jeremy. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Metal Pulp And Paper’s feature called Behind The Lens. We appreciate it.
Before we go any further, let’s first tell everyone what Behind The Lens is all about. This feature is about the person that’s behind the camera lens. All about that individual that captures that perfect fiery orange of the setting sun, finds a child jumping in a mud puddle in the pouring rain, or catches the moons glow in the water next to some snowcapped mountains. Or captures the rock guitarist jumping in the air during mid solo. It’s about finding that beauty in something that some might not take notice of in their everyday busy lifestyles. Behind The Lens will be a way to get to know a little more about the photographer and the work that they bring to everyone. A full 360 degrees around the camera.
So, let’s take off the lens cap, and go behind the click of the shutter and get to know more about you and your photography, shall we?
How long have you been a photographer and taking pictures?
JEREMY SAFFER: About 15 years give or take.
MPAP: What first drew you to it? Was there an inspiration for picking up the camera and beginning that journey into the art of photography?
JEREMY: Being a fan of music. I have always had a camera on me when I was younger but not so much for artistic purposes and I never really thought of it as being a photographer in any sense. I really got into it when I started photographing bands around age 15.
MPAP: Now that you’ve been doing it for a while, what interests you the most about it? Is there a passion behind it for you at all?
JEREMY: I love creating and shooting, there is nothing else I’d rather be doing than shooting. The passion hasn’t faded a bit, maybe even grown more and more if anything. I find a lot of it is picturing the image I want to get from a band or artist and figuring out how to translate it from my head to my lighting and my lens and making it happen.
MPAP: Can you describe that moment, the experience, or even the emotion you felt when you knew that photography was something you just had to do?
JEREMY: I can’t really pinpoint a single moment that solidified my want to do it, as it just came so naturally and became such a big part of my life and lifestyle, it sort of naturally became what I did and what I loved to do as I transitioned from a musician to a photographer, and it became something where I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
MPAP: What do you like to photograph the most of? Do you have a favorite setting, scene, landscape, or any items that you like to capture? Or do you like to just take pictures of people, or perhaps a live music concerts now and then?
JEREMY: Portraits are my thing. Everything else is boring to me. Why shoot something lifeless and inanimate? How boring! Celebs and bands have been my thing, and to a smaller extent, models, when time allows. Concerts of course are fun, but portraits are my main by far.
MPAP: Is there anything out there that you try to avoid taking pictures of?
JEREMY: Not really, honestly. I like shooting everything and anything for the most part, I guess there are some things I wouldn’t want to shoot, such as some people I dislike for personal reasons, but that’s a given for anyone I’d say.
MPAP: When picking up the camera, it obviously took some time, along with some practice, to get the feel and hang of it of what you wanted to do or go with it? Maybe even a class or two was taken to learn more about it. Tell us what were some of the challenges you’ve encountered with taking pictures? What have been some of the difficulties you’ve experienced since first began, and maybe still happens to this day?
JEREMY: I think finding a comfort zone is like finding a jail cell and it’s very hard to break out of. Once you find contentment in your work you stop growing so I try my best to learn at least one new thing each week or month here and there and try it out, see if it works within my style or if I find it interesting enough to implement within my workflow in one way or another. In terms of difficulties, it’s all over the place… there were a lot of things I ran into when I first started in that I wasn’t working for anyone big, so I wasn’t getting the shoots I wanted, but all that takes time and you grow as your work grows.
MPAP: On the other side of it having some difficulties, what are some of your favorite things about being a photographer you can tell us about? What have been some of your camera highlights so far that you can share with us also?
JEREMY: I love what I do, it’s great getting to, sometimes, work with some people you’ve looked up to for 20+ years and get to take a portrait of them that is going in a magazine, which, earlier in life I would buy and put on my wall. So, getting to create those images I know I would have had on my wall as a kid means a lot to me, because I grew up with the posters and pictures of so many of them on my walls and now I work with them, always unreal.
MPAP: When someone sees the picture you’ve taken for the first time, whether it’s the new bride and groom, or a family member that just had a baby, what do you want someone to get out of it? Is there ever anything you’re trying to say within your pictures, a message deep in the pixels that makes it up?
JEREMY: My main goal personally (not necessarily for the assignment or artist, but for myself) is to create an image that adds to the legacy of that artist or character…to really embody all of who they are and do justice to it and have it been an image that is looked upon as part of their time line. I want to make the artist happy, I want to make the client happy, but I also want to be happy with the images, and sometimes it’s difficult to make everyone happy in those situations, but so far so good!
MPAP: Is there an artist or another photographer out there that you admire and might have influenced you at all? What about their work do you love the most?
JEREMY: When I was younger it was Ross Halfin of course, and when I got more into photography it was David LaChapelle and Herb Ritts (who are two vastly different photographers). But now a day its less photography and more cinema that interests me. I am a huge movie nerd. Promotional posters for movies are probably my favorite art, and while many look similar, there are so many different photographers out there shooting them. I try not to be influenced by others work as I don’t want my work to incorporate another’s style or flavor, but I absolutely appreciate so much of it. There so much talent out there both known and unknown.
MPAP: Before we move on to talking about the pictures that you shared with us, are there any tips or advice that you would want to give yourself if you had to pick up the camera and start photography all over again?
JEREMY: Jeez, I wouldn’t know where to start with that. Young Jeremy has no idea what he’s in for. But every bump in the road led to me learning so much…I think those hardships were necessary to mold everything into place.
MPAP: Now on to the pictures that you took and have shared with us here? Take us into each one of your favorite pictures and tell us what they are about.
JEREMY: I’m not sure I have a favorite, but here are 4 selections from a recent gallery show I did and I figured these four have some pretty cool stories behind them.
Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein of The Misfits:
It is very difficult to take a bad photo of Doyle. He’s about a thousand feet tall, and pure muscle and horror. Having worked with him many times now, I know what he looks for in photos and going dark in an image is never a bad idea with him. In general, for this lighting you would want your head and chin up to catch light. If you bring your chin down you lose light and the face gets a bit dark. In this instance breaking the rules was making the perfect portrait of such an iconic and legendary monster.
Rob Zombie:
This was shot backstage in Hartford on Mayhem Fest about 5 minutes before he went on stage directly outside his dressing room. I was set up with lighting and didn’t like the sea foam green so my assistant and I set up a black background…I hated it even more, so we tore that down and by the time it was down it was time for the shoot. He ran in, and we took a total of 19 photos in about a minute, and this one was the first shot and my favorite of what we got. His intro music started, and he ran out of set, and onto the stage. This shot has been used as a poster in Outburn, Metal Hammer, Kerrang!, and others.
Alice Cooper:
Photographing Alice is unlike photographing anyone else. When you work with a band, the band and crew generally want to do the shoot but want to get it done, and the crew will stay out of the way while you shoot. Not Alice. For Alice the crew is there to help, asking if you need anything. It's surreal, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. “Want another jacket? Want the sword? How about the snake? Do you want the snake?” Yes…yes I do. He got the snake and at one point the snake started coming toward the lens and I captured this perfect shot of the snake with his tongue out…BUT! it was a full body shot with head room and foot room…I cropped in, nervous to lose quality but ended up with this crop (10% of the actual image at best) being the most iconic and favorite photo I’ve taken thus far in my career. I don’t think I’ll ever top it (though I promise I will try!) It’s one of those moments where everything came together perfectly, could have gone very wrong, but didn’t. Sometimes a crop of an image can make an image much more powerful.
Kerry King of Slayer and Corey Taylor of Slipknot:
Revolver had a cartoon of Kerry and Corey fighting for a Mayhem Fest cover (inked by the talented Greg Capullo of Batman/Spawn). Upon seeing the cartoon, Kerry said “no way man! Corey could never get the upper hand on me!”, and suggested a re-match of sorts, which would take place in the form of a photo shoot in New York. I toured the venue trying to find any black wall anywhere in the venue…after an HOUR of looking at spaces they mentioned the basement has a very small black hallway…which it did - it could fit no more than 2 people in it at best…which is exactly what I needed. I set up my lights, Corey came in first, and when Kerry came down, he came down in character ready for the re-match “LETS DO THIS! IM GUNNA KILL YA COREY!” while Corey was doing pushups and going back and forth with him. They got into the set and I did my best to recreate the cover image as perfectly as I could (with Greg watching as I recreated his art as real life) and this shot was the one. It’s perfect and almost exact to the original animated cover. This shot was used in the following issue of Revolver and outtakes from this shoot (solo shots of each member) have been in Metal Hammer, Outburn, Revolver, and Kerrang!
MPAP: Everyone has a different style or taste, whether it’s street photography, modeling, black & white, or nature, from your point of view what do you think makes a good picture?
JEREMY: As long as it’s interesting and catches the eye, that’s probably the most important. Having your own style that separates your work from the thousands and thousands of others is fairly important as well, so your work stands out rather than blends in with everyone else’s.
MPAP: After the camera is put down for the moment, for the day, or for the night, whether it’s for a day or a week at a time, what else do you like to do in your free time?
JEREMY: What is this “free time” you speak of?!?!? Where can I get some?! Haha. I am a collector of things, records, films, vinyl toys (pops especially). I spend a lot of time watching movies, I love cinema, but more often than not, I’m behind my computer screen working on photos or photo related things.
MPAP: Before we bring ‘Behind The Lens’ to a close, just one last question and we’ll wrap things up and put the lens cap back on.
What would you want to say to someone that’s interested in taking pictures for the very first time?
JEREMY: Shoot as much as you can as often as you can.
MPAP: On behalf of myself and Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you, Jeremy, for being a part of this feature. It was great getting to know you and your photos. We look forward to seeing what you will capture in the future and beyond. Please tell us where we can find your work or your photo galleries on the internet, and any social media that the readers can follow you on?
JEREMY:
jeremysaffer.com
@jeremysaffer (on instagram and twitter)
Facebook.com/jeremysaffer
And of course, on your local magazine shop shelf!
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©metalpulpandpaper
Before we go any further, let’s first tell everyone what Behind The Lens is all about. This feature is about the person that’s behind the camera lens. All about that individual that captures that perfect fiery orange of the setting sun, finds a child jumping in a mud puddle in the pouring rain, or catches the moons glow in the water next to some snowcapped mountains. Or captures the rock guitarist jumping in the air during mid solo. It’s about finding that beauty in something that some might not take notice of in their everyday busy lifestyles. Behind The Lens will be a way to get to know a little more about the photographer and the work that they bring to everyone. A full 360 degrees around the camera.
So, let’s take off the lens cap, and go behind the click of the shutter and get to know more about you and your photography, shall we?
How long have you been a photographer and taking pictures?
JEREMY SAFFER: About 15 years give or take.
MPAP: What first drew you to it? Was there an inspiration for picking up the camera and beginning that journey into the art of photography?
JEREMY: Being a fan of music. I have always had a camera on me when I was younger but not so much for artistic purposes and I never really thought of it as being a photographer in any sense. I really got into it when I started photographing bands around age 15.
MPAP: Now that you’ve been doing it for a while, what interests you the most about it? Is there a passion behind it for you at all?
JEREMY: I love creating and shooting, there is nothing else I’d rather be doing than shooting. The passion hasn’t faded a bit, maybe even grown more and more if anything. I find a lot of it is picturing the image I want to get from a band or artist and figuring out how to translate it from my head to my lighting and my lens and making it happen.
MPAP: Can you describe that moment, the experience, or even the emotion you felt when you knew that photography was something you just had to do?
JEREMY: I can’t really pinpoint a single moment that solidified my want to do it, as it just came so naturally and became such a big part of my life and lifestyle, it sort of naturally became what I did and what I loved to do as I transitioned from a musician to a photographer, and it became something where I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
MPAP: What do you like to photograph the most of? Do you have a favorite setting, scene, landscape, or any items that you like to capture? Or do you like to just take pictures of people, or perhaps a live music concerts now and then?
JEREMY: Portraits are my thing. Everything else is boring to me. Why shoot something lifeless and inanimate? How boring! Celebs and bands have been my thing, and to a smaller extent, models, when time allows. Concerts of course are fun, but portraits are my main by far.
MPAP: Is there anything out there that you try to avoid taking pictures of?
JEREMY: Not really, honestly. I like shooting everything and anything for the most part, I guess there are some things I wouldn’t want to shoot, such as some people I dislike for personal reasons, but that’s a given for anyone I’d say.
MPAP: When picking up the camera, it obviously took some time, along with some practice, to get the feel and hang of it of what you wanted to do or go with it? Maybe even a class or two was taken to learn more about it. Tell us what were some of the challenges you’ve encountered with taking pictures? What have been some of the difficulties you’ve experienced since first began, and maybe still happens to this day?
JEREMY: I think finding a comfort zone is like finding a jail cell and it’s very hard to break out of. Once you find contentment in your work you stop growing so I try my best to learn at least one new thing each week or month here and there and try it out, see if it works within my style or if I find it interesting enough to implement within my workflow in one way or another. In terms of difficulties, it’s all over the place… there were a lot of things I ran into when I first started in that I wasn’t working for anyone big, so I wasn’t getting the shoots I wanted, but all that takes time and you grow as your work grows.
MPAP: On the other side of it having some difficulties, what are some of your favorite things about being a photographer you can tell us about? What have been some of your camera highlights so far that you can share with us also?
JEREMY: I love what I do, it’s great getting to, sometimes, work with some people you’ve looked up to for 20+ years and get to take a portrait of them that is going in a magazine, which, earlier in life I would buy and put on my wall. So, getting to create those images I know I would have had on my wall as a kid means a lot to me, because I grew up with the posters and pictures of so many of them on my walls and now I work with them, always unreal.
MPAP: When someone sees the picture you’ve taken for the first time, whether it’s the new bride and groom, or a family member that just had a baby, what do you want someone to get out of it? Is there ever anything you’re trying to say within your pictures, a message deep in the pixels that makes it up?
JEREMY: My main goal personally (not necessarily for the assignment or artist, but for myself) is to create an image that adds to the legacy of that artist or character…to really embody all of who they are and do justice to it and have it been an image that is looked upon as part of their time line. I want to make the artist happy, I want to make the client happy, but I also want to be happy with the images, and sometimes it’s difficult to make everyone happy in those situations, but so far so good!
MPAP: Is there an artist or another photographer out there that you admire and might have influenced you at all? What about their work do you love the most?
JEREMY: When I was younger it was Ross Halfin of course, and when I got more into photography it was David LaChapelle and Herb Ritts (who are two vastly different photographers). But now a day its less photography and more cinema that interests me. I am a huge movie nerd. Promotional posters for movies are probably my favorite art, and while many look similar, there are so many different photographers out there shooting them. I try not to be influenced by others work as I don’t want my work to incorporate another’s style or flavor, but I absolutely appreciate so much of it. There so much talent out there both known and unknown.
MPAP: Before we move on to talking about the pictures that you shared with us, are there any tips or advice that you would want to give yourself if you had to pick up the camera and start photography all over again?
JEREMY: Jeez, I wouldn’t know where to start with that. Young Jeremy has no idea what he’s in for. But every bump in the road led to me learning so much…I think those hardships were necessary to mold everything into place.
MPAP: Now on to the pictures that you took and have shared with us here? Take us into each one of your favorite pictures and tell us what they are about.
JEREMY: I’m not sure I have a favorite, but here are 4 selections from a recent gallery show I did and I figured these four have some pretty cool stories behind them.
Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein of The Misfits:
It is very difficult to take a bad photo of Doyle. He’s about a thousand feet tall, and pure muscle and horror. Having worked with him many times now, I know what he looks for in photos and going dark in an image is never a bad idea with him. In general, for this lighting you would want your head and chin up to catch light. If you bring your chin down you lose light and the face gets a bit dark. In this instance breaking the rules was making the perfect portrait of such an iconic and legendary monster.
Rob Zombie:
This was shot backstage in Hartford on Mayhem Fest about 5 minutes before he went on stage directly outside his dressing room. I was set up with lighting and didn’t like the sea foam green so my assistant and I set up a black background…I hated it even more, so we tore that down and by the time it was down it was time for the shoot. He ran in, and we took a total of 19 photos in about a minute, and this one was the first shot and my favorite of what we got. His intro music started, and he ran out of set, and onto the stage. This shot has been used as a poster in Outburn, Metal Hammer, Kerrang!, and others.
Alice Cooper:
Photographing Alice is unlike photographing anyone else. When you work with a band, the band and crew generally want to do the shoot but want to get it done, and the crew will stay out of the way while you shoot. Not Alice. For Alice the crew is there to help, asking if you need anything. It's surreal, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. “Want another jacket? Want the sword? How about the snake? Do you want the snake?” Yes…yes I do. He got the snake and at one point the snake started coming toward the lens and I captured this perfect shot of the snake with his tongue out…BUT! it was a full body shot with head room and foot room…I cropped in, nervous to lose quality but ended up with this crop (10% of the actual image at best) being the most iconic and favorite photo I’ve taken thus far in my career. I don’t think I’ll ever top it (though I promise I will try!) It’s one of those moments where everything came together perfectly, could have gone very wrong, but didn’t. Sometimes a crop of an image can make an image much more powerful.
Kerry King of Slayer and Corey Taylor of Slipknot:
Revolver had a cartoon of Kerry and Corey fighting for a Mayhem Fest cover (inked by the talented Greg Capullo of Batman/Spawn). Upon seeing the cartoon, Kerry said “no way man! Corey could never get the upper hand on me!”, and suggested a re-match of sorts, which would take place in the form of a photo shoot in New York. I toured the venue trying to find any black wall anywhere in the venue…after an HOUR of looking at spaces they mentioned the basement has a very small black hallway…which it did - it could fit no more than 2 people in it at best…which is exactly what I needed. I set up my lights, Corey came in first, and when Kerry came down, he came down in character ready for the re-match “LETS DO THIS! IM GUNNA KILL YA COREY!” while Corey was doing pushups and going back and forth with him. They got into the set and I did my best to recreate the cover image as perfectly as I could (with Greg watching as I recreated his art as real life) and this shot was the one. It’s perfect and almost exact to the original animated cover. This shot was used in the following issue of Revolver and outtakes from this shoot (solo shots of each member) have been in Metal Hammer, Outburn, Revolver, and Kerrang!
MPAP: Everyone has a different style or taste, whether it’s street photography, modeling, black & white, or nature, from your point of view what do you think makes a good picture?
JEREMY: As long as it’s interesting and catches the eye, that’s probably the most important. Having your own style that separates your work from the thousands and thousands of others is fairly important as well, so your work stands out rather than blends in with everyone else’s.
MPAP: After the camera is put down for the moment, for the day, or for the night, whether it’s for a day or a week at a time, what else do you like to do in your free time?
JEREMY: What is this “free time” you speak of?!?!? Where can I get some?! Haha. I am a collector of things, records, films, vinyl toys (pops especially). I spend a lot of time watching movies, I love cinema, but more often than not, I’m behind my computer screen working on photos or photo related things.
MPAP: Before we bring ‘Behind The Lens’ to a close, just one last question and we’ll wrap things up and put the lens cap back on.
What would you want to say to someone that’s interested in taking pictures for the very first time?
JEREMY: Shoot as much as you can as often as you can.
MPAP: On behalf of myself and Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you, Jeremy, for being a part of this feature. It was great getting to know you and your photos. We look forward to seeing what you will capture in the future and beyond. Please tell us where we can find your work or your photo galleries on the internet, and any social media that the readers can follow you on?
JEREMY:
jeremysaffer.com
@jeremysaffer (on instagram and twitter)
Facebook.com/jeremysaffer
And of course, on your local magazine shop shelf!
©metalpulpandpaper