Profoto-studiopartners

Martin Häusler: More Is More

JANUARY 18, 2012  FREDRIK FRANZÉN   

Meatloaf | ©Martin Häusler

Some say less is more. And then there are those, like Martin Häusler, who turn the expression on its head and claims that more is more. But then again, Martin spends most of his time in Los Angeles, shooting larger-than-life celebrities such as Britney Spears, Bon Jovi and, as in this case, Meatloaf. With this in mind, the sweaty, gritty look that characterizes Martin’s images feels like a natural product of the environment they were shot in.

“Every time I come here and look out the plane, it feels as if I’m landing in a big trashcan,” laughs Martin. “I mean, I live in The Hills, so I have a nice place, but I work a lot down in The Valley, which is a nasty industrial area with a lot of rotten houses. There’s just so much cool stuff there. If you work with a rock band and you want that gritty look – the feel is there. It’s real atmosphere.”

Behind-the-scenes | ©Martin Häusler

Meatloaf lighting setup

So you do most of your shoots on location?

“Yes. I love to work on location. I like reality! You know, I just did a photo shoot on top of a skyscraper in downtown LA, and when you stand up there, and the sun is going down, it feels like you’re in a movie. The atmosphere – it’s super cool and you’re in the middle of it, and that makes talent act very different. The singer or the actor or whatever it may be – they feel the atmosphere and get hyped by it. And you know, LA is great, because you’ve got all this dirt in the air. The smog – it’s nasty but it gives you a great sundown. Ha ha!”

What equipment do you use on location?

“My main gear is five Pro-7b’s or AcuteB2’s. My main key light is the Softlight Reflector with the grid, since I use a lot of hard light. I never use softboxes. Well, perhaps for rim light, but otherwise – only hard light. And I use a lot of lights. Most of my pictures are taken with at least four or five flash lights, but sometimes I use up to seven.”

That’s quite a lot…

“It’s quite a lot, and it’s a slow process. But it’s necessary. I love extreme light. Some people like it, others don’t, but I think it’s better to have a look than having no look. It’s better to have any kind of edge to your pictures than having nothing for people to recognize.”

Why do you only use Profoto gear?

“Mainly because it’s resistant. You can drop it on the floor and it’s okay. I don’t even have the latest stuff. For me it’s not important that the equipment has a lot of features. I just need reliable light. I need it to work all the time, wherever I am. You know, I recently poured water over a Pro-7b, and it was still working. It’s really professional.”

Speaking of professional. Is there any professional artist you dream about shooting?

“In the music industry?”

Sure.

“Hmm… Not really. I’d rather shoot some actor. I’m trying to get into that area – models, actors and that sort of thing. You know, I was just negotiating with Scarlett Johansson and Dita von Teesse. I’d love to do a photo shoot with either one of them. Maybe put them on top of a skyscraper and do something really crazy.”

Martin Häusler website

Written by Fredrik Franzén