After the news about the collaboration with Versace H&M just releases the next surprise…
Tag : Production
Christopher Koller
FashionPhotography
„I love to create beautiful things and be a part of something…“.To me he is something like a personal dream: A men dedicated to beauty. Like magic he creates fascinating and creative makeup that makes woman and men even more beautiful and attractive.
Christopher Koller is only 23 years old but already working as a successful makeup artist and hair stylist. After attending a fashion college his path eventually led him to this profession and he has already worked for magazines such as Woman, Wienerin and Miss. His work can even be seen in music videos from Robbie Williams or Tunesmith. He beautified celebrities and stars such as Heather Mills, Diane von Fürstenberg, Niki Lauda and even Werner Faymann. We wanted to know more from the native of Carinthia and asked him for an interview…
Hello Christopher, first of all thanks for your time:) Let´s start with asking how you got into the profession make-up and hair artist?
I went to a fashion school and in order to create the perfect look, hair&makeup are essential…so I started doing makeup and ever since that I have remained in that section.
What sort of education do you have for doing your job?
Haha, I get asked this question all the time, and to the dismay of many people I have to tell that I never took any education for that.;)It´s simply learning by doing!!! I assisted others a lot, analysed pictures and tried different techniques and tested around. I also think that only up to a certain point this is something that can be learned, because you just have to have the sense of aesthetics.
“Every production is different and with different kinds of challenges. It is never the same and you get to know a lot of new people.”
Every makeup artist has his/her own favourite products. What are yours?
All my hair products are sponsored by sexyhair- I love it! Speaking about makeup…. I don´t really want to commit myself, – I use all sorts of brands, but amongst my favourite ones are for sure Chanel, YSL and Mac.
Tell us about a typical average day of yours..
Well, there is no real „average day“, because every job starts at different times and some last longer than others…
Can every woman be beautiful?
Sure! The most important thing is that it suits the person, no matter if her style is natural or styled. Every woman should feel good about herself and love herself, then she has charisma.
Can you tell us some beauty secrets?:)How can someone achieve a good effect with some small tricks?
The most simple thing in order to create a fresh look and beautiful skin, is to add some shimmering pigments to your skin care. With the help of the light reflection your skin looks radiant and glowing. Shimmering eye shadow should be applied with a wet brush- this gives a more beautiful metalic effect.
Do you think that woman without makeup are just as beautiful as woman with makeup?
Well, of course through the job one is really focused to recognize flaws and try to even them out. Nevertheless I always meet woman that in my opinion need almost ;) no makeup at all. F.e. Patrizia Kaiser is one of those women, who is a real natural beauty.
Guys are taking more care about their looks as well now. What should guys by no means forget if they want to look smart?
A good hair care- no matter if on the head or elsewhere on the body.
What is the best thing about your job?
Every production is different and with different kinds of challenges. It is never the same and you get to know a lot of new people. You always have to progress and not come to a standstill. I love this challenge. And I love to create beautiful things and be a part of something.
What don´t you like about your job?
There is nothing that I don´t like about it. I just mind when some people don´t take it serious enough, and therefore the result is not as good as it could be.
Do you prefer a job when you are given a free hand or when you have to realize a precise idea?
I can´t really tell. Of course I like to be able to realize my own ideas and all the ideas just come out of my mind. But on the other hand it is a real challenge to be able to satisfy the customer, to fulfill his wishes and at the same time stay true to myself. It is great to work out the right look together so that at the end everyone is happy and the result is right.
“You have to be a per- fectionist and always reflect on your work, and of course be better than everyone else…”
If you could chose again, would you go for the same job or choose something different?
I am perfectly happy with what I do, even though interior design is also something that I have always been really interested in:) -maybe this is still to come:)
What advice would you give to people that want to become makeup/hair artists?
You have to believe in yourself and you have to set the highest standard on yourself, be a perfectionist and always reflect on your work, and of course be better than everyone else :)
What inspires you?
Everything and nothing. But emotions, no matter if it is positive or negative ones make me more creative- obviously this is my sort of trigger:)
Your favourite city? NYC
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Working internationally.
Now a few more C-Heads questions:
The most important thing in life is… To be happy with what you are doing
The meaning of success? To be able to do what you love and be paid for that :)
What makes you happy? To have a free mind and to be able to enjoy life
The best life lesson so far was?
Not to take certain things to seriously, because to think too much is not always the best thing either.
Thanks for your time!
www.kollerchristopher.com
Interview by Christine Guggenberger
VALERIA ELLE
Photography
Did you ever ask yourself who’s behind the business in the world of photographers, models and shootings? Did you ever look into the office of one of this agencies, which work silently in the background? No?
Alright – so today C-Heads Magazine makes a small journey to Milano in Italy and visit Valeria and her ‘Valeria Elle Photographer Management + Production’ Office to take a closer look for you…
Valeria, tell our readers a little bit about you – “what” is your agency?
“VALERIA ELLE Photographers mgt + Production” is an agency based in Milano that represents international photographers and now stylist as well, and organizes productions for various type of clients, mainly fashion. That’s to say we propose the work of our artists to magazines, fashion companies and so on and when its requested, we also put toghether a team of people to organize the shootings, such as make- up artists, hairstylists, models, we also do location scouting and so on…
How do you start with your agency?
I started working in the fashion business almost 10 years ago in the model agencies, then, because my real passion was photography, i decided to start my own business – first as a free-lance photographer agent and then 5 years ago, together with a partner, we opened our agency in the city.
You’re are based in Milan, the perfect town for an agency – but is there also a reason aside of photography, jobs, clients and similiar for this town?
Milano is the Italian fashion city, other then my home town, so there is no other place to be for this business in Italy!
For outsiders – how does a normal day in your agency looks like?
A normal day start at the office, we do a lot of work at our desk. Then we are often around for appointments, to meet clients and people from the business to promote our artists work. Eather in Italy or we travel.
You have a mix between photographers, stylists and so on… what are the criterions an artist must have, that you say – “Ok, we represent him!”?
As for the selection of the photographers and stylist, eather we contact them or they contact us, via internet or personal meeting. We choose people according to the request of the market and especially according to the image we have chosen for our agency.
For somebody, who have no idea about this kind of work – how do you search and find locations worldwide? Must be a difficult job… there are so many places everywhere?!
As for the research of location we mainly refere to location-agencies, specifically in the city where we will have to shoot. Sometimes we simply pick an area of the city that could work for the style of the shooting.
Do you also stay on the set during the shootings of your photographers?
Of course, we organize almost everything from the office , but most of the time we are also on the set.
Do you select the models or the photographers?
We organize a shoot and then we select a model according to the style of the client, so what fits better for his image and his product.
Digital photography – everbody can make thousands of photos… did this change the business in the last years?
Digital photography, as for my opinion, changed the business a lot. Especially in term of time. The shooting can be seen real time – and delivered faster. And also the quality of the digital now is very high, even if sometimes of course we still like the “magic” of the film!
Your biggest and hardest job in your career as agency?
Well… i guess i could think about a 3 days shoot for a Jewels client, where we had to create 6 differents sets at the same time, put together a huge number of people and items… crazy!
If tomorrow there are no photographers anymore – what would you do?
Guess… since i love good music and good food .. i would go for a very elegant restaurant with live music !
Last question – your personal tip to go out in Milan?
Armani restaurant and club offers a great scenario for a beautiful night in Milano!
Valeria, thanks for your time!
Agency: www.valeriaelle.com
Interview by Emanuel Sprosec