South African photographer Gavin Goodman’s immensely versatile portfolio is a result of decades worth of experience with lighting, composition, and colour as a cinematographer. Looking ahead, Goodman wants his still photography to evolve outside of his comfort zone in the coming decades too. WORDS: ERIK SEDIN, PHOTOGRAPHY: GAVIN GOODMAN

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When did you first pick up the camera?

“After film school, I spent seven years working as a cinematographer in the local film industry shooting TV commercials. This is where I learnt the fundamentals of my craft — telling a story through lens choice, composition, lighting, colour, camera movement and performance. Throughout this time, I always loved still photography, spending hours developing black and white film images in my homemade dark room, eventually deciding to make the move over to the world of still photography. “Over the last 16 years, I’ve been very fortunate to work on some prestigious advertising campaigns with respected agencies from all over the world.”

“By obscuring my subjects’ faces, the colour becomes the next motivating factor to evoke this response.”

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“As I grow and my point of view evolves, my work shifts and transforms with it.”

 You photograph both in studio settings and ”in the wild”. Did your earlier career as a cinematographer help you to master these two shooting settings?

“I think it's impossible to ’master’ any shooting environment — which is one of the things I love about creating. But, yes very much so. I often prefer shooting in the studio as I have full control of the lighting and don’t need to worry about too many unknown variables, such as weather/location issues et cetera. But sometimes these unknown variables can make an image all the more special — often called ’happy accidents’.”

When looking at your fine art imagery, we notice how the subjects rarely show their face. Why do you hide it?

“I like to keep my subjects’ faces obscured in my fine artworks as it gives the images more mystery and intrigue. I love creating these quirky, otherworldly environments and always choose a very considered colour palette when planning each shoot. When a viewer looks at an image of a person, their eye naturally goes to the subject’s face which in turn evokes an emotional response from the viewer. By obscuring my subjects’ faces, the colour becomes the next motivating factor to evoke this response.”

“The African culture I'm surrounded by daily very much inspires a lot of my fine artwork.”

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Some fine art images remind us of the beautiful accessories and clothing of the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania. Do you ever get inspired by your home continent?

“Yes I certainly do! The African culture I'm surrounded by daily very much inspires a lot of my fine artwork.”

Is there any genre of still-life photography that you haven't tried out yet, or wish to venture into more?

“I’ve dabbled in pretty much every genre over my 17+ years shooting professionally, and am always open to exploring new mediums. As a creative, I think it's important to evolve and explore techniques outside of your comfort zone. This is one of the things I love about being a photographer. As I grow and my point of view evolves, my work shifts and transforms with it. I also think it's important to collaborate with different people. Different stylists, set designers, models, actors, retouchers, hair and make-up artists et cetera. All my work is a result of a collaboration between many talented people I choose to bring my vision to life.”

“I think it's impossible to ’master’ any shooting environment — which is one of the things I love about creating.”

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