Q + A with photographer Scott Hardy

We were incredibly fortunate to have photographer Scott Hardy lens our ecommerce product. Images throughout are from an editorial piece photographed by Scott earlier this year, styled by Levi Tan T, hair and make-up by Kirstie Dawson-Smith , modelled by Lois Breukel.

What led you to a career in photography?

I always had a camera to my face, there’s a picture of me being 5-6 years old holding a camera so in a way it’s always something I have been fascinated by.

Professionally it has been a series of side steps, first starting in Print (prepping files for offset colour printing) and then moving to production, assisting and finally behind the camera.

In reality, photography is more of an obsession than a career choice.

You are French.. and you have lived in other places. What differences did you observe in how people dress between Paris, Auckland and elsewhere? Was there anything universal?

Ah such a difficult question to answer! Definitely differences between Paris and Tāmaki Makaurau - I guess driven by how people live and move in those cities. I feel Auckland is definitely a bit more practically minded. 

You shift between studio and street photography. Do you have a preference?

I love shooting in both environments, it really depends on the story I’m trying to tell at the time… and how bad the weather is outside!

Studio is the ultimate control freak’s dream; full control over lighting, set, the amount of “wind” etc which, I do enjoy but at the same time, I really like the chaos that a location shoot can bring - unexpected moments and interactions helping to create brand new images you never thought of. I think that’s the true beauty of location shoots.

Is there anything you would like to work on that you have not done yet?

I’m feeling incredibly fortunate in that the way I work can be carried across photography disciplines, as a result I’ve had the chance to work on so many varied projects and meet many different people whether in my studio or on documentary jobs around the motu.

In the photography world, as you know, a lot revolves around Instagram, primarily as an image-sharing platform. But you’re hardly there. Are we too obsessed with being liked?

I do think we always cared for our work to be recognised and wanting to be liked but I feel that social platforms have devalued the power that someone liking your work has. If you think about it, if you met 100 people who told you they loved your work it would be rather overwhelming, but 100 likes on an image on Instagram is… ok?

Photography done well is immeasurable in terms of what it can do for an organisation or business. What prompts would you have anyone contemplating investment in their brand’s visual identity?

A good photographer is closer to an Art Director than you think, give them the right amount of trust in their side of the work and they can come up with something that will truly show your company at your best.

Your more recent work has been made as a design contribution, a personal and, what is often viewed as, controversial idea that designers should not work for free. As part of your career, you have made the decision to contribute to Common. What are your views on donating skills? Is there an argument that these projects can help designers keep building a portfolio without diminishing their value?

Willingly donating skills for a mission or project you believe in is completely fine by me. I take exception to commercial clients trying to gaslight younger creative into doing things for free because of exposure.