THE GORGEOUS MODELS BEHIND TEEJOTT’S LENS
By Rafa Carvajal. Photos by TeeJott | www.teejottmodels.wordpress.com
For Wire Magazine’s first Hot Models Calendar issue of 2015, we decided to showcase the beautiful work of German photographer TeeJott.
TeeJott was born in 1973 in the southwestern part of Germany and studied law at three European universities, with a focus on constitutional law, but now has a more business-related “day-job” with strong connotations to that legal context. His photo-artistic work is strictly separated from his business consultancy work, thus his universe is a world of its own. TeeJott has chosen to live, reside and mainly work in Cologne, in the western party of Germany — where he finds most of his models on the streets of the city. The friendly character of Cologne and the open atmosphere of its inhabitants are an ideal surrounding for a casting specialist like TeeJott, who himself is an open, friendly and relaxed person.
There have been several exhibitions of TeeJott’s photographic work in Germany and he has published several books of his photographs, the most recent being TeeJott’s Models. Since 2004, each year, the TeeJott-Photocalendar is published by Mattei Medien Publishers from Cologne, Germany. The latest one, TeeJott 2014: Young Men Of Germany is now available in many countries around the world.
I interviewed TeeJott to learn more about his striking work and the gorgeous models before his lens.
Rafa Carvajal: How did you discover you were interested in photography?
TeeJott: I have always been a very visual person. I have always liked to look intensely at things, people, events and films — which I love. The first very intense contact with “pictures” was my fascination with comic books; first the good old Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, but soon more sophisticated comic books from Belgium. In these modern comic stories the artists can draw and structure every detail in each picture how they want – landscape, people, settings etc. – and thus my brain memorized and learned the perfect picture composition from these art comics. These images have remained in my head until today and still influence my style in photography. When you take the time and look for the “structural lines” in my photos, you will recognize this matrix from art comics. Another influence was cinema. I have to admit that I would love to do a film. In fact, I plan to start a channel on YouTube soon. Later, I was fascinated by the documentary photography of National Geographic.
The main step towards a strong interest in portrait photography came maybe with my coming out as a gay man when I started to read the monthly gay magazines. That was in the ‘90s. There was a booming media world and many, many beautiful men in the magazines, and a lot of these images originated from the U.S. I guess one day I decided that I not only wanted to see the photos but also that I wanted to take them. At the time, in my opinion, there were no really cool male model photographers in Germany, and I thought I have just to do it myself if no one else in Germany does it! Today, the field is larger in Germany, but meanwhile I have tried to develop a unique style and maybe this gives me a certain calmness when it comes to competition. Photographers who have influenced me the most are Bruce Weber, Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus and Ansel Adams.
RC: What led you into photography, given your legal and business background?
TJ: My legal background (and also my current main job as a business consultant) is not a contradiction but a basis for my career as a photo artist. The legal “side” in my head was always interested in freedom, dignity of the human being and the treasure that every person has inside – called “individuality.” I very much believe in individuality and the fact that each person has individual strengths. So, consequently, every restriction of these aspects is a great sin for me. You might call that the core part of my moral DNA. Thus, the German constitutional law always fascinated me because it is a constitution that was basically written by the winners of the Word War II, and it was painting an ideal picture of how a constitution and the legal framework of an ideal state should be. Starting with the idea of the individual, personal dignity of each person on this planet, one of the strongest individual freedoms (which are the first articles of the constitution) is the freedom of artists.
There is an old tradition in German culture that is called humanistic education, which spans back to the old Romans and Greeks. I went to a humanistic higher school and studied Latin, etc. for seven years. It was a modern state school but it still tried to be a little bit like a private school. I learned a lot about art history, etc. Another tradition, and this is worldwide: lawyers with an elite thinking nearly always try to be well educated in the arts and a lot of them try to do some creative stuff in their spare time – some more, some less. I can say that I try to be a good constitutional lawyer by practically exercising my personal freedom to also be an artist – a photo artist specializing in young men. Why not?
If freedom shall not be a hollow word then it needs to be filled with sense by all who have more than one talent. Well, with regards to the connection of the artistic freedom and business, I do not think that I will have to explain the connection of personal freedom and the belief in private business to a magazine in Florida. So you could say that I live in a triangular system: the business feeds me and is my daily routine, the law is the basis for my structured thinking and for finding lasting solutions, and the photo art is the field for my creative side. And do not forget that photographing people and publishing worldwide has quite some heavy legal implications.
RC: What do you see as your “breakthrough moment” or moments?
TJ: My academic year in England, where I studied English Law from 1994 to 1995, was the basis for my “coming out” as an artist. I studied in Norwich, but I was in London’s gay scene every weekend and all holidays. It was one of the most dynamic times ever in one of the most creative cities in the world. I met so many people – artists, a lot of photo artists. Art2go and Bill Jacobson, to name a couple. I saw people like Ian McKellen and Jean-Paul Gaultier just a meter away sitting in the train or standing in the club, etc. It was such a relaxed atmosphere. At my university, they even let me lead an official debate – and I was from Germany!
In that open atmosphere, a lot of British people said that if you really want to do something, you can do it – just do it with all your energy and enthusiasm. The British very much respect enthusiasm. So I thought I wanted to try this photography “thing” when I got back to Germany. And I did. Okay, I had to learn that I would not be able to do it exclusively, but “Life is not a Holiday at the pony farm,” as we say in Cologne.
The second breakthrough-moment was in 2000. My first publisher had gone insolvent – something quite a few publishers tend to do from time to time – and this meant a harsh setback for me. I was down. I thought that is it, I am finished with photographing young men. However, then I met Andy. He was an 18-year-old, very cute young man and he was visiting Cologne for the first time. I just saw him on my walk through town and followed him maybe 15 minutes until I asked him if he might like to have a photo shooting. He was so enthusiastic and such a warm-hearted person that the photo sessions with him energized me so much that I started my photo artistic career again and haven’t stopped since.
RC: What do you enjoy most about your work photographing models?
TJ: What I like most is the so-called model training. I try to show every model my very own understanding of how a model should act and pose for the camera. I also try to find out – together with the model – which individual strengths this special model has. And then I try to bring these aspects out. Basically, each model does get a motivational training, and I work with techniques from theater, acting and even some breathing techniques from Aikido. With all these measures, I try to focus the model and most models are able to perform at a very high level because of that. It is also great fun because we can get a much higher quality in my results.
RC: How do you discover your models? Who are they? Are they professional models?
TJ: For 19 years now, I like to make my own casting in the real world: on the street, in the tram, the trains, in cafes, clubs, at parties, etc. – just anywhere. I like it when “destiny” is part of my casting process. It is also of my love of the city of Cologne. I just believe that whomever the city wants me to find, I will. I also make some casting via Facebook when I see a nice profile picture or when a friend sends me a note, I have a look and this or that person’s profile. However, the most successful casting is still street casting. This means that I mainly work with first-timers.
The advantage of young men who have never properly posed in front of a professional camera is that they still have their “natural” face, and I can teach them to stay as natural and relaxed as possible. You should know that I studied judo for 12 years, I was a fighter and there is basically a little fighter in a lot of young men. I am quite good at waking up this energy in young men so that they want to achieve a high goal. This way I can build up my own, individual team of models, which is also a very good basis for developing my own recognizable style.
RC: What do you look for in a model?
TJ: That’s not easy to say because I think this changes over time. For the moment, I like a new model to be a college student type who has a look in his eyes that tells you “I want it and I get it.” On the other side, I want the same person to be able to show another expression that says “I like to be cuddled and I like my softer side.” Basically, I am looking for a mix between a young Ryan Philippe and Keanu Reeves of The Matrix.
RC: How do you bring out the best attributes of your models when photographing them?
TJ: I try to really understand who this young man is. I listen. I talk a lot and try to find common ground. This can be a shared sense of humor with one model, and with the other model a shared sense for seriousness. I guess I am a very complex persona. But this complexity also means that I can adapt more or less easily to different personalities. So basically, I am a male model whisperer – like Robert Redford, just without the horses.
RC: What do you want people to feel after looking at your photographs?
TJ: Either a warm and happy feeling of joy and remembering to love life to the fullest, or a deep thought about how it would be to really meet the person in the picture in that exact moment of the picture and what happens from there on; or, and this is my favorite, a definite and absolute loss of breath because of such beauty.
RC: How has technology affected your work and how have you adapted? Do you enjoy the advancements?
TJ: I am very thankful that I have been able to experience how it is to do real handmade black and white prints by myself. My experience with papers of different contrasts, different types of “black” (warm, cold, etc.) and many other aspects of the handmade age help me very much today. That time taught me a lot and I still consider a handmade print of a picture on a negative from a medium or large format camera one of the greatest pieces of art. But I also like to go with the time. I am a “future” person and I like to look ahead. I think the new digital world is fine and the many advantages by far outnumber the rather small number of disadvantages. Just one example: without digital technology, I would never have been able to build up such a big internet presence. I still know how it was to scan pictures. I am not missing that.
RC: Where can our readers learn more about you and follow your work?
TJ: There are two ways to stay in touch with my work. One is my weblog at fabulous Wordpress, www.teejottmodels.wordpress.com. There you get to see some of my best pictures for the first time and galleries with over 24 pictures of my models. You can also subscribe to the free newsletter. You can also “Like” my Facebook – which you can find by searching “TeeJott & TeeJott models.”
RC: What would surprise people to know about being a model photographer?
TJ: Maybe it would surprise people if they knew that the problem for enthusiastic artists like me is never, ever taking the pictures. Good or even brilliant pictures are not the slightest problem. Ninety percent of the fight includes issues such as the model is ill, has changed his mind, his boyfriend or girlfriend has started to be against it, the model only tells you at the start of the shooting that he has not fully understood point A, B or C of the legal documents (which he did get in advance) and now realizes that this point – after having originally understood its meaning – is not okay, the location is not available out of the blue, all cameras have a defect at the same time, the flashlight crashes down, etc.
One of my “favorites” is when the model calls you after three years and says he wants pictures not to be used anymore (but has used the pictures himself excessively until then). If people would know how little the work with models is actually about taking pictures, they would definitely be shocked. I am really good at minimizing such problems in advance, but you cannot eliminate the principle that only 10 percent of this job is about taking pictures!
RC: Where can our readers learn more about you and follow your work?
TJ: There are two ways to stay in touch with my work. One is my weblog at fabulous Wordpress, www.teejottmodels.wordpress.com. There you get to see some of my best pictures for the first time and galleries with over 24 pictures of my models. You can also subscribe to the free newsletter. You can also “Like” my Facebook – which you can find by searching “TeeJott & TeeJott models.”
RC: Tell us about your calendar!
TJ: My photo calendar with black and white images of beautiful young men has been on the market for years, first only in Germany, and this year in Germany, Europe, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In this calendar, I try to put together a mix of young men ranging from cute to sexy to gorgeous. I also see each picture as a portrait regardless of how many muscles or body are in the picture. Each calendar image is intended to evoke a fantasy, a story. I try to show that you can have an artful image, an erotic idea and a nice, fine story in your head at once.
RC: What else would you like to share with Wire Magazine readers?
TJ: There is one thing that you can call the TeeJott effect. Go to my weblog www.teejottmodels.wordpress.com and choose one of the headshots where the model is looking straight into the camera. Try to do this in a calm moment. Then do the following: breathe slowly and look into the eyes of the model for 10 seconds. This is no joke. After 10 seconds, the person in the picture will start to seem alive, as if he would be present and be able to see that you are looking at him. He will look back at you and be alive. This will last for maybe 30 seconds, but it can be repeated. You have the same phenomenon with portrait paintings from the Renaissance. Just try it.
Please visit www.WireMag.com to read the extended version of TeeJott’s interview!
This article was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 1.2015
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