Vincent Versace: No Limits
He takes pretty pictures. No bones about it, that's what he does, and he's not the least bit hesitant about doing it. "Some people see the world and tell the hard truth of it," Vincent Versace says. "My job is to see the world and tell the truth of its beauty, so I take pretty pictures."
Mostly he takes them for Hollywood celebrities and hopefuls, producing what are commonly known as headshots for actors' portfolios and auditions.
But his pretty pictures also include images of nature. "Right now I'm working on a year-long project to do all the permanent art for the Presidio National Park in San Francisco," Vincent says. It's a volunteer project, for which he'll receive no fee. "I'm giving to the park all the rights to the photos I produce while I'm there. They're not even paying my expenses. The only thing I get—and it's pretty cool—is a place to live and work while I'm doing the project."
His photos will be used to raise money to sustain the park. "The park has to become self-sufficient by 2013 or it will be sold for private development and could turn into a gated community," he says, "and I don't want to see that happen. That park needs to be preserved as what it is now—a beautiful place that's visited by people from all over the world.
"So I decided to use what I do to do something good for the park. Let them sell the pictures, or put them on coffee mugs or mouse pads—do whatever they have to do as long as every dime goes toward supporting the park."
Initially we thought his work on the Presidio project was accomplished pretty much on the side, in addition to his commercial work in whatever time he could spare. But the truth of it is the other way around: Vincent's commitment to the park is such that his commercial work is done in addition to his photography at the park, a situation that involves a bit of commuting between San Francisco and his Los Angeles home and studio.
At first glance it might appear that Vincent was born to be a photographer. His uncle is the photographer C.J. Elfont, who is noted for his nature and landscape photography, but who is also co-author of a book on shooting model and actor portfolios. Vincent took his first photos at seven years of age, sold a photo at nine and worked as a wedding photographer while still in high school (and if that doesn't build confidence in your abilities, nothing ever will). But in fact Vincent's first choice was to be an actor, and in pursuit of that goal he attended the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He also has a Masters degree from U.S.C.'s film school.
In the end, though, photography won out, with his acting background and film education helping shape his attitude toward his work. Actors who come to him are photographed acting, not just posing. "It's my job to elicit...emotions from the actor[s], which will help create the character[s] they are trying to portray," he has said.
"There's an important concept that I consider when I'm taking photographs of people," Vincent says. "A still photograph is called a still photograph because the picture doesn't move, not because the objects in the picture are not in motion. The mission of the person with the camera is to capture motion within the stillness of the image. Most people photographing other people make a mistake and say, 'Don't move!' But nothing in life is a result; it's all a process. The results come out of engaging in the process of living."
So Vincent lets people live in front of his camera and captures moments that occur in the process of living. "Don't stop the process," he says. "Remember what you're shooting—it's life, and life is a process." Let people be themselves in front of the camera, he says; let them move, and use a fast shutter speed or a flash to capture them. "Don't think that you have to have people hold still for you."
Vincent feels that one of the reasons for his success is his ability to deliver to his clients a variety of images; actors photographed by Vincent can get pictures targeted to specific roles they're seeking. One of the reasons he can do that is that he now shoots almost exclusively with digital cameras. He was, in fact, one of the early adopters of digital, and he's worked with Nikon digital cameras since the very first Coolpix. He also has extensive experience with digital printers and digital imaging software.
Going digital was primarily a practical decision, and two factors—immediacy and economy—played key roles. "Think of the cost of developing about six thousand rolls of film a year," Vincent says. Think also how much quicker it is to show a client the results of a shoot on a monitor or hand her a print out or a CD. With digital, Vincent's clients can see themselves in a variety of roles and see those results pretty much instantly. Then Vincent can provide them with the images that target specific parts and characters.
"Most of my clients have computers now," he says, "so I can deliver the images on CDs, sized to make 8x10 prints.
"And," he adds, "with digital I can do a photo shoot in color and black and white at the same time, simply by removing the color from an image."
With digital there's also the advantage of total control over the process with no sacrifice in creativity. "I can do more on a computer than I could ever do in a darkroom," Vincent has said.
There are, he says, no limits.
In the Bag
It's all digital for Vincent these days. He carries the D1X and the Coolpix 990, and will soon add the new Coolpix 5000, which he can't wait to work with. "I call it the mini-D," he says, referring to Nikon's top-of-the-digital-line D1X.
