When technique makes 'Magic'. Alberto Yagüe and his studio, Studio Yagüe, have become essential in the digital retouching scene and can perfectly boast of having into his hands images of remarkable fashion and advertising photographers and high-fashion brands and publications.
In this interview, Alberto lets us know his point of view of what we currently are living in the industry and bring us a little closer to that magic that he gives to the Post-Production world.
› There is no doubt that editing digital images has become essential for any photographic
production. What can you tell us about your work, your beginnings and your career before
building Studio Yagüe?
Indeed, nowadays digital post-production is undoubtedly a very important part of the quality of any
image. I started at LAB studio, run by Elena and Javier Vallhonrat. There I learnt all the processes, from the analogue methods to copying in colour or black and white with the proper devices. I have always been fascinated by keeping that going on, so I learnt to scan and edit from the best Spanish photographers.
› How many people are part of your Studio at the moment?
Studio Yagüe's team consists of 35 people and we work on about 2.500 images per day.
› Fashion has recently tended to a natural edition of images. Regarding all the levels that photographic edition has gone through in the last years, which one do you like and feel most comfortable with?
There is no doubt we are now in a good moment. From my point of view, we respect the models, both
feminine and masculine. Our work speaks more about the colour and the final sensation of the images.
› What would you say it is the most important factor a digital editor must have to make the
difference within the industry and to have an international recognition?
The most important thing is to avoid bad habits and to attend every order individually. Not every
work and client need the same.
› What kind of images do you enjoy working on and which ones do you find harder to deal with?
Beauty images are the ones that I like the most. I enjoy making perfect skins, improving them. On the other hand, I don't like images that require mechanic cleaning, like grounds or backgrounds…
› There are competitors in every professional field. How do you live this competition in your field?
Actually, my relationship with the sector is very good, we are all colleagues and we try to help each
other. In fact, we give one another a lot of accounts and jobs.
› Tell us about what you consider your most important works. Could you name the most relevant ones and the ones you think that have made you grow more professionally?
Meeting and working with Javier Vallhonrat was a turning point in my life. Editing his works has always been a challenge and I must say I had never experienced such a friendly and marvellous personal manner.
› During all these years you've had the chance to work with a lot of photographers. Tell us which ones do you consider the best ones and which ones do you like to work with.
The list is endless, I have worked for many of them like Javier Vallhonrat, Gonzalo Machado, Raúl Córdoba, Nico Bustos or Sergi Pons. With some, several times and with others just once. I guess it's about the “feeling” within the teams.
› Nowadays you alternate editing with teaching. How do you feel about sharing your knowledge with future professionals?
On a personal level, I enjoy teaching very much. The love and respect I get is unparalleled. It is
always positive to have a good team ready to face the new challenges that are about to come in the
future.
› What do you think about Social Media and what it has created?
We need to make a difference between quantity and quality… Social media is basic to
share your work and to check others' works and projects. However, judging the quality on this kind of
platforms is rather hard.
› What should an advertising campaign have to be successful and meet its goals?
It is very hard to answer this question. If it is successful, the client will be very happy -laughs-.
Advertising prioritises selling the product and that is not against creating awesome images.
› What advertising campaign do you dream about?
A lot of them. I always think about all the work I still want to do, and I do believe that my life won't
be enough to meet it.
› Of all your colleagues, who do you admire and why?
I really like Pascal Dangin and Christophe Huet. I don't know them personally, but I think they are
both geniuses. In fact, I check their work very often in order to improve my internal processes and the quality of my images.
› How do you picture the image editing field in the future?
The future seems brilliant, the growth of E-Commerce has made digital editing grow up as
well.
› A final question. Tell us a bit about your next projects.
I've just moved to a new beautiful studio based in Plaza de España, in Madrid. I am very focused on getting a really good work team and on maintaining the customers we have. Also, we are very focused on our new R&D department, where we organise internal workshops and talks to know the rest of professionals on the field - photographers, stylists, make up artists, editors, etc. - more closely.
Words by Andy Durán.
Alberto Yagüe Interview. Exclusive 5' ELEVEN'' Online.
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