William Vázquez, advertising and lifestyle photographer and co-chairman of American Photographic Artists New York, talks about his work with such clients as Abbott Labs, Direct Relief, Duracell, Mastercard, Mead, Pfizer and Samsung.
Author’s Statement: Going to places I have never been, figuratively or literally, is one of my favorite things. And I feel lucky that the range of clients and projects I have worked with for the past two decades has allowed me to shoot in five continents and meet all kinds of people: scientists, farmers, businesspeople, orphans, doctors, community activists, families, monks.
I am also adaptable in my approach to work. Can I shoot video? Yes. Can I direct a shoot remotely from 13 time zones away? Yes. Can I carry all my own equipment across multiple sites for weeks on end? Yes. Being married to one kind of equipment or to one visual approach is not for me. What matters most is telling visual stories and finding the essence of people in the simplest way possible.
Growing up in multicultural New York City gave me the foundation to feel comfortable in any setting, whether or not I speak the language of my subjects. At 18, I ditched electrical engineering when I discovered photography and spent a summer in Paris, followed by some study in Parsons School of Design. But what shaped me the most as a photographer was old-fashioned apprenticeship, as assistant to photographers who showed me how to make photos that look effortless even when working in the toughest situations.
