Hello, photography lovers, and welcome to the fashion photography podcast with me, Virginia!
Today we’re releasing for you the second part of our interview with Sebastian.  

And some of the topics today are, for example, how to guide your model?
Creating a book and all the little difficult base connected to the process because Sebastian is on his way to finish the creation of his very first book.
And that’s why he has lots of stories about the unexpected turns during this journey.
We talk about mentoring, and all the benefits that you can get from it.
And because mentoring is all about learning, and our podcast is all about learning to maybe you want to subscribe to it, if you haven’t done it so far, of course!

And if you love the show, you can just give us an honest review on Apple podcasts.

And now it’s time for a podcast!

Virginia Y
What’s usually like the process of communicating with your model, what do you usually tell them? Because for many people in the audience, I know, the guiding process is very, very hard. So maybe you can help them a little?

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
Talk to them a lot and go down to earth and laugh. I show them some of my images. So they see how do I shoot and how’s it gonna be, and you really want them on your side, the model is the ad percent from me. And then super, super, super involved in casting, I don’t use many casting directors, because I really, really know who I want. And that’s what motivates me that the models like I’m here for the models, I’m obsessed with faces. So if you see my work, there is a very consistent casting of face that I like and that I shoot. And I declined many, many, many good stories and editorials, because I didn’t like the casting.

Virginia Y
And by the way, guys, if you’re wondering where you can see his work, you can take a look at the little portfolio preview on photography podcast on that, because the casting is so important for you. And because you’ve been to Europe and also to the States. I was wondering, do you find any difference between the models in Europe and those in the States?

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
I have to say there are not so many American models? I mean, there there are, but

Virginia Y
Usually the girls are traveling.

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
In general – most of the models are from Europe.

Virginia Y
That’s what I meant. I mean, they’re from Europe, but they’re traveling to the States.

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
They’re based here. Yes, of course, there are many, many great American models, we have to say. 

Virginia Y
True. You said that big percentage of the time you’re shooting with classical camera?

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
I shoot film, mostly, that’s what I love.

Virginia Y
Why did you decided to stick to film?

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
Because of my father, of course.
He shot in film, and the color that I have in the back of my brain from when I remember the photos he took and every scene is something there that I liked. And the whole process, of course, and even the lenses are different, I don’t know. And I also hate sharpness. I love the out of focus and the grainy and not perfect seeing every little spot in the scheme like I really don’t get that everyone reviews, cameras or lenses which sharpening. And that’s the opposite of that I want I can be more far away from the sharpness and digital feeling and focus. And of course, you have to be able to see it. But when I’m shooting, I don’t know watches or jewelry or super technical fabric. Of course, I use the most pixels possible. But if not, for me from my personal work is not what I do. It’s it’s just a feeling I don’t know, don’t get me wrong. In the end, the best picture wins. If the best picture was taken as a Polaroid with the digital camera, that’s the one I’m using. I’m not unorthodox, every type of camera there that I like and I use for different purposes and always say start with the digital to break the ice and see what’s going on and to test. And then I change to the real thing.

Virginia Y
What’s theproject that you’re most proud of?

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
It’s a combination of portraits that I’ve been taking, that I’m gonna use for a book that I’m working on, which is a lot of outtakes if you can say that are the real moment, the moment when the model was not the modeling today, they’re very simple, very proud. And now I have a big amount of those. And I’m going to put them together in a book, when we’ll be able to see the book very soon, because it’s almost ready now. I will definitely send you a copy when it’s ready.

Virginia Y
And how did you decided to make a book?

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
I was kind of tired of Instagram. Instagram, I think is very, very important. Lover hated, but it gave me so many things from clients, to editorials to contact. If you have followers, it’s like having a TV channel, you can even shoot for your Instagram. Without Instagram, I don’t know if I’m sorry to say this. But I don’t know if I could have started the same way and at the same speed. Because clients saw me there. And in one point I started shooting for a client that was very well respected and prestigious and had the right followers. So when they post an image that for a job, we did get sales and other followers, some people asking and wanting to do the same because I was working for them. They wanted to work with me. And so it was that little door that opened. And then Instagram helps to spread it out. But at the same point, I was tired of that. They wanted something that would last and I remember I said what if one they there is a huge blackout. And everything is deleted and everything is lost. And there is no internet, I want something to still be there. So I started making this book. And I wanted something to show in meetings with clients that wasn’t the iPad, or the typical vinyl plastic book with those pages that are so dirty always. And you can never get right. And so I went between that and the iPad. The book in the end is the best. And I love it. But yeah, you need a reason to make a book. I was after these concepts from a long time. And I said, Okay, I think after all these years that are not so many. But I feel that I want to say something and proposed this because I’m tired of this other thing that I’m seeing. When I proposed this in stage two, that’s how I started. But he said finally because the book is not with pictures I made specially for the book. It’s a selection of the photos that you have so far. Yeah, it’s it’s moments that are usually at the end of the assignment, when the model guard is down, and the mask falls off. Usually because they are tired. They are real. All those moments that have been keeping for me, and the book is widows. I’m glad that I made it here. I’ll definitely send you a copy. Thank you. I’ll be waiting for it.

Virginia Y
What What’s the hardest part about creating a book

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
to edit yourself? And the sign yourself? So I’m I got an editor and a designer Indian. Good job. Yeah, yeah.

Virginia Y
Yeah, that was my next question. Plus, it’s probably not super easy to find a person like that.

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
So it’s like getting a babysitter, which is awful. Why would you have a baby, if you will not take care of the baby? That was the same with the book. It just happened like talking to people here and there. And some of them say, Okay, I’ll read it for you. I’ll do it. Because you know, already the taste, there is an art director from a magazine. And so they’re super good with layout. So you trust them in a way. It’s about taste, and getting paid for my taste in the end. Because the technical part doesn’t matter so much. In the end, they’re bringing me because how I should a woman, how I see the light. And of course, the selection is where the talent is. Because if you let someone else, choose the photos from the session, then it’s not you anymore. So of course you can send options. But I think the selection is very, very, very important thing where you have to say, if you’re not sure of which image should you select, so you send hundred images, that means that you don’t know what you want to say, or what you like, or maybe you know, in the back of your head, this is the image you like, but you said, oh, maybe it’s not going to work because they need this. And they need that. But in any way. That’s the image I’m going to use for the book, or I’m going to use for my website.

Virginia Y
And what about the rights for your book? What about models? Do you have signatures from everyone? Tell us about the technical difficulties about making your own book,

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
I have a lawyer who’s making release like a model release?

Virginia Y
And what about the images that you’ve selected? Do you have some images for clients there? And what about the clients? Do you need their permission,

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
Only when the claim they do a buyout what is called so they pay you for the whole session and sold then they own the images and only that, but that’s very weird. I just did it once with one plant. And of course, they had to pay much more. 

Virginia Y
But you’re very clever because you’re using the photos that are not published by the client.

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
Some of them were maybe I’m not sure or a similar, but I think the right in the end our mind. Yeah, after six months or something. But good point, I’m going to ask some of them. I think you should Yeah.

Virginia Y
Maybe you should just ask your lawyer. Yeah, he’ll probably have the answer for you. Obviously, it’s not an easy job to make a book. But before making a book, you actually need the photos. I was wondering since you’re shooting also a lot in the city. And people know that I like to put in a certain situation. So what if tomorrow, you have to travel to another city, you have some spare time. And you really want to do a personal photo, you have, let’s say an acquaintance you is a stylist and somebody you know it’s a makeup artist, what is your plan going to be?

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
I will start with someone who knows someone who lives there. Then from there, he will give me more and more contacts of makeup artist or local artists. And I mean it depends. Because he’s one of the top five fashion cities, that’s very easy. But for example, I went to for the first time to shoot in Morocco, and Marrakech. And we showed a campaign there for two days for a week retail plane. I was amazed by the city and the light and late so I said there is no way I’m going to go back without shooting something for me like an editorial or a personal project. Yeah, I kept the crew there. And some of them had to leave. But for example, I kept one of their sisters, a few another one. And then I flew a stylist and I flew a modeling, and there was no makeup because basically the model didn’t need anything was amazing black skin and very, very short hair. So was perfect. And we went on a road trip with a minivan stopping shooting, keep going shoot some more. So what’s a dream come true? very organic, very free. But in the end, what I needed was an excuse to fly a model there. So in the end, I needed a magazine if we’re just gonna shoot portraits, but a model agency will never say yet. Unless you pay. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I never paid the model.

Virginia Y
Yeah, me neither. But that’s because you have the connections with the magazine.

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
They trace so many magazines like hey, I mean, Morocco. I’m here. I want to shoot something I have a whole crew with need that much budget. So I contacted all the magazines like a lot of them. And they were Oh yeah, yeah, yes. Maybe Oh, no. Oh, yes. Yes. No, no, like for different reasons. Like oh, no, because this model Oh, no, because the stylists are now because they are because it’s a badger or one of them said all know, that’s gonna be like 12,000 pounds. We don’t want to do it. We can do it. We can’t. But then I found magazine that is just doing the second issue in Scandinavia. Very nice, very minimal. And I remember they were reaching to me, and he said, Hey, okay, let’s do it. I’m here. So that’s how I did it in a city with no one liquid with no local talent. I mean, I’m sure there there is. But I had to fly in from Europe, which is not so expensive. You have to invest if you’re going to a city, and I know people that every time they shouldn’t editorial, they invest huge amount of money, money, or they rent everything. And they sent everything and a lot of gear and tracks and all out of their pockets. Because in the end is a circle. Like if you do editorial, then you get a client. Or maybe not, but at least you’re happy. Like me, in Morocco, I was very happy. And I didn’t spend that much money. But it was such a nice investment and, and we did a short film and everything and it was three days of shooting. When I was doing that I said okay, I need to do this more often. So now I’m planning to do the same in Tokyo. Oh, nice. They love to get lost in a city with a crew. No scouting, no planning nothing. Just go there and shoot. In Morocco we we get into villages. And course we had like a local producer guide who was opening every door.

Virginia Y
And about that project in Morocco. Did you approach the magazine before the photoshoot or after that?

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
Know what you mean? I remember when I started I was submitting images like like I should story and then I will send it to a bunch of magazines like thousands of minor things. And that’s how it started. But now they’re like in to fly this type of model and to where we this agencies, you need a letter. You need someone from the magazines a confirmation. Yeah. Also for for stylist to pull the clothes. So yeah, it was before. They said yes, of course and the cover, and they like the model and everything. So everything was in place. I don’t publish in certain publications, and I’ve declined many of them. But in this case, if you’re able to do what you want, and they trust you, and they’re grateful, because you’re in Morocco, spending a lot of money for them to make content for them. Indian is basically for me, because I want to do it. Also, this is not an advice. But if you’re starting you should because I literally started again, in New York, I started first in Europe, all that portfolio is gone. Like nothing from there represents me mainly because of makeup and hair and models. Some of them I kept but basically because wasn’t really what I wanted to say, of course, I was trying to learn. If you have a good portfolio and you sent to an agency and asked for a model, and they like it, they will give you a model that is good and you like so you can just go with a crew and shoot wherever there is no magazine, no problem, there is social media. And so many people will see it there. So don’t start with the magazine, I would say like enough of giving them the power of you shooting or not. And you can just do it, even if there are portraits. When I started the second time here after a woman from big, big, big agency for photographers here, I was meeting with and she was mentoring me and she said that like shoot from the heart and just do it start going dislocations to that location or in the studio. But they were in the end test. I mean, a gray area because we were using clothes for from designer so was also kind of a collaboration with a designer because it was also content for them.

Virginia Y
That’s normal, because you also needed the contacts.

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
Yeah. And the models were very, very good. I’m going to mention one model. Her name is Kara Taylor. When I showed her she was I think 16. And she came with the mother. And I showed her just because the agency first sent it to me. And they said the series in town if you have a project, and they said, No, I don’t have a project, but I want I would love to shoot portraits. And they said okay, but because they knew my work, and they knew that I was already with publications and clients. That’s why I usually wouldn’t be DC. And we went we shoot portraits. And because I have my taste for casting and I love that part. I knew she was gonna blow. So I said, Okay, this is the type of face and when we were shooting, she told me Yes, in two days, I’m shooting some Lauren with a huge photographer career and everything and said, Yeah, I knew it. So that was one of the shoots that helped me launch my career that everyone saw because she became famous. And it was a test if you want, you know, like. So tests are very important because you can shoot what you want. And you can show what you do. And you can do your own style. But I hate the word test. I don’t know why a way to test. Why are they not called portraits, which is personal?

Virginia Y
Good question!

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
But I have to say that in Barcelona, when I started, I was doing paid this that’s different. That’s a different thing. I would have been never able to survive without those papers. So those were my my first jobs.

Virginia Y
I think it was so amazing that you actually get this advice from your mentor. And the mentor topic is something very trendy nowadays. I would say,

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
Oh, yeah.

Virginia Y
So what’s your opinion on that? Since you have decided for yourself that you need one? What are the best part about having a mentor? And why would you recommend it if you would,

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
Oh, I love. I love the mentoring thing. I’m very humble and eager to learn and to listen. And, of course, when it’s someone you know, you respect and you trust and someone who’s willing to give you the advice, because if one day you said Oh, I’m going to write this photographer, but they will never tell you anything about your work because they’re very competitive. You know, it’s not the same. In this moment, this woman, it wasn’t like an agreement or something. I remember I was here in New York with someone I met someone else, another agent who work for this agency, because I was trying to get saying, of course by them. But I was talking to this agent. And one day we were having drinks and suddenly this other woman is there. And he said, Oh yeah, she works with me. She’s one of the senior agents. You should show her your work. I said, Okay, maybe I could meet her when she no show it right now. Like, oh, but she’s having dinner? No, don’t worry. New York is 24 seven business like, quit right now. Yeah, that’s true. So I get introduced, and I was remember with my iPad, because I was coming from a long day of meetings, which is what you do in this business, like meetings, meetings, meetings. And then I showed her and she made some comments that from me were very right. And I wasn’t able to see or I knew them, but I wasn’t sure and so things that no one ever told me and that were they were so right. And also, she told me the truth and said, Okay, yeah, New York’s very competitive, and you need to do what you really do. Because otherwise, if you do a little bit of everything you just lost, you need to imagine how many portfolios someone like me gets a day.

Virginia Y
Yeah!

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
they all look good. They’re all good photography in a way. But for me to choose anything to see what’s the smell of each one of them? Or do the essence or the color or, you know, in the Indian, they see just a color, you know, like they see like, zoom out? And what is what they’re seeing overall. And that’s what I get in that moment in that bar. And she said, Yeah, shoot some more, and then come again to visit me at the office. And so that’s what I did. I think we just did like three more sessions. And then I was already on track. So that was the best advice, I would say, because only after that I just stopped everything that I was doing, except the money jobs. And I just started shooting my own stuff. And always with model that for me was worth

Virginia Y
to shoot. And what would be the advice that you would like to give to our audience?

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
I think my full experience, it’s like an advice because it was like so bumpy and starting then stop, delete, start again, moved here to that, a learned so much. And I think I’m still but a much more peaceful. When I look at the photos I did, I select much quicker, because I know but what is what I want to say. And this could also be an advice, the more references you have, the less you know what to do. If you keep and keep references and you study the references that you’re going to do for the session that you have. The next morning for me personally confuses me more, I never respected them. And if I respected them too much, then it looks too much like the reference. And there is so many clients that tell you Yeah, this is for the mood. But then they said, Okay, which one you want to start with. So they want to trade like copies trade. And that’s so dumb to do. Because now we switch media, for example, you have so many accounts that I laugh about so much that I love them to exist. For example, there is one called great minds think alike. They put a photo and next to the photo, they put the copy of the photo, which is exactly the same, and it’s so sad to see really technically amazing photographers, but how come that you don’t have anything to say from your own sand? You know, they said, Oh, this is the trend now. So I’m going to do this. You have 100 photographers looking the same? No. And because of that, and some of them are great, but I don’t know why copy something Exactly. What’s the point? You can use it as a starting point. That’s my advice to just paint like Jackson Pollock coming from your own conscious. Of course, you need a story and the concept and a palette, but I don’t think you you need so many referrals and so specific, like laughing people running people studio location.

Virginia Y
I want to say big Thank you for being part of our show! It was truly an honor.

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce
Thank you for having me.

This was the last part of our interview with Sebastian but we cannot wait to have him here again. If you have some questions for our future guests, just join our Facebook group called the fashion photography podcast. very unexpected, right. I really hope you’ll love this episode, and if so don’t forget to share it with all of your passion or photography friends, and just to make sure that you won’t be late for the party. Just subscribe to the podcast so that you can get notification every time when we release an episode. Thank you guys again so much for being week and I cannot wait to see on Wednesday.