Artistic perspective makes the difference

In the program Open Hanoi No. 9 (organized by Art Culture Hanoi) named Far Yet Near, Strange Yet Dear, which took place recently in Hanoi, two photographers Hoai Vu-Bender and Nam Hoang led participants to explore a Hanoi that is both familiar and strange through the lens of photography and experience taking photos of strangers they meet on the streets. As a result of the workshop-tour, participants will have the opportunity to be selected for the final exhibition of the Open Hanoi project at the Hanoi Creative Design Festival taking place from November 9-17, 2024.

Photographer Hoai Vu Bender, a Vietnamese currently living in Germany, has won many international awards for newborn photography, maternity photography, family photography and fine art. She has also participated in many art programs in Germany; and is a co-organizer of talk shows about newborn photography, maternity photography and Vietnamese families; and organizes and interprets workshops of many international photographers in Vietnam. Hoai Vu-Bender also participates in community programs, connecting Vietnam and the world such as Live Music from Kids to Kids, sponsored by the Goethe Institute in Hanoi 2022. "Far and near" is also the name of Hoai Vu-Bender's personal photography project, which she is carrying out between Vietnam and Germany to seek new creativity in artistic photography.

PV: You are one of the first Vietnamese artists to participate in the art of newborn photography, maternity photography, fine art and have achieved success. But your original chosen career was not photography?

HOAI VU-BENDER: When I was a kid, my dad had a film camera. I also played around with that camera, starting to take my first photos. But they were just family photos taken for fun while traveling, like many other kids. And my dad, not a professional photographer, also explained some basic things about photography. I had absolutely no idea that I would pursue this career or how, because I went to school and then worked as an English program translator for the Voice of Vietnam Radio . I also took some basic photography courses at the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace. But after that, I just took photos instinctively, just for fun.

Later in Germany, when I started to delve deeper into the profession, I spent a lot of time researching, learning online and then learning directly from the world's top photographers.

At first, it may be instinct. But to do the job, instinct is not enough, you have to cultivate technique. You have to have technique to capture all the moments, to tell the character's story. From another perspective, technique can be done by anyone, if one learns and is willing to explore. And the perspective on art will bring different styles and it really makes a difference.

There are many genres of photography to pursue, why did Hoai choose family, children and fine-art photography?

- I think each person can only do their best in a narrow field. I don't want to be someone who can take pictures of everything, but is mediocre. In my opinion, each genre of photography requires investment and even has its own talent.

Actually, when I started taking pictures in Germany, many people asked me “Why did you choose family photos?”. At that time, studios in Germany were almost all shooting all different subjects and genres. At that time, the most profitable for all photographers was wedding photography. People did not invest much in family or children's photos.

But I chose it, firstly because at that time it suited my time - a mother with a young child. Secondly, actually being a mother myself, I think I have certain emotions when taking pictures of children and families. We can only excel at something. The narrower the industry, the more opportunities we have to invest more in learning and going deeper, to be able to develop to the highest level possible.

In fact, people are increasingly interested in family photos. Just around 2018-2019, when we returned to visit Vietnam, photographer Jenny Hanh Nguyen (in Italy) and I started forming a group of newborn photos, maternity photos and Vietnamese family photos. There were not many photographers in Vietnam interested in this field. But then we created a community that grew more and more each day, and now it is very strong, even developing independently compared to the wedding photography community.

I find that family photos are forever. Family albums get thicker and thicker. I get so emotional every time families come back to me and each child in their family grows up. I become the one who always marks the changes and growth of those families.

You once said that you came to art photography at first because you liked taking pictures of your children, and then later, because of the emotions that taking pictures of the characters brought?

- What makes me really happy is bringing great joy to women. There are people who come to take maternity photos, just thinking of capturing this moment for their children to know, but they are still self-conscious and embarrassed, saying “my body is not beautiful, I gained a lot of weight, my skin is so bad, etc.”… I had to encourage them, so that they could express their deep pride in carrying a creature, a lovely life in their body. They enter my studio with a different mindset, but when they leave, they become completely confident and love themselves more. I am happy, because it is not just the photos, but I bring to the characters a very special emotion and experience…

You can see the difference in her photos: the children naturally reveal their beauty.

- Yes. I respect what is truly natural. For children's photos, I feel it is really beautiful when children run, play, and smile brightly. That's why in children's photo albums, I often make children feel happy, play with them, blow bubbles with them, or say: run, let's race... They feel that it is not a photo shoot, but more like a walk in the forest together, they are playing with this girl more than standing in front of a lens. Standing in front of a stranger's lens, they will feel very scared. That's why there are little secrets when playing together, eliminating all those distances, then surely we will capture very beautiful and natural moments and smiles.

Nowadays, many Vietnamese people like beautiful photos like apps. But I don't want that. I always want the photo to be as real as possible.

It must be said that newborn or fine-art photography requires a lot of investment in indoor lighting. What is the difference for you when taking staged photos like this compared to natural outdoor photos?

-Actually, I always take both staged and very natural photos. For example, family photos or outdoor photos of children: playing, interacting... to get natural emotions.

But studio photos are often a bit staged. Especially for classical fine art photos, leaning towards classical portraits, in the classical European style, and especially in the style of the Dutch Golden Age. I am a fan of paintings by Dutch Golden Age artists, such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh or Johannes Vermeer… I used to study in the Netherlands. The paintings in Dutch art museums give me a very deep inspiration.

Looking at those paintings, I thought, why don't I take pictures of modern people with a classical style like that? I had to study very carefully, from the colors to the use of light of those classical painters. For example, exploring Rembrandt. When I visited Rembrandt's room in Amsterdam, where he sat painting, the easel was placed in the middle of the room, the window light was coming from the left, above. Almost all of Rembrandt's works were created in this room and used only that light source. That's why later people had a setting style in the light, called Rembrandt light. I tried to apply this light, to see what modern people would look like in classical light. I also learned about the colors in classical paintings of this period, what the color palettes were like, how they were combined, how they were composed… I think that every little detail that appears in my photos must have a purpose. I am very satisfied that I have created a classical atmosphere with modern characters, a very interesting combination.

Thank you!

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/nhiep-anh-gia-hoai-vu-bender-quan-diem-nghe-thuat-lam-nen-su-khac-biet-10294000.html