A Style All Her Own - Picture : May/June 2002

If you don't know the name Karina Taira, you will. The twenty nine-year old Japanese-American photographer is quickly becoming one of the most sought after female shooter in the business. A graduate of Art Center in Pasadena, Taira is an accomplished fashion photographer and commercial director. In this interview, she talks about shooting fashion at the age of six, her fortuitous passage into the world of commercial directing, what she looks for in an agent and where she wants to go from here.

JE NE SAIS QUOI

Karina Taira has a dark eye. Think Tim Burton meets expensive dominatrix. The result is pictures that are futuristic and Gothic, perverse yet somehow serene. She has a way of pulling the minds and souls of her subjects out onto the page, accenting them with a beetle or butterfly here and a bit of mesh and leather there, while retaining a pure and artless sexuality. The success of her pictures is that no one element upstages another. Everything that passes through Taira's eyes melds into a commercial and editorial success.

Since graduating from Art Center in 1994, Taira has worked for major magazines, advertising agencies, cosmetic and fashion designers from New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, and Milan. "Her vision is equally strong in both her photography and film work," says New York rep Judy Casey. The names on her client list, for some of who she has done both print and film, include Christian Dior, Diesel Fragrance, Boucheron Perfume, Evian, Guerlain, Absolut Vodka, Givenchy, Max Factor, oil of Olay, and Remy Martin XO.

Taira confesses that her style is a hard one to define. "It's difficult for e because I think style is about a feeling," she says. "Everything I do is coming from my intuition. I believe my style comes as a result of what I love, who I am as a woman, the type of woman I believe in and the way I live my life. So I guess my style is something I discover through pursuing what feels right for me. I know when it's not right and I keep changing my work until it is."

The image Taira projects through her work is not far from who she is as a person. "I like strong women," she says. "I don't like passive women. There are certain rules for myself that I stick to regarding the people I photograph. Mainly, I search for sensuality."

NATURAL BORN SHOOTER

Taira's career as a fashion photographer is a result of no decision she remembers making consciously. Rather, it is the product of a life-long passion. "My decision to be a fashion photographer wasn't an intellectual one," Taira says. "I've been taking pictures since I was five." Taira's penchant for the dark and dramatic, and the resourcefulness to make it all come together, has also apparently been with her from the start. "When I was about six, my friends and I would put together 'fashion shoots'. My favorite thing was to have them stand on the tops of cars and shoot them from below to make it look like they were flying." And if no friends were around? "I would dress my brother up like a girl."

Just because Taira has always know what she wanted to do doesn't necessarily mean she knew how to get there. "As a child, I would tell people I wanted to be a diplomat or an ambassador when I grew up because I wanted to travel the world and take pictures. My logic was that I thought I needed to do those things so I could live in different countries and work on my photography. I never imagined I could make a career out of taking pictures." Luckily, Taira had a mother who guided her well and assured her that being a photographer didn't mean being poor and living in the street. She encouraged Karina to do what she loved. By age fifteen, Taira was serious about her photography and began working in a lab. Before long, she was shooting fine art projects and, within a couple of years, studying in Paris.

"Being in Paris and seeing the work of great documentary photographers inspired me to be a professional photographer," she says. "After that, I just started shooting like crazy." Taira's insatiable hunger for knowledge and learing drove her to continue her studies in England, then later at Stanford University. By the time she was nineteen, Taira was attending The Art Center College of Design and working as a professional photographer.

"After my first year Art Center, I took time off to go to Japan where I assisted and got my first freelance jobs," Taira recalls. She returned to Art Center a year later with a full portfolio and, in addition to her heavy load at school, frequently traveled to LA for work. "In fashion, I think you have to move quickly," she says. "I was super driven at Art Center. I knew the moment I got out that my work had to be up to the moment and I wanted to get a head start."

Shortly after Taira graduated from Art Center in 1994, her ambitious nature began to pay off. "When I landed my first big campaign for Diesel Fragrance I was shocked. It was an underwater shoot and technically a very difficult job," she remembers. "But, I've never needed an assistant to do my lighting for me. I know precisely what I want and how to do it."

There are many photographers who let their assistants worry about the technical details. Taira will never be one of them. "A photographer who doesn't know how to set up his own shoot is like a painter who doesn't know the differences between his oils," she says. "It would be hard for me to express myself without that ability because I wouldn't be choosing out of artistic decision but out of facility."

"Then again," she admits after a moment's pause, "I'm just a control freak."

For Taira, having her hands in every moment of the creative process has always been essential. Knowing this, she trained herself well. "I really used the Art Center. I spent day after day doing every lighting test, every chemical test, and every print test until I had it down perfectly. I was obsessed."

Karina Taira was born in San Francisco, California. Her father is a venture capitalist and her mother an artist, specializing in nineteenth century porcelain dolls. With a mind for saving money as well as creating her art, Taira appears to have inherited the best from both. "I am definitely half my mom and half my dad," she says.

A deeper look into Taira's family's history and it is clear that there was no shortage of creative influences there. "I have an uncle who was a very famous calligrapher. Growing up, I would spend summers in Japan with my family and take calligraphy lessons with him once a week. My grandfather, also a great calligrapher and writer, was really into the Art of Swimming - an art form for the Samurai that only exists in Japan." That man would be Sake Takahara, who was honored a Kunsho, equivalent to our Nobel Peace Prize, from the emperor of Japan for keeping this art form alive. "I'm lucky to have had a lot of creative influence around me in many different forms," she says.

After many years of success as a fashion photographer, Taira decided three years ago to pursue her dream of becoming a film director. "I've never had any formal training in film," she says, "but I've always loved that world and dreamt of doing commercials."

The transition from photography to film is not always an easy one, especially for fashion photographers. I asked Taira to describe her shift. "Coincidentally, I was traveling through Cannes one year during the commercial advertising festival. By chance, I ran into friends who talked me into buying a ticket to the parties. It was expensive, $1,500, but I bit the bullet because I knew if I wanted to be a director this was my chance to learn something." Taira applied the same principles of discipline to this exercise as she had with all others. "I watched commercials everyday for one week from nine in the morning to six at night."

With her secret desire exposed, opportunities began to come Taira's way, but not the kind she was looking for. "I was offered the typical, cheesy commercials you'd expect to be given as a photographer with no directing experience," she recalls. "I knew I had to do something on my own that would be representative of me to get the kinds of boards I wanted. About a year later, a friend from Art Center encouraged me to put an idea together and shoot it. All I had was $5,000 saved up and a complicated storyboard full of special effects." It was when Taira had a producer estimate a budget for her that the real education in film began. "Even with a list of things I could try and get for free, it came to about $40,000. So, I got a $40,000 loan."

With that loan, Taira armed herself with a truckload of equiptment and a full crew and successfully produced her spec. "I really went for it and really suffered - it was the hardest thing I ever did in my life." Fortunately, her risk paid off. "A few months later I did two commercials in one weekend and within the year I did seven. I had two commercials in the perfume section last year in Cannes. I didn't win anything but I was really laughing at myself. Only two years before I was standing around like a kid dreaming."

As much as Taira enjoys her success with directing, it doesn't distract her from her first love. "For me, my photography and film are the same thing. Both are a result of what I love and of my sensibilities. But, I'm much closer to my photography," she adds. "It's very intimate where as with film I have a crew of a hundred sometimes and have to delegate more. It's not me lighting the thing." In other words, she has to give up control.

But Taira won't choose if she doesn't have to. She finds that both crafts help the other in some way. "Because I'm shooting something different every week, my photography keeps me spontaneous and evolving. The up side to my film is the freedom it gives me. I don't have a client standing behind me so I can get away with more. When the camera is moving I see so many things. It's like taking a million pictures."

The learning curve of photography was much steeper for Taira than fim. "My film is moving quickly for me," she says. "I had to really pay some serious dues for my photo career, which I've been doing nor for ten years. I've only been doing film for three. But, my years of photography have helped my film career because they developed my eye, my universe, what I want to say and who I am."

DO YOU TAKE THIS... AGENT?

For better or worse, a photographer's rise to fame often depends on more than talent. How well a person dies in their career has a lot to do with who they work with along the way. "I've recently changed agents in New York," says Taira. "I'm with Judy Casey now and I've never been happier."

The feelings at Judy Casey are mutual. "Karina's creativity is much beyond her age," says Judy Casey rep, Keiko Shimizu. "She's still so young, yet incredibly mature in her work. Her ambition is so powerful, it really inspires us as agents."

I asked Taira what makes the difference for her when it comes to her professional representation. "I really get along with the people at Judy Casey and I think that's important," she says. "The photographer/agent relationship is a very personal one; it's a lot like a marriage. You talk every day, you share your money, and if they don't understand where you want to go, that's a huge problem. I think an agent has to understand where you want to be in your career in five to ten years. Judy Casey creates the right balenace for me between commercial and cutting edge and I feel I fit in with the other photographers there. They're also very well organized in terms of production, getting the books out, keeping the books fresh, and maintaining a good relationship with my clients." And most important to Taira - "They never snub my clients. I can't stand it when my clients get snubbed."

One look at Taira's schedule and it is clear the relationship is working. She is booked for months to come. "In film, I'm in the middle of finishing for Nestl� Chocolate and I'm up for some big stuff in America now," she says. "In photography, I'm doing a campaign for Tag Heuer. I'm also very happy with the magazines I'm working with at the moment. I'm shooting a lot for "D" magazine, Tank, Access, and this crazy Spanish magazine called NEO 2. I'm also shooting with German Elle."

Many photographers today, made and unmade alike, would rather shoot for edgy alternative magazines over mainstream publications. Having that chance means acquiring quality full-bleed tears as well as being showcased to industry art directors, photo editors, ad agencies and art buyers. Taira appreciates these opportunities, but as for which she prefers, her feelings are mixed. "I'm having a lit of fun shooting with the alternative magazines and the freedom they give me to create," she says, "but I wouldn't mind working more for the commercial magazines, I just don't think they like me very much."

As for what Taira sees herself doing next, "I would really like to get back to shooting more location," she says. "I find being outside very liberating. I'm always creating from nothing, from white space. As for clients, I would like to work for Shiseido. I would also love to shoot for Yves Saint Laurent. I'm crazy about the clothes and the whole image. In general, I would like to shoot more fashion campaigns."

Taira's images are alive with special effects, giving her work a fresh twist that distinguishes her from the rest. A technical master, she does not ely on post production to create her magic. What appears on the page is done mostly in-camera. "It's essentially about the lighting," she says. "I do work on post production, but only on the subtle things like contrast and color. I don't like my images to look overly manipulated." As for her lighting she has no set formula. "The lighting I choose depends on my mood and feeling at the time, the clothes, the idea. It's constantly evolving." Taira's cameras of choice are more specific. "I used to shot 4X5 but I found it really limiting," she says. "Right now, I love the Mamiya RZ 6X7. Recently, I tried shooting with a digital back on my Mamiya and that was really exciting." In her personal time, Taira uses the Coolpix 5000, a new digital camera from Nikon. "It's so light and freeing compared to the heavy equiptment I work with."

I LOVE NEW YORK

On a personal note, Taira is in the middle of buying a loft in New York, with the hopes of spending more time there. "I'm dividing my time between New York and Paris right now, but I tend to be in Europe more because they like my work better there," she says. "But, I feel that when you move and invest yourself into a space, your life changes and I have a feeling this move if going to change my life."

Taira currently owns an apartment in Chelsea, NYC, which she is selling to buy her downtown loft. "I'm really excited about this new space," she says with a hint of caution. "But that's all I'm going to say, I don't want to jinx it." She also owns her own apartment in Paris on the Ile St. Louis, which all adds up to a girl who has been smart about her money. "I'm trying to be smart. You always see photographers who are stars one day and falling stars the next. I'm totally paranoid about not working so I work really hard and save what I earn, she says. "My dream is to not worry about money so I can focus on creating beautiful images and cool commercials for the pleasure of it."

As with all her other dreams, Taira has a practical plan for obtaining this one, too. "I plan to focus on the longevity of my career by keeping my work very personal while trying to evolve with the times and stay current. As long as my work stays a part of me it will always be fresh and different."

And she says her style is hard to define.