Victor Hamke – The Muse will Kiss You Soon Enough

Victor Hamke of Muse and Mirror first caught my eye in the Fuji X Wedding Photographers group with the image immediately below. His photography looked surreal and modelled to perfection but with real couples and moments. His photography is beautifully dark. Not dark because it was a slider option in post.

I started noticing his work in another group and had to have a closer look.

The minute I saw a collection of his images in one place, I contacted him for an interview. I knew Victor would make a perfect guest for either podcast – The Photography Xperiment or PhotoBizX.

Unfortunately, Victor let me know English was not his first language so an audio interview was unlikely to work well. We came up with the idea of the first ever written interview for PhotoBizX and I can't think of a better guest to kick off this new format.

To follow your intuition is also the best advice although it may seem trivial. Do what you love – this is where you will become really good. – Victor Hamke

I hope you get as much from Victor's words and thoughts as I did his photography…

Interview with Victor Hamke of Muse and Mirror

How did you discover photography?

I discovered photography when I had saved money for an eye surgery but instead decided to spend it on something I can get creative with. I had no intent to dive too deep into this matter back then. But I invested quite a lot of time, because expressing myself and creating something that wasn't there before was just a phenomenal experience.

And today I still have that never-ending thirst for knowledge and for extending my capabilities.

Where (who) do you find your inspiration from?

I draw inspiration from anything surrounding me. I try to visualize ideas, to visualize poetry and to create frames from what goes around in my head.

Expressing myself and creating something that wasn't there before was just a phenomenal experience. – Victor Hamke

Of course I'm following some photographers, but inspiration also comes from music, sculptures, classic paintings, etc. It's all over the place.

There is that ugly sister of inspiration which is imitation – and an artist, photographer or pretty much everybody should pay attention to, not just imitate, but to produce his or her own concepts.

How long have you been shooting professionally and how long have you been shooting weddings?

We started both in the beginning of 2015. Before that I did conceptual work. Call it Fine Art, because indeed it was merely for the purpose of giving myself a platform to realize ideas.

At first it just seemed to be a neat idea to photograph weddings and I didn't know if there was a place for our aesthetics on that market. Soon I understood that this could be my number one priority. And I decided to give it a go, while I was still in my Master studies.

How many weddings are you photographing each year?

We will try to keep it to a maximum of 20.

Some people don't understand that but for us it's imperative to take really good care of our couples and also to not get exhausted to a degree where our quality of work suffers.

I know photographers who do WAY more than this, who say that this affects their motivation in a negative way. I feel it's our responsibility to avoid that.

If you are not earning enough money, you could instead try to raise your prices. We do that every few months, but in Germany there is a ceiling for that, I think. We will find out soon. 🙂

What is the inspiration behind your photography – who are you creating your images for?

Ronja and I create images, because we love it. We love the pictures. We can relate to them and they tell a lot about how we both feel and perceive.

And then of course the clients. It sounds so lame, but it is actually satisfying to make people happy with your work. Also it lets you have an introspective into others people's most intimate and precious moments – which is and will always be a great honour.

How did you come up with your business name… Muse and Mirror?

Oh damn, we thought sooooo long about our name, right to the point where Ronja and I felt a bit desperate. We wanted something lyrical, a metaphor, and one evening the words just came to mind. It shifted from “that doesn't sound bad” to “this really sounds pretty fantastic” when we were discussing the potential meaning(s). Both of them are nouns and verbs, which gives it an additional dimension.

A good way to attract the right clients is surely to articulate who you are and how you see the world and photography. – Victor Hamke

Muse addresses the whole creative side and thoughtful mentalities which we both have in common.

Mirror on the other hand seemed to be the perfect metaphor for the act of photographing. Of course we don't just mirror and is displaying things in a most neutral way. Rather, it is a personal mirror image, which is coloured and composed the way we feel.

Another benefit of that name is that you can hide behind it. You don't feel like acting as yourself but acting as a part of something bigger. I still have some kind of posting anxiety which I can't seem to get rid of, but our alias helps a lot there. 😉

What do you do when you just don't feel creative or things aren't working the way you'd like with your photography?

I guess all working photographers know that feeling, when your creative spirit just blacks out. When that happens, I try to concentrate.

On a wedding you HAVE to deliver, there's no way around. I try to change poses, just change something even without a perfect plan. From my experience, things fall into place then. You pay attention to light and you will discover the most beautiful angles which unfold through motion.

In general, I don't feel too bad too quickly when I don't feel creativity. I lean back, enjoy my time, talk with Ronja, go for a walk. The muse will kiss you soon enough – when you show some patience.

I can see a lot of intimacy and romance in your photography… can you describe the techniques you use to achieve that look with your clients?

Our aesthetics (speaking of the couple portraits) are gravitating somewhere between elegance, tranquility and some kind of fine melancholy.

Clients know about that visual signature beforehand. They book us, because they can relate to that emotion and feeling, so our style doesn't hit them unprepared.

But it's also important to let couples be themselves and don't force your own vision on them. We let them be goofy if they really are.

Most of the times they are just insecure though and we give everything to take that insecurity away from them. This is the point where the magic happens for us and where the attractiveness, the connection and the character really gets unveiled.

How do you curate and choose what you show the world?

The selection-competence is really one of the most important assets of a good photographer.

Two photographers may shoot pretty much the same, but one of them has a WAY superior portfolio, just because he has the golden eye, as I call it, to distinguish between the really good pictures and the average ones. Not saying that we are perfect here, but we rank our ability to evaluate our work pretty high.

Ronja and I look through the images with eagle eyes and we both have our favourites. When there's a consensus that is photo is worth sharing, then we do it. But we are no fans of spamming content whatsoever. Quality over quantity for us.

Which presets (if any) are you using to achieve the look you do with your colour and B&W images?

We exclusively work with our own presets that are built from scratch.

Unlike most other colleagues, we edit our photos in Capture One. With fine adjustments and retouching in Photoshop. We have some conceptual artworks in our wedding portfolio which are completely done in Photoshop, but they are the exception.

What advice would you give your younger photographer self?

I would tell him that his photos suck. Haha.

But honestly, I'm very, very content with my path and glad that I always followed my intuition. To follow your intuition is also the best advice, although it may seem trivial.

Do what you love – this is where you will become really good.

What is the marketing strategy working best to attract your perfect clients apart from word of mouth?

That's the fun part. Clients approach us from all angles, but to this day we haven't made any aggressive marketing moves or contacted all local vendors or anything.

A good way to attract the right clients is surely to articulate who you are and how you see the world and photography. And then of course to show those things in your portfolio that represent your ideal client the best.

What role does social media play in your life in regards to your photography?

A great one, because it connects me with the photographers whose work I really admire.

Dialogue can be a great well of inspiration. Apart from that, there is a client here and there that comes via social media, but I still feel that real connection is much more impactful and convincing.

I'm a strong believer in my own abilities and I don't fear the thought of competition. – Victor Hamke

What are your thoughts when you see another photographer shooting in a similar style to you?

I feel very relaxed. Frank Horvat said in an article, that you won't ever be unique by using a certain lens, camera (or preset, in case of wedding photos). What is truly unique is your personal way of seeing the world. Not even one other person has that same view on things.

Also, I'm a strong believer in my own abilities and I don't fear the thought of competition.

What is your favourite lens and why (if you have one)?

The old Nikon 105mm 2.5 Ai(s) probably. My most remarkable portraits came from it.

Other than that, it will be a 35mm full-frame, because that focal length is so versatile.

Why do you think clients choose you to photograph their wedding?

Clients definitely choose us for our visual signature.

The second big factor – and one you can't emphasize enough – is sympathy between the photographer(s) and the couple. I think that only those couples approach us that can relate with our pictures and our thinking.

Are you working on any personal projects? If so, can you share something about one of them?

Everything I do feels like a personal project. But if speaking about something I don't charge for – currently, no.

We are considering to do another styled shoot this winter though. We have done one in the past and it was a great experience to shape everything along your vision.

What are your thoughts?

I’d love to read your feedback and comments. Was there something from this interview that struck a chord, inspired or motivated you?

Will you take any kind of action after reading what Victor had to share? Will you make any changes to what you're currently doing?

Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.

I draw inspiration from anything surrounding me. I try to visualize ideas, to visualize poetry and to create frames from what goes around in my head. – Victor Hamke

If you have a follow up question, something specific you’d like to ask Victor or if you just want to say thanks for sharing, feel free to add them below too.

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Muse and Mirror

Muse and Mirror on Instagram

Muse and Mirror on Facebook

Capture One

Frank Horvat

Thank you!

Thanks again for dropping by and thanks to Victor for coming on and experimenting with a new and different format for PhotoBizX and for sharing his thoughts, views and ideas on photography.

The muse will kiss you soon enough – when you show some patience -Victor Hamke

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this interview, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me, hope everything is going well for you in life and photography!

Thanks and speak soon

Andrew