THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Taranaki-raised Matt Quérée shoots creative advertising and design-based projects in a variety of disciplines including studio portraiture, landscape and still life.
+ What does colour mean to you? The colour in this shot (opposite) was intended to be quite pared back; there are some subtle warm tones in it, but the shadows are quite blue. This was meant to highlight the raw and rugged nature of the West Coast.
+ How did you compose the shot? It was shot on a medium-format camera which has a slightly different crop ratio (6 x 4.5), making it a lot squarer than the normal 35mm. The ‘rule of thirds’ usually comes into play and, depending on the frame, either the subject or the horizon will fit into those parameters.
+ What are two key ideas in your photography? For landscape-based work it would be: 1. Light. Light is everything, and it has to be just right to help capture the feeling of the location. 2. Viewer’s gaze. It’s important that the viewer is drawn into a certain part of the image first (in this case, the people on the beach), then they will naturally glance over the rest of the image. I usually have a key or lone figure to draw the viewer’s gaze.