It is important that people (customers) believe in your work, that they can distinguish your work from that of others. Uniqueness is very important.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
In 1992, I began my career working for the Belgian national television and press. The following year, I was employed by FOMU (the Antwerp Fotomuseum), where I remained until 2002. From 2002 to 2006, I became photo editor of the Dutch photo magazine FOTO. After that, I started my career as a full-time freelance photographer. In 1993, I founded my photo studio Guarda La Fotografia in Lochristi, Belgium, where I tried to develop my own style, often referring to the portrait paintings of the Flemish primitives.
In 2000, the National Technological Museum in Prague (Czech Republic) held a solo exhibition of my work. This show resulted in the development and publication of my very first book Auromatic.
My work gets published weekly in several magazines in Belgium.
On the twentieth anniversary of my studio Guarda La Fotografia in 2013 an eponymous book was published, in which photographic portraits of Belgian celebrities, female nudity and humor play an important role.
In 2014 and 2017 in the city center of Ghent (Belgium), I founded Studio Guarda La Fotografia and Paparazzo, two tourist guesthouses inspired by photography, and wherein some of my photographs are shown.
In 2018 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Guarda La Fotografia, Stadmuseum Lokeren brought a retrospective exhibition of my' photographic work. Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo, among others, visited this exhibition.
Since 2019, I sporadically was invited for cameos, appeared by myself as a photographer in fictional TV series.
My work is represented by Galerie Van Campen & Rochtus in Antwerp (Belgium) and Knokke (Belgium).
2. How and when did you realize your passion for photography?
I was a little kid when I discovered fashion and nude photos in magazines like Snoecks, a Belgian magazine that focuses on new international developments in the arts and photography. Not that I considered to become a photographer myself, but I really enjoyed looking at beautiful pictures.
Being a teenager I did experiment with photography quite a lot, but I was already over 20 when I actually decided to make photography my profession.
3. What are some tips you would like to share with amateur photographers?
Let other photographers feed you, but stick to your own gut feeling. Learn to find out which photos fascinate you more than others and why.
The type of camera is really of little (or no) importance. Settle for 1 camera and 1 lens and experiment with it, as frequently as possible. Learn to discover how to express yourself by taking pictures, and try never to be too satisfied. Don't think too hard about how to get a certain result. Just go for it and learn from your mistakes. Keep on believing that you can keep on growing.
4. What are the important skills one should have to be a successful photographer?
See the previous answer. Also: Be strict with yourself when selecting photos. Only showcase photos that you can fully support yourself.
Don't compromise with yourself.
5. What are various opportunities available for aspiring photographers?
The possibilities are endless. Or at least: believe that the possibilities are endless.
There is no need to believe that professionals have more opportunities than aspirants.
It is important that people (customers) believe in your work, that they can distinguish your work from that of others. Uniqueness is very important.
6. Which is your favourite book and why?
My book GUARDA LA FOTOGRAFIA is certainly the most important because it shows a twenty-year overview of my oeuvre, and the many facets of my work.
- Filip Naudts (Photographer)
Filip Naudts is a photographer and photography reviewer based in Belgium. My work is represented by Galerie Van Campen & Rochtus in Antwerp (Belgium) and Knokke (Belgium).
- Interviewed By Pratibha Sahani
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