With over a decade of experience in photography, Kosmas Koumianos already has an extensive portfolio, presenting works that are a unique mix of nature, people and unique experiences from his travels. In addition to his collaborations with giants such as Dior and L'Oreal, he has made documentaries for non-governmental organizations, such as ActionAid, capturing the value of contact with people in every corner of the world. Of course, he also spoke to us about his great love for Apple products - and especially the iPhone.
Looking at your portfolio, we immediately sense the deep connection you have with nature, but also with people. How do you ensure that your subjects feel comfortable during a shoot, especially in unfamiliar or difficult environments?
The most important thing, especially when it comes to photographing people, is “being able to become friends with them in 5 minutes”. In other words, you don't approach someone as a photographer, but as a very friendly person, wanting to do something really nice for them. So, with this approach, you make the other person feel comfortable very quickly and, subsequently, you manage to take really nice photos.
Your work with non-profit organizations has taken you to different parts of the world. How has this experience influenced your view of the power of photography in storytelling, as well as its role in raising awareness for important causes?
Initially, it's an experience that I wanted to have. Basically, I wanted to see what's happening in all parts of the world - because Western civilization as we know it is good, but there are also different places that we don't know about and, first of all, I wanted to learn about them myself. So, I got in touch with non-governmental organizations, so that we could make some documentaries, and that was a kind of psychotherapy for me. Going to places where people are facing difficulties, seeing their genuine smiles and how happy they are with the little they have, you start to think and see your life very differently.
As for the awareness-raising part, the power of photography certainly plays a very big role in such cases. As the late Yannis Behrakis said: make documentaries so that “no one can say they didn’t know”. Through this whole process, we want to show what is happening in those places in the most realistic way possible, in order to raise awareness among the rest of the world, but also to improve the lives of the people there as much as we can.
You have collaborated with many well-known brands in the fashion and beauty industry. Is there a way for a photographer to put their personal touch on these shoots while ensuring that they convey the message each brand wants?
Nowadays and at the level we work at now, brands choose photographers who agree with their own aesthetics. What I have achieved in my career is for a brand to come to me and, essentially, through my own eyes, to portray it as best I can, with my own narrative. Of course, this is sometimes the result of collaboration. The part of creativity at the commercial level of brands is a team thing, in which many people work together.
What is the role of Apple products, such as the iPhone or Mac, but also specific editing programs, in your relationship with photography and how do they influence all stages: from taking images to editing. Has your approach changed in the era of mobile photography?
Of course, it has changed, because now we are in an era where video and photography are very close and you are invited to do them together. And here comes the iPhone that frees up your hands. Many times, in moments when the lighting conditions are good, you really can't distinguish an iPhone from a professional camera of several thousand euros, as the result is almost the same. Of course, I am very satisfied with the entire Apple ecosystem and how you can combine everything and work very quickly. This ecosystem in my work is “from A to Z”, that is, in my studio there is a Mac Studio, I always have an iPad and a MacBook Pro with me and, of course, the iPhone. Sometimes, I may not even need to take my “professional equipment” with me - see photo or film cameras - and with a MacBook Pro, an iPad and an iPhone I can do all the work.
You are a fan of Apple products, especially the iPhone. What was the first photo you took with the iPhone and how do you use it in your art?
When the first iPhone came out, I was in New York studying and my first photos were in Times Square - I was taking pictures of people dressed as Mickey Mouse and Goofy. Those were my first photos. The iPhone is something I've used every day since then, both professionally and amateurly, because it covers all my needs when it comes to photos and videos. The best camera or camcorder there is is the one we can always have with us and the iPhone is exactly that.
You have created videos multiple times as part of a campaign and each time you add your own personal artistic touch. Has the iPhone helped you in cases where you had inspiration but didn't have a camera with you to make a video?
The iPhone has helped me a lot in terms of how well and quickly I can work. I have had the chance to provide footage from the iPhone, which was played in video clips on television and in the cinema, and no one understood any difference compared to material from cameras that cost tens of thousands of euros. The functions of the iPhone are endless, the quality it offers is impressive, and especially the stabilization has freed my hands.
As a professional photographer, what are your favorite iPhone features and which ones do you use the most on a daily basis?
Anything I produce for social media content, whether it's my own or for clients, I do on my iPhone - and the editing and the coloring and the editing and the music. If you gave me an iPhone that had 10TB of storage, I wouldn't need an iPad or a Mac - I'd have everything there. The processing power it has (especially the iPhone 15) is something that makes it easier and frees up my hands in my work, as I do everything very quickly.