Sep 19, 2020

Franklin Lau | Toronto Commercial Photographer & Director

Updated: Mar 8, 2021

@franklinlau

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Welcome to another installment of our PodJerky

"Artist Spotlight" Series.

By : Master Impressive | PodJerky

We were fortunate enough to get a hold of Franklin during a brief pause in his hectic work schedule. In between scouting for locations, editing, setting up photo shoots and filming gigs and making sure his client's needs are met, we were able to get a virtual interview with Franklin and he generously shared his story with us on how he got started in the field of photography and recounted his journey to the present day. We asked him a few questions and we present them here in this PodJerky Covid 19 / Corona virtual blog interview.

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Top Row | Jaycow Millinery | Internationally Acclaimed Milliner Jay Cheng | @jaycow_milliner

Master Impressive: Hi Franklin, can you go into your background and recount how you got started in photography. Were you always interested in being a photographer? Was there a certain defining moment that set you out on your current career path?

Franklin Lau: My father was a photography enthusiast and I was given an Olympus Pen half frame camera at the age of 7. My father used to take me along with him on his photo shoot outings. It wasn't until my high school years that I became serious about my hobby. I did my own dark room work and during the last year of high school I won a joint school photo contest which kind of set the bench mark for me and from that point on I knew I was really good at photography.

Master Impressive: Did you have any formal training in Photography? Did you take any classes or are you self taught?

Franklin Lau: I am more or less self taught. I was trained later on, being a photographer’s assistant for 4 years.

Master Impressive: What equipment do you use? Do you have a preference in lenses or cameras or apps?

Franklin Lau: I've used almost every brand of camera and all formats as well, everything from 135 to medium to large 4 x 5 , 8 x 10. The lenses depend on the nature of the job. There isn't a single brand that caters to all the technical requirements that you run into.

Master Impressive: How do you approach a photo shoot? How do you set it up, what kind of things are you looking for? Do you have a formula that works for you every time or does the shoot solely depend upon the client and their subject matter?

Franklin Lau: There are no formulas. Visualizing is the key, I will plan my shoot once I get the layout from my client. I visualize every step and deal with problems as they arise and solve the problems one by one. Being a professional, you have to deliver and you can't leave things to chance. Every job is different and your experience helps you make the best possible choices.

Master Impressive: How much Photoshop, filters, in camera effects & post effects, do you use? Can you explain some of the technical aspects of how you get your pictures processed to get them to their final state?

Franklin Lau: As I started off being trained from the film era, I usually try to achieve everything on camera and not leave the job to post production or Photoshop. I will shoot RAW always because you want your image to have as much data as you can get, that way you have more details to work with during retouching. For detail retouching you will need Photoshop. Software like LightRoom or Capture One is only for light adjustment and batch editing.

Master Impressive: Have you ever done Nature photography? Would you ever consider it?

Franklin Lau: I haven’t done much Nature photography. The most challenging aspect to photographing wildlife in it's natural environment is that you need to be at the right location at the right time of the day. Again, visualizing and predicting the situation to come is the key to success.

Master Impressive: Who are some of the photographers that you admire or follow? Which one would you say has had the biggest influence on you?

Franklin Lau: Joe Peter Witkin and Floria Sigismondi. Floria is an Italian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, music video director, artist, and photographer from Hamilton. Floria got my attention around the year 2000, my favourite music at that time was Marilyn Manson and Bowie and she did a lot of photos and music videos for them and that’s how I came to know about her. You can see that a lot of her style has influenced my artistic creations .

Master Impressive: Which is your most expensive gear and why?

Franklin Lau: My Hasselblad H series, that was the first medium format camera with digital back that I got. Back then the DSLR technology was in it's infancy and wasn't fully developed and I needed the bigger file size for average advertising production. Think I spent around 30,000 on that set.

Master Impressive: How has social media helped, hindered or influenced your career?

Franklin Lau: When I still had my career back in Hong Kong, we didn't need the help of social media, now it’s a different world. It's all about connections these days and if you have the connections, you get the work and the exposure needed to be successful in this business, otherwise it's very difficult to build a clientele. Ultimately though, it's all about building relationships and providing a level of trust and security with your clients as they are relying on you to bring their vision to life in the best way possible. There has to be a mutual respect between a photographer and his/her clients and their shared vision. Presenting a client's work, brand or image, in the best possible light, is key to a successful career and it takes a great deal of time and dedication to foster these types of relationships. Work Hard, Always!

Master Impressive: Can you describe your experience working with the legendary Toronto Hip Hop artist / Rapper, THRUST (ThrustMuzik), and his crew. How did you all meet up in the first place?

Franklin Lau: THRUST and I met up at a TIFF event back in 2017, he liked my work and asked me to do a portrait session for him for an interview. He is the first Hip Hop musician I met and I am amazed by the brotherhood that exists in his group/squad and between musicians that run in his circle of friends.

TORONTO HIP HOP LEGEND & RAP PIONEER | THRUST | @THRUSTMUZIK

Master Impressive: How many hours do you spend on a shoot ?

Franklin Lau: It ranges from hours to days, it all depends on the job. Simple portrait work takes maybe 2 hours and up, big productions may involve days of set building, pre-lighting, actual shooting and post production.

Master Impressive: Name some challenges and difficulties you've had to overcome in your career.

Franklin Lau: Dealing with politics and people are the hardest, that's why you need a good producer or a client rep.

TORONTO HIP HOP MUSIC PRODUCER & TAEKWONDO MASTER

| NAVI THE NORTH | @Navi_The_North |

Master Impressive: Will your niche evolve more into video shoots, documentaries or will you stay close to commercial shoots?

Franklin Lau: In 2006 I started directing TV commercials and in 2019 I did my first documentary and I love doing that. I think it’s meaningful work because you are contributing to the social fabric by passing on untold stories and historical facts that might not be otherwise known.

Master Impressive: Have you ever done commercial brand name product shots?

Franklin Lau: You name it, I've done it, to name a few: Coca-cola, Adidas, HSBC, Nike, Sony, Nikon, AIA, AXA,SunLife……etc

Master Impressive: Which was your most challenging shoot, why?

Franklin Lau: Photo shoots only get difficult if you haven’t got the right budget so you have to walk a fine line and take risks. If you are a professional photographer with standard rates and you don't offer discounts to get work then you are fine.

Master Impressive: How difficult is it to be a photographer today?

Franklin Lau: It’s much easier to be or call yourself a photographer these days, however, getting a paying job is another story.

TORONTO HIP HOP PHOTOGRAPHY

Master Impressive: What would be your dream shoot?

Franklin Lau: A photo shoot featuring a Hollywood star, I mean not necessarily the red carpet kind of thing. I've photographed a lot of celebrities back in Hong Kong. Among them Daniel Wu and Maggie Q and they've both gone on to do big things in Hollywood.

Master Impressive: Please go into detail as to why you left Hong Kong and moved to Canada. Can you detail the differences in society and the photography industry? Can you describe your biggest hurdles in being a photographer in Toronto?

Franklin Lau: First and foremost, I want my kids to have a better environment to grow up in, secondly, I wanted to reunite with my folks who are both in their 90’s and last but not least, getting away from Communist China, especially with what has happened these past four years in my home land....I know I did the right thing. Too bad this COVID thing which originated in China has caught us all by storm.

The photography scene here in Canada is so different. The number one difference is that the population here is too small to support a prosperous economy and by extension, to create more opportunities for meaningful employment in one's chosen profession, especially in the creative field. In comparison to Toronto, Hong Kong has only one quarter of the land but 3 times the population. All differences aside, the quality of life is much better in Toronto.

Master Impressive: Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Franklin Lau: I will be spending more time on fine art photography and shooting video documentaries.

Master Impressive: Have you approached the Graphic Designer's Club of Toronto to

inquire about collaborations? Have you worked with any graphic designers in Toronto?

Franklin Lau: No, not yet.

Master Impressive: Please discuss any special insights or wisdom that you've picked up along the way that has helped you in your career. Any advice for someone wanting to become a professional photographer?

Franklin Lau: Work hard! Observe, visualize, analyze, practice...shoot more and be better on the next shoot. This is really important, be humble because there’s always somebody better out there for you to learn from.

SKYLARKIN VIDEO

Director @FranklinLau

THRUST OG | SKYLARKING ft WHITEY DON

Produced by @THRUSTMUZIK

Music @Frankensteinhiphop

Second camera @ siego_pidgin

VFX Gidean Chan

THERE'S A NEW PODCAST IN TOWN