a conversation With Stephanie Pfriender Stylander

Emerging as an American fashion photographer and entertainment portraiture in the 1990s, Stephanie Pfriender Stylander was one of the first to photograph an unknown Kate Moss on the streets of New York in ‘92. Pfriender Stylander’s out-of-print monograph, The Untamed Eye, includes this prominent shoot along with intimate portraits of celebrities such as rock legend Keith Richards, Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix. Through a realism technique, each of her portraits are simplistic and captivating.  

The photographer owns an extensive coffee table book collection with shelves spanning the walls of her downtown New York City apartment. Our interview with Pfriender Stylander explores her cinematic style, artistic inspirations and influential subjects. 

What was the inspiration behind The Untamed Eye? 

I started working professionally when I moved from New York City to Milan and Paris in the early nineties. The European fashion magazines at that time approached fashion photography by hiring photographers with a strong photographic personal language, a point of view that reflected their tastes. These photographers filled their pages with their style, there was no compromise, you were hired because of how you saw. The editors would work hard to give you your ingredients to make your pictures strong. Ingredients are, look of model, fashion, makeup and hair artists, locations etc…This approach was my favorite way of working and was my inspiration behind The Untamed Eye.

How was the title of the book decided on?

The most interesting experiences when I am shooting is if my subject and I can get to ‘another place’, where we start feeling our way through the pictures that we are working on, with no script so to say, working our way through the emotion and connections that we have at the moment. This is a wild experience and so I came up with my title, The Untamed Eye.

How did you decide what photographs you would use in the book?

When I see inspiring fashion, locations and faces I see a story. It is not a didactic story, it is more of a journey, it is ambiguous, personal, letting the viewer receive it in their own way. These were the photographs that I wanted to work with in my first monograph.

How involved were you in the publishing process? 

I was very involved in all the processes that are a part of creating a book.

What do you think makes a fashion photograph memorable? 

Fashion photographs that have staying power, that you can look at 10, 20, 50 years from now have to move people, they have to make one feel, this is what makes a photograph iconic. Of course the model, subject, style, fashion, technique are the chosen aspects of the fashion photograph and are also very important, but if there is no sensation, the beauty fades.

What was it like being a fashion photographer in the 90’s and how do you think it differs from being a fashion photographer today?

The magic of photography was that it had mystery. I would shoot on location with my crew, every one being an important part of the shoot from the makeup artist to the stylist, photo assistants etc…Polaroids are all we looked at. No one really knew how the shoot turned out, including the photographer and the client! Then we would bring the rolls of film to our labs and wait. Then I would edit. This lengthy process held mystery, during the shoot and after the shoot, through my editing till printing and publication. It was a process.

Technology changes, times change, there are certainly benefits from working digitally. I look at the difference like this, that fashion photography today is a different medium, you can’t compare then and now. Today as a photographer I think it is really important to slow down and create some privacy.

What was it like working with Kate Moss, can you tell us a little bit about the shoot you worked on with her? What about her makes her so iconic?

I was living in Paris and watching a lot of Jean-Luc Godard films. I absolutely fell in love with Anna Karina, one of his muses. Harper’s Bazaar Uomo asks me to shoot a fashion story of a young couple on the streets in New York City. I called on my favorite model agent, ‘looking for an unusual type of girl, more like an actress, unique, not a model type, someone who can act’. She shows me a fax of ‘this young girl, quirky, short, but something about her I think you will like.’ Once I saw the four faxes of photos, I knew she was the girl for my story.

Kate was young and just starting, no one knew who she was. Nevertheless she just understood my direction and the type of character I wanted her to play. Kate has this uncanny, innate sensibility, she is completely natural, very smart, self assured and very eager to work.

What was it like working with Keith Richards?

 Keith was very cool, the definition of cool. I created a set in the studio that echoed a stage set all black, hot lights, ashtrays, drinks, light stands, ashes and away we went. My cinematic approach and his natural movement with music, smoke, talk created this very beautiful vibe.

What individuals have continued to influence your work throughout your career?

Robert Frank, Richard Avedon, William Klein, Jackson Pollock, Michelangelo Antonioni, Anna Magnani 

What excites you most about photography and how do you stay motivated?

 Photography is a bridge to the world, it is an incredible form of communication whether it be street photography or fashion photography. There is always a different form of connection being made. Photographs live long.