Like
most young boys, Yanick Déry looked up to his father, an amateur photographer with a library full of photography
magazines and a Mamiya 645 camera. He grew up trying to take photos just like him, creating the art using
whatever was around him.
“I always loved photography, the final result and the technical aspect of the art, but
never thought about working and making money as a professional photographer,” says
Déry.
That changed when he was in college. By the time he graduated in 1993, the Montrealer
was already in business snapping photos for local newspapers — a humble start to his now highly impressive
portfolio filled with campaigns, magazine spreads, books, celebrity shoots and philanthropic
projects.
“When I started, fashion was just fun for me. A big part of what attracted me to fashion
photography was the teamwork — the fact that you need to lead a team to achieve what you have in mind,” says
Déry.
Now 15 years into his career, his team-centric ideology has remained the same and
allowed him to list mega-brands such as CoverGirl, Donna Karan, Lise Watier, Matt & Nat and Parasuco and
magazines such as Cosmopolitan,
Marie Claire,
Ocean Drive and
Women’s Wear Daily
as his clients.
“As a fashion photographer, your portfolio really depends on the skills of your team. If
the stylist, makeup, hair or models are not top, your work won’t be top either,” he
says.
When asked whether he prefers shooting with film or digital cameras, he was quick to
joke, “What is film?” Déry has worked with digital SLRs since 1993 and has never looked back, calling the
cameras a freedom tool that allows him to capture the perfect shot much more easily and quickly. In terms of
his shooting style, he’d rather leave it to others to describe.
For Déry, the most important thing is transmitting emotion, which brings together the
elements of lighting, composition and capturing something that’s never been seen before in that way. “I don’t
feel the need to produce the same stuff as everyone else and fashion is always a trend. You look at creative
magazines and it all looks very similar. I do my best to do what I feel instead of taking my inspiration from
someone else’s work,” he says.
Whether it’s an ad campaign, editorial spread or lookbook, fashion photography serves
the purpose of not only presenting clothing, but also showing the vision of the designer and how the clothes
are meant to be worn. Some photos, especially ad campaigns, tell us how to be happy, what to do, where to go
and the right attitude of that moment — this is constantly changing.
“The art of photography influences lifestyles. It’s not just about creating a nice
picture,” says Déry when describing photography as an essential part of the fashion
industry.
Déry’s ability to adapt and master a new style and direction with each project is what
keeps his photos unpredictable, and perhaps this is why even he has difficulty describing his shooting style.
His images say much more than a long spoken description ever could.
» yanickdery.com •
Photo Courtesy: Yanick Déry
