Life & Work with Dieter Kaupp

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dieter Kaupp.

Hi Dieter, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started out as a freelance video journalist, working for all the national news networks and many national cable programs doing news, magazine, sports, events, and documentaries. Doing interviews for these programs was always my favorite part of the story. I loved setting up lighting to enhance the person we interview as well as making the background look pleasingly aesthetic without drawing attention away from the interviewee. Over time I transferred from doing this with video to doing portrait still photography, taking me to where I am today. I do another aspect of still photography also but photographing people is my passion.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has been a relatively smooth road. Photography just started out as a hobby and for the most part, still does. Photography can be an expensive hobby investing in good quality cameras, lenses, and lighting. My professional career has enabled me to purchase these items without too much stress and has enabled me also to travel and photograph some amazing parts of the world. The hardest part has been getting people to have portraits taken since, for the most part, I emphasize more of a sensual nature. All the digital cameras and iPhones today has made it very easy for people to take their own photos with fairly good results. And it seems this day and age no one is very interested in having portraits printed to ‘hang on the wall.’ They just stay on computers and phones, sadly.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I spent most of my professional career as a video photographer covering news, magazine, events and documentaries. About nine years ago, I was offered a corporate job with a financial company in their media/broadcast department as director of photography, which involved doing primarily video interview setups and various presentations recorded or broadcast out from their studio. I felt I got to the point that working freelance was becoming too unmanageable for me once the ‘digital’ era began. The video would change so much every few months, and it was hard to keep up with all the technological changes, which made it difficult to stay ahead of the game for a one person business. It all became too frustrating.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Being able to produce fine portraiture art and taking a photo that freezes time. Something that can be enjoyed for many years or looked back on decades later and see the beauty and youthfulness of oneself. Also just traveling or hiking and photographing interesting architecture, old or new…… different lifestyles, landscapes. I find great solitude in that.

Contact Info:

• Email: myolpatx@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.myonlocation.photography/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dkppatx/
• Other: https://500px.com/p/myolpatx?view=photos