Interview with Karol Orzechowski - Tips from Photographer

Q What's a good method for choosing how to edit your photos after you've taken them?

I think the biggest advice I'd have at that stage is just to be honest about what photos you have an emotional attachment to, and what photos are actually good. There's a really fine line between what we feel is the best, and what is the best to an eye not in the situation. So, the biggest piece of advice is to be honest with yourself. I don't know how to do that though. Laughs. It takes practice, and it helps to have someone else look at your work too.

Q How can you still take a good photograph when there's little to no available light?

A I tend to not be too worried about things like ISO or aperture. I know those are two really important functions, but if it's really low light, there's no harm in cranking the ISO and adjusting the aperture to get good shutter speed. I'm not too worried about graininess or blurriness ' in fact, that's something that actually adds to the photo and makes it better sometimes. In a low light situation, you're not looking at sharp things anyway, so I don't see anything wrong with that. Just crank the settings on your camera to whatever you can, and hope for the best.

Q Do you have a go-to piece of equipment?

AI use Nikon gear, but I'm not really brand-loyal. I use an 1855 kit lens and a 50mm portrait lens, but I tend not to be too worried about gear. I feel like the biggest piece of gear is your body. Getting yourself into the situations, having the motivation and getting a photo pass ' that does more than a piece of gear.

Q Angles: when do they work best?

AIn some situations you want to portray things in the most kind of documentary way possible. Like, if I'm shooting photos at a protest, I'm not too concerned about the artistic value; I'm not too worried about getting on top or getting below something, because in those situations you're not always safe, and a lot of the drama is around you. When working on animal issues, it's really helpful to try to show the animals' perspective, or to use angles in such a way that people won't be turned off. In this kind of situation I'd tend to use more artistic angles.

Fighting is a very well-documented sport, so I have tried to do something a little different there. My experience with fight photography has been brief, but martial arts has always been a passion of mine. I was lucky enough to document a big fight-night that happened on a beach in Tamarindo, Costa Rica back in 2010, and I've recently been documenting mixed martial arts training in and around Toronto. The style ranges from Thai Boxing to Jiu Jitsu to the more modern MMA.

There is a pretty well-established visual vocabulary when it comes to fight photos, such as the way that fighters are photographed, and how the fights themselves are photographed. I've been fortunate in the sense that the settings where I've been doing my photos (beachside, or in very small clubs or high-school gyms) haven't been explored as much, so I'm able to capture different details and a different mood. I should say though that I've been greatly inspired by past fight photos. David Trattles's 'Boxing Ladies' photos were particularly mind-blowing.

Q What is the biggest piece of advice you could offer to an aspiring photographer?

AThis is advice that I constantly strive to take, and it's a constant shift in attempt to accomplish this: to work constantly, to always be photographing. I know it's unrealistic to always be taking your camera with you while doing other things, like working a nine to five job'but if you're not photographing, you're treading water. You're not learning anything. Get a new piece of equipment and learn how to incorporate it. Work constantly, and enjoy working - don't do it out of force.