How I got into advertising photography...
How much time do we have?
Certainly the seeds were planted early. My father, Bernard Martin is professor emeritus at VCU and taught in the painting and printmaking department there for 32 years, which meant that I grew up in an artistic community surrounded by painters, sculptors and printmakers. I guess without realizing it, I learned to appreciate the way things look and the way they are composed since I was young. My parents also dragged me to museums and movies (good movies, bad movies, all movies) from the time I was small and I internalized a ton from the range of cinematography — before I ever knew the word cinematography.
While I didn’t answer “photographer” to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” until I was already an adult. I did pick up a camera when I was 20 years old, when I took a basic photography course at VCU. Funny thing is that I remember vividly the first class in the basement of the Music Center and thinking there was no way I could compete with all these students sitting around in black clothes, pontificating about art, and that I was going to drop the class. I was really only interested in basketball at the time, but I think it’s fair to say that with the way my life and career have gone, I feel fortunate that I never got around to dropping the class.
And I liked the class enough to take others, though I didn’t initially think of pursuing it as a career. While at VCU, I was fortunate enough to have a couple of really great teachers (George Nan and David Sauer). Both were very knowledgeable and supportive as well as insightful, not only about the technical and compositional aspects of photography but also about life and the day to day. George set up my first internship, and approximately a year and a half ago, he sent me one of his prints as a gift. At the time, I was getting ready to start a project for the Smithsonian on their 101 Most Influential Objects, and I used his image as inspiration for my approach to the project.
My first big break after graduating was being hired by Chuck Savage, a photographer in Richmond. I was his full-time assistant for almost two years, and I will always be grateful to him. This was my first and actually last “full-time” job before I lit out on my own when I was 24 years old. I left Richmond and was fortunate enough to work on a project for National Geographic on the Great Indian Railway in India. I chased trains for six months all over the country. India was probably one of the most intense experiences I’ve had.
Overall, photography has been very good to me. I was named one of the 200 best advertising photographers in the world by Archive, which was a huge honor. I’ve had some really memorable experiences on shoots large and small, fortunate to be able to collaborate with amazing creative teams. I’ve also been fortunate enough to travel a good bit, to be exposed to all kinds of different environments and people, and the camera has been my passport.
A run-down of the most recent campaign I worked on…
Star Wars for Target with Deutch LA, which was in many ways a dream of a project. As a photographer with a deep appreciation for movies, who harbors an inner (probably outer) nerd, this project felt like it was tailor made for me. Bringing these toys to life meant creating environments that would reflect those early cinematic influences; everything captured in camera and with a strong lighting POV.
Everyone was on board with this approach, from the creatives to the clients. Ultimately a dream job with a dream team. You can read more about it on my Tumblr: https://cademartin.tumblr.com/post/152644437610/deutsch-la-star-wars-target-any-one-of-these
Another great thing (among so many) about this project was that I'm not considered a “toy photographer” - or even a still life photographer, so I was beyond excited to even be considered for this project and have the agency put their faith in me to execute their vision, 10 images in total.
There were a lot of people involved in the project - Deutsch LA, Target, Disney, as well as Lucas Films, and it was definitely a nice collaboration with the agency on the project. I’m just really grateful. Working for and with a lot of iconic brands and having it go so smoothly was fantastic.
The best piece of creative work around at the moment is...
I love the amazing work that Laika in Portland is doing.
The next big advertising trend is going to be...
Relationships. I guess that’s not really trendy at all, but I think it’s the most important thing, to build creative trust and elicit the best collaborations. I think there will be renewed emphasis on that.
The piece of advertising work I wish I had thought of is...
Avis's 1962 “When you’re only No. 2, you try harder. Or else.” campaign
My favourite digital tool/app at the moment...
Sunseeker & Flixster.
In a film about my life, I’d like to be played by...
Robert Mitchum (directed by Charles Laughton)
A word or phrase I overuse...
What movies have you seen lately?
My last social media update said...
Travel, adventure.
My dream collaboration is ...
Jim Pascoe at The Refinery, a Key Art campaign.
A piece of criticism I’ve received was ...
"You’re too nice"
A great piece of advice I received ...
Both from my father:
1. You have to work the rest of your life, find something you love to do.
And
2. If you steal something, make it worth your while.
