Manuel Outumuro: “The camera doesn't take the picture, the photographer does”
Que la fotografía es una forma de arte, es bien sabido. Pero cuando el fotógrafo es capaz de inmortalizar con su cámara el alma de una persona, también se convierte en un don. Una gracia especial que, sin duda, posee el fotógrafo Manuel Outumuro, y que le permite desnudar de cualquier artificio a las personas que pasan por su objetivo mostrando así su yo más auténtico.
Throughout his 30-year career, Outumuro has collaborated with numerous national and international magazines, capturing portraits of prominent figures from the world of cinema, literature, sports, fashion, and music. Classic portraits of familiar faces that become an authentic visual memory of the recent years of contemporary Spain.
In his Barcelona studio, located in the Palau Fonollar which was built in the 18th century and where the noble Güell family once lived, we shared a pleasant chat with him against the incredible backdrop of the late 18th-century frescoes that adorn the walls of the main hall, which he himself commissioned to be restored.
When reviewing his beginnings in the world of photography with him, we discovered that they are purely self-taught and, in some way, it could even be said that his artistic curiosity for this discipline is tinged with a certain chance: “I trained as a graphic designer at the Massana School. I worked a lot in illustration, textile, graphic, and fashion... I designed the image for creators and worked with many fashion photographers. Until one day a photographer didn't show up and I took the photos with a camera we had for the making of. The result was thrilling, it seemed to happen by itself, I had never paid attention to the technique that others used. That's how I switched from typography to photography. And soon came the first editorial for El País. I've only been taking photos for 30 years, I'm a latecomer photographer.”
El maestro de la luz, como es conocido en el mundo de la fotografía, nos habla con suma honestidad del descubrimiento de su estilo personal, absolutamente natural y despojado de técnicas o métodos, en el que el elemento central gira siempre entorno a la iluminación: “No me gusta la técnica, ni siquiera las cámaras, me parecen demasiado obsoletas. Al principio no me cuestionaba la tecnología, sólo disparaba con luz natural. Y fue precisamente ese modo de hacer el que fundamentó las bases de mi propio estilo. Pero eso lo descubrieron Ramón Prats y Silvia Ventosa, comisarios de la exposición LOOKS, una retrospectiva que me dedicó el Museu del Disseny de Barcelona. Estudiosos de la fotografía le dieron rigor a mi trabajo en los textos escritos para el catálogo de dicha exposición. Agruparon más de 250 fotos en 7 apartados y por primera vez vi mis fotos colgadas en un museo, eso me produjo una gran emoción. Y también me hizo tomar consciencia de mi obra”.
Manuel Outumuro is a large, cultured man, restrained in his gestures, with the appearance of a patrician who moves with confidence. The confidence that comes from knowing who you are and where you come from. Because something very important to him, which he describes with great beauty, is his childhood and the affection for his parents and grandparents. His family is, without a doubt, a solid foundation that has allowed him to access and confront any character directly and honestly: "In my opinion, origins affect a lot, especially up to the age of 10. They define you, and everything you learn is what you will be. I was raised by my grandparents, my parents were in Caracas. In the village, all the children were in that same situation, but my parents were always present in a photo hanging at the foot of my bed. The absence was replaced by the photograph. I met them at the age of 10 when we came to live in Barcelona."
And he shares with us his family memories through some pictures on his phone where his father appears dressed as a landowner for an Isabel Coixet movie. He also talks about his mother and sister and the amusing story of a denied portrait, for which both requested a full styling team, hairdressing, makeup, set, and lighting, just like the ones he uses for the other personalities he photographs. Both images are featured in his latest book, 'The Book of Portraits', published by La Fábrica.
In photography, a portrait is an image that goes beyond a picture of a face. A true portrait should capture the soul of the person and evoke emotions in the viewer. And this is something that Manuel Outumuro masters with expertise: “When I take a photograph, I look for the person's soul. And I immediately know when I have the shot. I know it when the energy of the preparation, the freedom you have given to the team, and the moment of the shot converge, that magical and unique instant. It's not always the photo that the team applauds or that the subject expected, it takes a time of reflection to choose the final image”.
Perhaps it is his natural gift or the result of his origins and personal history that has led Outumuro to discover the true essence of a portrait, that of life itself: "What I experienced until I was 10 years old influenced the way I look at things. Making figures with mud without knowing that it was called: clay modeling. Seeing light reflections like diamonds in the pond where I took the cows to drink. For me, life is made of these two elements: mud and light. Mud as the matter that defines shape and light as the soul, as the spirit". Why, as the photography historian Laura Terré collected in the prologue of “Outumuro, The Book of Portraits”, Manuel states: “...I come from stepping on dung, from stepping on cow shit. And today I know that a portrait is composed of two elements: the figure, that is, the matter the character is made of. And the light, what one contributes to make it transcend at the moment of the shot. That light one infuses should never extinguish the character's own light".
When asked what her self-portrait would look like, she answers, almost without thinking: “I have no idea. I only took one when I was in the military”. At that moment, she retrieves an old photograph from her phone and shows us the image of a 21-year-old young man where the light enhances his profile and gives all the depth to a calm demeanor. And, just like that, she adds: “I took it to test the camera”.
The main task of Outumuro when facing a new portrait, as he explains, is to strip the subject of their idea of how they like to be and appear in an image. In front of the camera, many offer what they believe is their most photogenic side, their best angle, their best smile... But this can go against what's pure, what's essential. Sometimes without their own 'poses' they turn out to be stronger and more present. Every portrait has its difficulty. Some characters may be deeper and more intense being less expressive than others who overact.
But what he is truly certain of, to the delight of many, is that “there are no unphotogenic people”. And he proceeds to share a personal anecdote that illustrates his point: “After giving a masterclass in Málaga, during the question and answer session, a lady told me: Look, I'm tired of being told I'm not photogenic. And since I make the best gazpacho in the world, I propose that you take a portrait of me and I'll prepare a liter of the freshest gazpacho for you. I looked at her, I suppose, with a face of surprise, and I replied: madam, it's not that you're not photogenic, you've just been poorly lit all your life. And with the grace and wit of the south, the very satisfied lady replied: Well, that makes me feel better, it turns out what I am is 'poorly lit'! I don't really believe in photogenicity, it's all about drawing with light, defining with shadows”.
Because for him the camera is just a mere tool and he emphatically states: “The photo is not made by the camera, it's made by the photographer. I don't know how to use many cameras and I consider it an obsolete tool, a bit antediluvian. I wish the camera wouldn't stand between the photographer and the subject, plus there's the term 'shoot' which implies a certain aggressiveness and somehow makes the subject guard themselves”. And with a playful tone, he adds: “I think I'll be happier if in the future instead of shooting, one could just blink. Often I think that the good photo is there when the subject is oblivious to the camera, because they move from the attitude of being photographed to the attitude of being themselves. In fact, I'd like to have a chip so that when I blink, that image would be captured on the computer”. He tells us, laughing.
Of all his sessions, he cherishes "the first one", which is at the same time "the one where he felt the freest, most comfortable, and also the most challenging". And despite being considered one of the great specialists in fashion photography, Outumuro believes that "the only thing I have contributed to this field is an archive where the history of clothing will remain at the last turn of the century. At first, the world of fashion was uncomfortable for me. But when I moved to New York, I discovered that the history of clothing fascinated me. First came the anthropological interest in clothing, which led me to become interested in the culture of fashion. This was aided by talks with Richard Martin, director of the Costume Department at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, and more recently, my work documenting graphically the costumes from the Balenciaga Museum collection".
We concluded the interview talking about Barcelona which, although it is not his hometown, is the place where he lives and which he has often boasted about. A city that, he claims, "I used to like more than I do now. I am a great walker, I walk two hours a day and during those walks, I always end up discovering new places in the city. For those who are not familiar with it, I would recommend to stroll, look around, and discover it."
And before leaving, he shares his advice for photography enthusiasts who wish to delve into this world: “Today you don't need so much learning. The technique has advanced a lot. Nowadays, it's easy to take a photograph. What's difficult is to achieve a personal photographic language. One can learn to look: for example, a photography book can be read as if it were a narrative book, not just staying on the surface of the typography, but delving into what it tells us. A photo is not just the formalism that is discovered with the first glance, it needs to be read, in this case observed with time and reflection.”
