Brian Ach, known as Achman in the wider community, loves to cover raving stadium shows and gain backstage access at major cultural events for clients like Getty and AP. In contrast, his personal work takes things down a notch in speed and seriousness. Street, travel and fine art photography give Brian room to go back to when he first learned photography: shooting film in New York City on his daily commute with a 35mm camera.
“After I was a couple of blocks from the WTC on 9/11, I decided life was short and graphic design wasn’t for me. I left the full-time job and became a freelance photographer.”
This story is part of our What’s in your bag? community spotlight series. The series showcases the diverse gear and photography of our community, and shares their stories of how that gear helped them to capture the perfect shot.
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| “Venice Beach; California. For me, there is nothing better than exploring the world with TriX.”
Canon F1 | Canon FD 35mm F2 | Tri X ISO 400 |
Meet Brian Ach
Home base: United States
Favorite camera: “It’s not related to my work or these photographs, but I’ve had my original Yashicamat for 30 years – it’s more than just a camera to me, it feels like a friend.”
What’s in Brian’s bag
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| Brian’s camera bag
Photo: Brian Ach |
Cameras for work: Canon R5 (“two of them, actually”)
- Lenses:
- Canon RF 24–105mm F4
- Canon RF 14–35mm F4
- Canon RF 70–200mm F4
- Canon EF 135mm F2
- Plus a classic FD 35mm F2 for adapted and film-era work
Cameras for play: Yashica Mat, Canon VI-L and a Canon F1
- Lenses:
- Support gear: Brian’s kit shifts depending on assignment. For commercial and editorial stills, he travels with a streamlined pro setup built around the R5 system, backed by a Pelican Air carry-on, a MacBook Pro, a Wi-Fi hotspot and a 2TB Samsung SSD for fast offload and backup in the field. Lighting is handled with a Profoto B2, including two packs and four heads.
- Camera bags: “Like many others in the DPReview community, I’m a fan of the ThinkTank ShapeShifter and a blue Pelican 1535 Air. The ShapeShifter is a flexible day-to-day carry solution for moving between shoots, and the Pelican serves as a convenient travel-and protection-first case, especially on long-duration flights.”
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“Taylor Swift; NYC, 2010. Sometimes you have minutes to make a portrait; here I had 15 seconds.” Canon EOS-1D X | EF 85mm F1.2L II USM | F2.8 | 1/250 sec | ISO 1600 |
What’s your preferred shooting scene?
“My work is pretty divided into work and play.”
“For work, I shoot for Getty, AP, and editorial and commercial clients. I’ve been around the world on these jobs, working as Prince’s European tour photographer alongside other major names like Jay-Z and Journey. And also big brands and events from Jaguar/Land Rover to Samsung to New York Fashion Week and the MTV VMA awards. I like to say I’ve shot everything and everyone.”
“Film forces me to really shoot with intention, to dissolve into the process and be deliberate about what I’m doing.”
“For play, I like street, travel and fine art. I started in film, and it is still what really gets me going. Film forces me to really shoot with intention, to dissolve into the process and be deliberate about what I’m doing. I started learning by shooting street in NYC with a rangefinder and a 35mm lens on the way to and from work every day. It trained my eyes to be soft and let the image find its way to my shutter. This early work informed my process to this day, even in my professional work.”
Have you taken any particularly memorable trips?
I visited 12 countries in 24 days quite a few years ago, and recently visited 9 countries in less time, including India and Japan. I’m a travel junkie. Many times, I only took the film cameras out, and it was just great. Sometimes you would see a shot you wanted to get, but you weren’t able to because of what you had, and it was good to be able to let go of that, because professionally, I can’t.
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| “Shadow Dancer; Chelsea Flea Market, NYC, 2002. Yashicamat, TriX. I was born on this street.”
Photo: Brian Ach |
How has your photography changed since you started?
“Shooting for clients all the time has definitely made me shoot less for fun. Carrying a lot of gear to a job often means no room for a fun camera, even if it is small. I just don’t want to carry another thing. So, it’s a sad but true thing that I shoot less of the ‘fun’ stuff. It does make it more special when I choose to do it, though.”
“When I started out professionally, I was concerned about creating a certain ‘look’. Something people would know is from me. I quickly started shooting like my heroes, Callahan, Mary Ellen Mark and learned from each of them. But if I could tell myself how it really works, I would say: ‘Learn and move on.’ Your style will become clear after years of shooting. Don’t get hung up on that.”
“Learn and move on. Your style will become clear after years of shooting.”
“My shooting has improved for simple reasons – experience has taught me to understand what the shot I’m seeking really is, and when to take it. I shoot fewer frames than ever because I am not searching as much. With clients, I’ve probably thought more about their shoot than they have by go time, and it makes it easier.”
You clearly have a distinct shooting method. What’s your secret?
“I think through the job or the trip multiple times, pack everything I want to take, and then take stuff out of the bag or case depending on what conclusions I come up with.”
“I teach my method, which I call ‘Content meets Context’, in workshops. I use this every time I shoot to create ‘intentional’ photographs. Content is nothing without context, especially nowadays. An example would be Prince performing at the Stade de France. A picture of him on stage performing would be great, but there is no context – nothing to indicate it is in the iconic arena. I went and shot him wide, from behind (thanks, all access) as he turned around, so you can have the context of the arena in the shot.”
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| “Prince; Stade de France, Paris 2011; This was the first show on the European Tour, the first time I had photographed him in concert.”
Canon EOS-1D X | EF 17–40mm F4L USM | F4 | 1/320 sec | ISO 2000 |
“For all photographers: shoot more, be open to criticism and learn how to self-critique. Like a musician who knows their keys and scales by rote, you need to know your cameras the same way. Practice, refine, grow and get the work out there. Happy shooting!”
Brian really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would be grateful for you to join him in discussion in the forums. You can also visit his work at brianach.com.
Thanks, Brian, for being featured!
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