• What is your earliest memory of a camera?
• I don't have one specific moment that stands out, but I would have to say that my mother was the 1st person I saw with a camera. She was always taking pictures of me much to my chagrin! And you could be guaranteed that she was taking pictures of all my friends at childhood birthday parties, soccer games, Halloween etc. Her photos were pretty bad, but she loved to take pictures regardless. I can remember one time when she was confused about why her finger was in the photo, and I had to explain to her 'take your finger off the lens when shooting! Might not be funny to others, but I always had to chuckle at that.

• What was the moment that inspired you to take photography to a professional level?
• Thats a tough question, and one that has been asked of me before. Truth be told there was no 'ah hah' moment. It was more like a series of events that lead me to really trying to make it work. I started out actually trying to do film & video, but got frustrated with having to depend on people to get stuff done, so once I discovered the rich reward of shooting stills I got hooked and just started to go heavy with it. Since I am not formally schooled in photography there was a lot of trial & error. I would have to attribute my success to my starting out shooting film. It really forced me to learn the craft as best as I could. I made plenty of shitty photos early on, but when I did get it right I was really pleased with the results and it just forced me to keep working at my craft.

• You are originally from Maine. Did your passion for photography become a reason to leave home?
• Yes sir. The great state of Maine is where I was born & raised, but it wasn't photography that got me to adventure out. I was blessed to have a mother from the Basque Country and my father was from Germany, so very early on when other kids were going to Disney World, my mother & I were going to Frankfurt or Bilbao to visit my family. It was this opportunity to travel that gave me perspective and allowed me to see that the world was much bigger than the small town where I grew up. As soon as I could drive I was always in Boston buying records, going to shows, looking at graffiti etc. Once I finished high school it was a no brainer that I would need to leave Maine and see what trouble I could get into. I was blessed to have a mother who encouraged me to travel and try different things. She never tried to keep me close to home and shelter me from the world. Shit, she grew up in Spain, lived in England, and then moved to the States so she knew exactly how important it is to spread your wings.

• The theory of photography can be taught but an eye for great images is something else. Mind speaking on that?
• Ha! This is the moment that I'm supposed to get all high & mighty about my craft, and hit you with the complex answer as to why my eye is so great vs. the rest of the pack, but that's not who I am. My vision is unique, but I'm not knocking other photographers. As I said before I didn't go to school for photography, so all of my success has come from my eye & just pushing myself to get better. I see the world in pictures. That might sound silly, but even before I started to snap photos I always saw things from a visual perspective. I always loved art, always loved movies, always saw images in the world around me but just wasn't trying to capture them in that 1/500th of a sec. To be a great photographer I feel that its not only having a good eye that gets you great images, but you also have to be a people person. If the people I am working with think that I'm some corn ball they are not going to be interested in giving it their all.

• How has New York City changed your perspective on photography?
• I don't think New York has changed my perspective on photography to be honest. I think what you get from being in NY is that you are surrounded by grips of talented & untalented individuals who are all trying to get it cracking! So as a result you see how some gain great success in a relatively short amount of time, and you see others who stay struggling trying to get their big break. I like to see what others are doing so that I can try to make different photos from the rest of the shooters. I am not interested in being better than anyone else, I just want people to look at my body of work at the end the day and feel that I was documenting culture with a different & unique perspective.

• Your resume includes a slew of high profile music artists. How do you approach your work with artists that might have their own ideas on how they want to be portrayed in photos?
• Great question! This ties back into my earlier response where I was talking about the connection between the artists and myself. I have worked with some big names that are very aware of their public image and want to have a say in what you are doing. I always find that in those cases I work to get a good vibe with the person sitting for me, and focus on getting them as comfortable as possible. If I don't do this then I have already doomed the shoot. After that I keep in mind what they have suggested and make the effort to get some frames that they feel respected their vision. When they see that I am aware of their concerns & I have executed some of their thoughts that's when I start doing things outside the box. You have to remember that I am a photographer and not a shutter pusher, so I have to keep it creative and shoot the images that I think will be best. That is the reason why I’ve been hired in the first place, isn't it? My style is all my own, so if I'm not true to it then I am only hurting myself. Photography is psychology 101. 3% technical & 97% psychology. If you want to get great images then you really need to be able to get along with people, and get them to have absolute confidence in you as an artist.

• You are known for you portrait shots. What draws you to that style?
• I'm a people person. Always have been & always will be. I was that goofball in history class snapping jokes & getting into trouble. I guess if I think about it maybe it's that I grew up as a single child so I always wanted to have brothers & sisters and since I didn't have them at home, I always took advantage of hanging with friends and having good times. This eventually carried itself over to my photographic work. At the end of the day I am happy about shooting portraits! I don't care if its 50 Cent or Urvish from my bodega.

• Are there specific platforms you prefer in certain situations? You prefer film or digital?
• I don't like to get to caught up in the digital vs. film argument. They both have a special place in my heart. If budgets were better I would shoot more film because I love to take pictures with my Hasselblad. In my opinion there is nothing quite like seeing 6 X 6 cm negative! That being said the digital format has allowed me to not only learn my craft better by seeing immediate results and being able to change on the fly but it has also allowed me to shoot more without having to constantly load & unloading rolls of film. I am a huge proponent of 'quality over 'quantity' but I would be lying if I didn't say that it's not great to be able to shoot a 32gig card.

• What photographers have inspired you?
• These are just a few of the people who inspire me - Chris Buck, Bruce Davidson, Danny Clinch, Pieter Hugo, Janette Beckman, Shawn Mortensen, Platon, Annie Leibovitz, Jamel Shabazz, Sue Kwon, Boogie, Estevan Oriol, Clay Patrick McBride.

For the works of Alexander Richter please visit http://www.AlexanderRichterphoto.com/