A PORTRAIT PEOPLE REMEMBER - The story behind „You are the World“ and why less is often more
One frame. Ten minutes. No plan for an award. Sometimes the photographs that stay with us are not the ones we planned. Sometimes they simply happen.
01 – It was never supposed to win anything
The photograph You Are The World was never created as an award-winning photograph. There was no big production. No elaborate concept. No carefully planned location. No hours of preparation. The model happened to be in Vienna. We had about ten minutes. She got off at a subway station, we met, and there was just enough time to make a few photographs before she had to leave again. A few frames. Then she was gone. That was it.
The intention was actually very simple.She wanted a strong portrait for her model portfolio — something that would make a potential client look at her and think: „Wow. I want to book this model. Nothing more.“
02 – The frame that nailed it
I remember looking at the photograph afterwards and thinking: „This is a great shot. I liked it“. It had something. The face was strong. The freckles were there. The black and white worked. But I wasn’t thinking: „This is going to win an international award.“
I wasn’t even thinking about awards at all. Later, I saw the opportunity to enter a competition. I thought: Why not? I could submit several images. And I chose this one because I thought: If they understand this photograph, they understand my work. That was really the reason. I didn’t know where it would go.
03 – Less is often more
Photography competitions can sometimes make us believe that a photograph needs to be complicated to be remarkable. Big productions. Perfect locations. Complex lighting. Elaborate concepts. And sometimes all of those things are exactly right. But this photograph had almost none of them.It was simple. A face. Black and white. Freckles. Light. A moment. And somehow, that was enough. The photograph didn’t need to explain itself. „It simply spoke for itself“.
04 – We wanted to capture her
Looking back, I think the most important thing was that we weren’t trying to create a photograph that looked impressive. We wanted a photograph that looked like her. Her face. Her presence. Her quietness. Something that represented her as honestly as possible. There was no time to overthink it. No time to manufacture a performance. We met. We photographed. And she left. Maybe that’s part of why the photograph feels the way it does. There wasn’t much between the person and the camera.
05 – And then everything changed
I submitted the photograph. And then I carried on. Until suddenly, things started happening. Fast. Very fast. I remember my parents calling me. „I spotted you in the media this morning?“ At first, I didn’t really understand what they were talking about. The photograph had started becoming public. Media picked it up. People were talking about it. And somehow, it felt like everyone knew what was happening before I did. My inbox started filling up with emails. Then more. And more. The shot had gone viral almost overnight. That was probably the strangest part. I had simply made a photograph. And suddenly, the world seemed to be looking at it.
06 – Why did people stop?
I think it was because the photograph was unexpected. You see a simple black-and-white portrait. A strong face. Freckles. Nothing particularly complicated. And yet you stop. You look again.
Who is she? Who made this photograph? Why does this image feel so strong? Maybe that’s what a memorable portrait does. It doesn’t necessarily give you an answer. It makes you want to look a little longer.
07- The award wasn’t the point
When the photograph was recognised by the Sony World Photography Awards, that was obviously something special. The Awards are an internationally recognised platform for photography, with winning and shortlisted work receiving significant global exposure. But for me, the award wasn’t really the most important part. It was something else. It was confirmation. I’ve spent years working, experimenting, failing, learning and trying again. And suddenly there was this moment where someone else was essentially saying: Keep going. What you’re doing is working.Trust your eye. Trust your way of working.Stay true to yourself. That felt like a little pat on the shoulder. A reminder that you don’t always need everyone else to believe in what you’re doing. Sometimes you have to believe first.
08 – The photograph didn’t need more
That’s probably the biggest lesson I take from You Are The World. It didn’t need more equipment. It didn’t need more time. It didn’t need a bigger production. It didn’t need more people standing around the set. It didn’t need a complicated concept. It needed a person. A moment. Light. And someone who was paying attention. Less is often more. Not because less is automatically better. But because sometimes adding more only gets in the way of what is already there.
09 – The portrait people remember
I’ve photographed many portraits over the years. And I’ve learned that technical perfection isn’t necessarily what makes a photograph memorable. People remember a feeling. A face. A moment. Something they recognise. Something that makes them stop. Sometimes they remember the photograph because it reminds them of who they were. Sometimes because it shows them something they didn’t see in themselves before. And sometimes they simply look at it and think: „Wow. that’s enough.“
10 – You never know which photograph will change everything
If someone had told me that morning that three photographs in a subway station in Vienna would eventually create a worldwide reaction, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. Because that’s not how photography usually works. You can’t always predict which photograph will matter. You can only make the best photograph you can in the moment. Look carefully. Pay attention. Be present. And when something feels right — press the shutter.
11- Create
This is what CREATE means to me. Not creating something complicated. Not creating something perfect. But recognising a moment when it appears. Sometimes you have ten minutes. Sometimes you have three frames. Sometimes you have no idea what is going to happen next. And sometimes, completely unexpectedly, you create something people remember.
12- Maybe that’s the real lesson
You Are The World wasn’t created to win an award. It was created to make one strong portrait of one person. That’s all. And maybe that’s exactly why it worked. Because we weren’t trying to make something that everyone would like. We were trying to make something that felt true. And sometimes, the photograph that speaks most loudly
is the one you didn’t have to say much about.
SEE LIGHT. DIRECT PEOPLE. CREATE.
And then let the photograph speak for itself.
