Mario Testino
Mario Testino
Mario Testino OBEis a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. His work has featured internationally in magazines such as Vogue, V Magazine, Vanity Fair and GQ. He has also created images for brands such as Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Michael Kors, Chanel, Estée Lauder and Lancôme...
NationalityPeruvian
ProfessionPhotographer
Date of Birth30 October 1954
CityLima, Peru
CountryPeru
beginning boy british cecil grandeur looked norman peru represent seemed society suddenly vanished wonderful work
At the beginning of my career, as a boy from Peru in London, suddenly discovering British culture and society, I looked so much at the work of the photographers Cecil Beaton and Norman Parkinson, which seemed to represent a wonderful vanished grandeur of my new country.
art cold color eye fine history light react training weather works
I have no real training in the history of fine art or furniture; my eye just works by proportions. I react intuitively. In London, it's all about color because the weather is so gray, and in that cold light they look beautiful.
range wider worked
Ultimately, I made my range wider because I wanted to suit each publication that I worked for. Talk about reinvention - I'm like the Madonna of photography.
people work
When you're nice, people like you and will want to work with you. But it can mean that they take you for granted.
people
You have to be you. You can't be anybody else. If you speak loudly, and people tell you to speak quietly, you can do it for a little bit, but loud people are loud, and people who are not, are not.
aware best camera family members needs royal
Even someone as photographed and aware of the camera as members of the royal family needs to feel completely comfortable if they are to look their best.
bring capture order photograph somebody trying women
I am trying to capture the women I photograph at their happiest. That is when they look their most beautiful. But I do understand that you have to make somebody feel completely comfortable in order to bring that out.
aware connection country history loses precious travels truly
I have become aware on my travels that when a country loses the connection between its history and its traditional dress, something truly precious is lost.
along beautiful brought catherine caused cd contrast decided french history informal music played playing prince relax rooms
When I had photographed Prince William's mother, I brought along a CD of Dalida, a French singer, that we played on set all day to relax everyone. I decided to do the same thing for Catherine and William. The contrast of the contemporary informal music playing in the beautiful rooms with so much history caused a lot of laughter.
absolutes believe business good lesson next stuck
There are never any absolutes in the fashion business: one day you may like black, and the next day you like colour. I think it's a good lesson that we should never believe too much in any one thing - because the next day it's out, and if we're stuck to it, we're out, too.
art client covered funny house maybe talk
Some of my friends say that I only talk about myself. But it is funny: my house is covered in art but with nothing of my own, and when I'm working, I'm only thinking about what the client wants. So I don't see it that way, but maybe it's true. I mean, they are my friends.
decided diana interested original photograph picture rather royal
My original idea was to photograph Princess Diana in her tiara. But then I thought, am I interested in seeing another picture of her as a royal person, or would I rather see what she is actually about? And that's why I decided to do her without jewels, without shoes, without trimmings.
asked entire famous happened life photograph princess pushed
I find that my entire life has come to me, and things happened without me planning them. You know, I never asked to photograph Princess Diana, and that made me more famous than I wanted. I never asked to photograph Madonna, and that pushed me to another level. There are things that just take you into the limelight.
adore
I adore being able to go to the Oscars and know every single person at the party afterwards.