Z Academy: Photography Beyond Borders with Tom Epperson

Photography Beyond Borders With Tom Epperson

by Tony Rivera

If a Z Academy talk can inspire you to get off a creative slump, dust off your camera and take a walk then it must have been one hell of a talk. And that my friends is the Tom Epperson talk effect. It was simply that good. Article done. Now go out and shoot!

If you’re still reading this, or perhaps, you just got back from your shoot, allow me to elaborate what I liked about the talk. But first, let’s introduce our speaker last August 25, 2022. Tom Epperson hails from Cleveland, OH and started photography at an early age. He started his career as a cameraman for Hanna-Barbera. He first visited the Philippines in 1985 and by 1990 decided to live here since.

Tom’s talk was not your usual talk. He started by letting his audience read through half a dozen slides and then quickly went on to share how the principles in those slides were put into practice. He went into great detail about how each of his cornerstone principles were applied in every photo.

Simplicity – you can definitely catch this concept depicted in the portraits that Tom shared with the audience. He removes all that isn’t part of his subject and only leaves their essence in the frame. Keeping the background simple, lighting to a minimum helps lead our eyes to what’s truly essential – guiding our gaze back to the person baring their humanity in front of us; a cancer survivor with the rosary that gave her the strength to persevere or the stoic resolve of a boxer in his prime.

Intent – Tom in more ways than one stressed the difference between firing a thousand frames in the hopes of getting a few keepers to one that is rooted on the photographer’s intent. That’s why he suggests exercises like shooting only 36 frames or other handicap like a fixed focal length to help hone our skills in this area. Think with the outcome in mind; what about your subject would best reflect their inner self. During the breaks he would continue to observe his subject and then ask them to repeat a particular activity; like fixing their eye glasses, their tie or even putting a clock in front of their face.

The purpose of photography, Tom shared, was to communicate. It is a form of expression that the photographer uses to convey a concept, feeling or thought to elicit some form of response. It compels you to respond; whether you like it, inspired by it, amused or repulsed by what you see. The photographer’s will to communicate is conveyed. This is most notably shown in his work with Francis Magalona’s back or even Manny Pacquiao’s Nike ad kneeling by his corner. These images definitely touch us in one way or another and it sticks with us.

The entire talk lasted for almost 2 hours and a part of me wished we could have spent more time with Tom. To better understand his thought process and how he’s able to get out of his shell to ask strangers to come to his studio for a portrait. How he’s able to come up with ideas on the fly as he engages with them. He rarely directs people to pose or use complicated lighting setups and yet he’s able to come up with masterful works of art. Thank you for the talk Tom and more importantly, thank you for the inspiration.