Client focus
Servanne Sohier: Boat International
Servanne, a Parisian who has lived in London for ten years, is in charge of the photography for Boat International, a media group that produces high-end magazines and a website aimed at the super yacht industry.
What is your job title?
Officially I'm Assistant Editor but basically I am in charge of the photography for the UK magazine and the website, so I make sure they look good! Our main target audience are super yacht owners but also people who are interested and would like to buy a super yacht.
"It's a really nice position to be in - to make sure the whole product looks good"
What does your job involve?
Its quite a small team so there are days when I do picture research and others when I am director of photography. We're currently working on a new website called Charter Fleet, for which I have freelance picture researchers and editors working for me so for that Im more like a director of photography. It's a really nice position to be in to make sure the whole product looks good.
How did you get into doing this?
I have a degree in journalism but about 12 years ago I started writing about music. I needed pictures to go with my writing so I used one of the first digital cameras, and I realised that photography was much more my calling than anything else.
When I arrived in London I started working for a company called The Art Group and then I went on to Digital Vision. When Getty took them over I became the Senior Picture Editor at Photoshot. I stayed there for three years and then I got recruited to come here.
They were looking to up the photography a bit and they approached me. I didn't have any background in boats more stock photography, but they wanted someone with a different eye an eye for quality. So that's what I've been doing for the past five years.
"..I realised that photography was much more my calling than anything else"
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I think it's the end product. It's basically the result of all your ideas and everything that has been going on in your brain.
What are the biggest challenges of your job?
Sometimes you have to illustrate a story that seems really boring and it's a challenge to make it look good. Hopefully I succeed. At the moment I'm looking for images of the Amalfi Coast. It's just really challenging to find an image that I haven't seen before and that will appeal to super yacht owners. You have to know where they go. You have to think about how these people look at things rather than how you look at it.
Do you get to travel yourself?
I do get to go to Monaco and sometimes I get to go on super yachts. I'll help out on shoots. We do a lot of interior photography on super yachts so I get to commission photographers, which is fun.
What are the popular destinations of the moment for your audience?
The Med, the Caribbean and very remote places in Fiji and tiny Islands that you can only reach from Australia. Anything involving the sea and very remote places. Sometimes they are so inaccessible that it is very hard to find photography on them! Quite a lot of super yacht owners take their own cameras so we do get images from them too.
"I look for images that make you really want to go there"
What kind of images do you look for?
I look for very stunning and high quality images because I like to use my images very big. The magazine is really image driven. I look for travel images that make you really want to go there.
Why do you use Robert Harding?
The images I've used from them are of a very good quality and I know that they've edited them down a lot. The quality is high, the people are friendly and the service is good. I have a good business relationship with them and I can just call them.
From a personal perspective, where would you like to go in the future, in your career?
I'm in a very good position and I think there would be quite a few people in photography who would like to do my job. Maybe at some point I'd like to commission more and organise more shoots.
Servanne lives in Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, with her two flatmates and two cats. Visit Boat International's website at: http://www.boatinternational.com/
What is your job title?
Officially I'm Assistant Editor but basically I am in charge of the photography for the UK magazine and the website, so I make sure they look good! Our main target audience are super yacht owners but also people who are interested and would like to buy a super yacht.
"It's a really nice position to be in - to make sure the whole product looks good"
What does your job involve?
Its quite a small team so there are days when I do picture research and others when I am director of photography. We're currently working on a new website called Charter Fleet, for which I have freelance picture researchers and editors working for me so for that Im more like a director of photography. It's a really nice position to be in to make sure the whole product looks good.
How did you get into doing this?
I have a degree in journalism but about 12 years ago I started writing about music. I needed pictures to go with my writing so I used one of the first digital cameras, and I realised that photography was much more my calling than anything else.
When I arrived in London I started working for a company called The Art Group and then I went on to Digital Vision. When Getty took them over I became the Senior Picture Editor at Photoshot. I stayed there for three years and then I got recruited to come here.
They were looking to up the photography a bit and they approached me. I didn't have any background in boats more stock photography, but they wanted someone with a different eye an eye for quality. So that's what I've been doing for the past five years.
"..I realised that photography was much more my calling than anything else"
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I think it's the end product. It's basically the result of all your ideas and everything that has been going on in your brain.
What are the biggest challenges of your job?
Sometimes you have to illustrate a story that seems really boring and it's a challenge to make it look good. Hopefully I succeed. At the moment I'm looking for images of the Amalfi Coast. It's just really challenging to find an image that I haven't seen before and that will appeal to super yacht owners. You have to know where they go. You have to think about how these people look at things rather than how you look at it.
Do you get to travel yourself?
I do get to go to Monaco and sometimes I get to go on super yachts. I'll help out on shoots. We do a lot of interior photography on super yachts so I get to commission photographers, which is fun.
What are the popular destinations of the moment for your audience?
The Med, the Caribbean and very remote places in Fiji and tiny Islands that you can only reach from Australia. Anything involving the sea and very remote places. Sometimes they are so inaccessible that it is very hard to find photography on them! Quite a lot of super yacht owners take their own cameras so we do get images from them too.
"I look for images that make you really want to go there"
What kind of images do you look for?
I look for very stunning and high quality images because I like to use my images very big. The magazine is really image driven. I look for travel images that make you really want to go there.
Why do you use Robert Harding?
The images I've used from them are of a very good quality and I know that they've edited them down a lot. The quality is high, the people are friendly and the service is good. I have a good business relationship with them and I can just call them.
From a personal perspective, where would you like to go in the future, in your career?
I'm in a very good position and I think there would be quite a few people in photography who would like to do my job. Maybe at some point I'd like to commission more and organise more shoots.
Servanne lives in Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, with her two flatmates and two cats. Visit Boat International's website at: http://www.boatinternational.com/
