#03 Masanobu Ando / Photographer Actor

I aspired to become a photographer when I was only 20 or 21 years old. I became interested in photography after I appeared in ``Kids Return (1996)'' and had the experience of being photographed by a professional. Then, after finishing an interview one time, the cameraman invited me to see Cindy Sherman's photo exhibition, and we went together. That was a turning point.

The style of Cindy Sherman's work that I saw at that time was to carefully decide on the situation and take self-portraits. I feel that the act of acting and filming myself is very linked to my feelings at the time. I also learned self-portraits at various places, including a factory in my hometown of Kawasaki, and took pictures. I had Takeshi (Kitano) see it at a film festival, and I remember him saying, ``Anyone can press the shutter, but you have to think about the timing and how important it is to press the shutter.''

Because of my job, I have many opportunities to meet various photographers, so I listened to them talk about lighting and other things, but there was no one who really taught me anything, and the only person who really cared for me was Taji (Kazunari Tajima). He taught me not only about writing but also about the importance of finishing and other non-technical things. Among the many layers of advertising photos that Tazzy had taken, for example, this area was sunken, so I thought about how to add light. That's why I feel like he's the only person who still listens to what I have to say. I was invited to various sites and introduced to many people. I'm extremely grateful.

I'm grateful for him, but he's a very strict person, a very methodical person, and he's not trivial. That's why I'm the most nervous about Taji seeing my photos, so I didn't talk to her when I exhibited at Bookmark the other day. But on the opening day, this guy walked right in front of me, and I was like, oh, that's it. As expected, he looked at me very carefully and complimented me, saying, ``It's a beautiful shot.'' I really cherished the opportunity to photograph Marc Jacobs' first ("Gloomy Paradise for MARC JACOBS" / 2022) and second ("MARC JACOBS THE FUTURE FLORAL" / 2024) photo exhibitions, and I'm very satisfied with them. Also, this year, I was working for Laforet, and I was really happy to see my photo displayed in a large format and being disseminated like a campaign.

When you're the subject, it's best to have someone who can take only a few shots and release the shutter. But if I were to take pictures, I would want to take them forever, so I guess my ideal photographer's stance differs depending on my position. I basically only photograph the people I want to photograph, so I'm already very interested in them. However, when it comes to commercials and advertisements, it's almost impossible for me to shoot something other than this, so I have to somehow reconcile it with reality. I think it's amazing to have the ability to absorb 100% of the client and give them 100% in return.

I'm not too particular about equipment, but I don't want to drop the lens below 50mm. I also don't like distorted photos. I don't even use zoom lenses, I just use single focus all the time. When shooting a live performance with 50mm, you have to get very close to them, but there are times when you're on stage together to take pictures. After all, it feels like I'm taking pictures from a distance with people.

I've been into film ever since I was in my 20s, so I don't really have a particular preference for film. I was always doing things like developing the images and going to my friend's house to print them. But now there aren't many types of negatives, and developing is expensive, so I think digital is fine for now. Sometimes I feel like the focus is too sharp, but when I feel that way, I blur out the outline and retouch to finish it off.

Lately I've been filming live shows, but I never thought of doing that before. When I went to BAD HOP and JJJ's concerts, I felt a lot of energy, and seeing the positive reactions and emotions of the audience, I wanted to capture something, and that's when I got really into it. After that, I started connecting with various artists, and they started inviting me to live shows, and I started having them take pictures of me. Live feels really good. Every day has a story. Shooting a fashion show is similar in some ways, but you create it from nothing, the artists come, you rehearse, and then you go from being nervous before the show to performing, and then the tension is released at the after party. It's really interesting to follow those changes throughout the day. After all, I want to capture emotions. I feel like I want to turn my emotions into a story because I've always read scripts and acted. I want to keep shooting music, because it feels really good and I think it's wonderful.

Right now, I feel like I want to work more as a photographer than as an actor. About 100%. I love photography so much that even when I'm taking photos, I wish I could keep taking them forever. I'm hungry to take pictures. But I think all professionals feel that way.