This week we sat down with Kiko Ricote, a renowned Commercial Photographer based in Miami, with their studios in Miami . Kiko has made commercial work for such brands as Corona, American Airlines, ATT, Cocacola, Ritz Carlton, etc.
How do you define yourself as a Photographer?
I am a Commercial Photographer and with this I mean that is irrelevant for me what I shoot, my goal is to sell. I can very comfortably do fashion, architecture, children, people, products, etc. What I am looking for is that the picture appeals and that the subject on the photo looks good, with no distractions, it should be the first thing that catches your eye, always looking for angles, lights or something, so that when people see the photograph it will catch their attention. In summary, always trying to sell.
Was it that way ever? When did you first pickup a camera?
No, I started out working as a model, one day I bought a camera for fun, never thinking in becoming a photographer. I didn't realize at that moment that the years I have been in front of the camera and the numerous hours I have spent looking at photography books, magazines,etc. in different studios while I was in between shots, have taught me so much about photography. Then I took some pictures of a model and the model agency I used to work for in Munich liked them. They started sending me models to make tests of them for their composites. After the third model I started charging, that was 30 years ago.
What made you move to South Florida? What makes it special for the photography business in general?
I am Latino, and I love to live in a Latin city with the rules of the first world. Work is good here, since you keep getting jobs from many cities in Latin America. Besides that, the light, the weather, locations and the variety of models available at hand make for an ideal place.
You do a lot of architectural photography, What is Kiko's "Secret Sauce"? Can you tell us about your lighting style?
I love to mix lights, natural with the ones I place, without being evident. That gives photographs a special taste that resembles reality. If you do something real, natural, photographs are always pleasing.
Kiko is a diminutive of Francisco, But You are called "Quicko" by some. Can you tell us about that?
Well, after so many years doing photography, there is nothing I haven't done or tried -several times-. So, "Where I set my sight I place the bullet". I am very quick, sometimes too quick, which makes things seem easy. If you know what you are doing, illuminating and composing are made in minutes. Because of that, people started to say how quick I was and Quick and Kiko, they started calling me Quicko.
With ubiquitous access to digital cameras and editing software, where do you see professional photography going?
Honestly, I don't think it is going to change a whole lot in the next few years. Digital Photography is quite developed already. What I am seeing more and more is a merging of full-motion video with still photography. Cameras such as the Canon 5D Mark II do amazing HD video. I see video very much related to photography, covering movement between one initial shot and a final one. What you have to know is how to start and how to finish and then light up the transition.
Kiko has 30 years of experience in photography, the last 14 of those based in Miami. His company, Kikor, Inc. owns a full-fledged production and post-production studio with all the necessary equipment to realize any shot. Kiko also travels extensively throughout Latin America and the US for his clients.
You can check Kiko's work at http://www.kikor.com
Huba Rostonics is a Florida-based Photographer. He is constantly looking for new things to put a frame around. You can check his work at http://www.rostonics.com, you can also follow Huba on twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/rostonics.
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