Still Images in Great Advertising- Pino Gomes

Still Images In Great Advertising, is a column where Suzanne Sease discovers great advertising images and then speaks with the photographers about it.

Imagine working on a campaign that takes you around the World, promotes your work in gallery showings and wants to print a book for your work, that is the campaign that Pino Gomes is working on.  Pino has been working on the Gc luxury watch campaign for two years now and project keeps going.



Suzanne:  How did this project come about for you?  How were you chosen?

PINO: I had worked with Cindy Livingstone (CEO of GUESS and GC Watches) once in Switzerland. She gave an interview for Open Magazine and the editor asked me to shoot a portrait to accompany the article. She liked the images I had shot of her so when the SMART LUXURY MOMENTS project started to take a shape, she suggested my name to the creative team and to Paul Marciano, Founder and iconic art director of GUESS and GC. First I was chosen to shoot only in Switzerland representing the country on the International project, but the imagery motivated Mr. Marciano and Ms. Livingstone to hire me for the entire International tour.

Suzanne: How are the subject chosen and their profession?

PINO: We are seeking people who love what they do and have recognition in their fields. The rising stars become an ambassador of GC Smart Luxury Watches and promote their work while becoming a part of a remarkable marketing concept. Normally the distributors all over the world suggest some of their national personalities to our team and we decide the ones that seem to be more appropriate to the brand and to the concept. Decisions are always a team effort and are apart of my vision, which is a very important step on the process.

Suzanne: Do you have a lot of freedom when you go to photograph the talent and their professions?  Is the art director on set with you?

PINO: The best part of my work right now is that I have the freedom to photograph people according to a visual language that I created myself. Nevertheless I have the overview of Paul Marciano and the talents of our creative team on everything, but I know that they trust me. The art director is not on set but they would see everything shot afterwards and give me their feedback.

Suzanne:  What cities has this campaign been presented? And besides the gallery shows and upcoming book, where else are they showing your work?

PINO: So far we have shot in Basel, Jeddah, Dubai, New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Istanbul, Moscow, Tokyo, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Seoul, Panama City, Barcelona, Casablanca, Tel Aviv and Bali. And at the moment I am leaving next week to London, Milan and Cairo amongst other places in the future.
The imagery expresses the emotional signature of the brand and it will be used for art shows, coffee table book and later on to advertising.

Suzanne:  The work on your website is very different than the work for Gc, how did you convince them to hire you?  Did you do a test?

PINO: As I said before, although the work on my homepage was different than what I am doing now for GC Smart Luxury, I believe they hired about me because of a variety of reasons. I like to think that part of this decision was based on the imagery itself; the images I have made in Switzerland were decisive while on the exhibition at Baselworld 2011. I have heard from Paul Marciano and Cindy Livingstone that they would like to send me around the world instead of selecting in each country a different photographer. Taking this direction they would create a stronger visual signature for the brand. And I guess that I also represent what the project mainly is about, love for what I do.

Note: Content for Still Images In Great Advertising is found. Submissions are not accepted.

Pino Gomes draws inspiration from his experiences as actor and make-up artist for his fashion photographs and portraits.  Originally from Rio de Janeiro, he studied acting and marketing and developed his skills as make-up artist, in a few years collaborating at the biggest television company in Brazil. He lived part of his adulthood in Zurich, Switzerland, and is currently based in New York City, Pino Gomes is an upcoming talent in the photography field. He worked for brands such as VOGUE, Playboy, Rolling Stones, GQ, GC Watches, GUESS, CK FREE, Lush Magazine amongst others.

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s, after founding the art buying department at The Martin Agency then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies.