Sarah Köster, a Master's student in Photographic Studies at Fachhochschule Dortmund, has caused a stir with an unusual fashion shoot. While she sits in front of her laptop at home in Witten and triggers the camera at the touch of a button, her model is a good 6000 kilometers away in the former US capital of Philadelphia. Sarah Köster's pictures have now been published in the business magazine Business Punk.
A lockdown can push creative boundaries. As Sarah Köster is unable to visit her cousin Andreas Copes in the USA, the photography student at Fachhochschule Dortmund is embarking on an unusual project during the lockdown: photography from a great distance. Normally, she stands directly in front of her models with her camera. Now there are thousands of kilometers in between. "I explored the area beforehand with Google Street View, took screenshots and looked for special corners," says the student.
Remote access to the phone
In a seminar with Julian Faulhaber at Fachhochschule Dortmund, she develops the concept further. She lets her cousin Andreas show her around his new home in Philadelphia (USA) using the video calling app FaceTime. "His cell phone shows me what he sees," reports Sarah Köster. He rotates around the places he has previously explored via Street View to get the perfect 360-degree view.
The actual shots are taken by remote control. The smartphone leans against a lamppost or a bench, Andreas receives instructions from Germany via headphones. A little to the left. To the front. Stay like this. Click. Sarah Köster presses the shutter button. "Of course I need access to Andy's phone for that," says the student. The result is artistic pictures with special perspectives. Snapshots that show closeness instead of distance. Combined with the screenshots, photographer Sarah Köster tells the story of her cousin in Philadelphia - without ever having visited the city.
Order from "Business Punk
The business magazine Business Punk(Opens in a new tab) becomes aware of the student's photos and plans a fashion shoot with her - again at a distance: Sarah Köster in Witten, her cousin in Philadelphia. The selected garments are sent by post to the USA. Together with the magazine, they develop the looks for the shoot. "It's great that I was able to realize these shots with the background of my personal story," says Sarah Köster.
Is this the future of photography? It's an addition, says the student. After all, regardless of the pandemic, there may be situations in which the photographer and model cannot meet in person. "In any case, working at a distance has worked surprisingly well," says Sarah Köster.