When he’s not sailing off the coast of Australia, Andreas Smetana – who was named “Advertising Photographer of the Year” in 2006 and 2007 by AdNews and Capture magazines – is in his studio planning projects and solving problems. Having shot for high-powered clients such as Adidas, IBM, and Pepsi, Smetana thrives on the mental grunt-work of carefully planning each stage of a shoot before he executes it. “That’s what I like about my job–it’s made out of thousands of little decisions” he says, “when I work on a job I like to think through the process and then re-think it to find a way of shooting it in a different direction from my first thought.” Eschewing any specific style, Smetana’s daring attitude and willingness to think ahead has enabled him to generate a diverse profile of powerful, striking, imagery.
