Country: Germany 🇩🇪
Bodo Gebhardt, born 1958, based in Krefeld (Germany), was always interested in photography. As a young boy he took the old analog camera of his father and began taking pictures. Even though he couldn’t name his passion somehow it was clear to him that this was the medium by which he could express himself. Since that early days he feels that strong wish to bring all the pictures and phantasies which he has in mind to life.
During his time as student at the university he shared a small atelier with a painter. Here the first small studio with some backgrounds, flash lights and analog cameras was built. And also at that time he made the decision to dedicate all his creativity and passion to celebrate the beauty and diversity of women. Even at that time Bodo Gebhardt not only took pictures of girls and women but started building small sets by which he could stage-manage his models. He was never interested in any kind of documentary. Creating certain mood and atmosphere which emphasises the diversity and fascination of female bodies is his dedication. For him it‘s all about expressing imagination and phantasy – never about showing pure reality.
After graduation business life started and for quite a long time there was no time to focus on photography. But his wife knew about his desire to take pictures. And so on the occasion of his 50th anniversary he got his first digital camera as a birthday present. Even though his job as managing director of his own consultancy company was (and still is) demanding and time consuming it became very soon obvious that photography now should be more than just a nice hobby in his life.
Having no idea of digital retouching and modern studio equipment he was looking for help. Luckily a good friend of him was a professional photographer. So he spent every free hour together with his friend who introduced him to light setting and digital retouching. As soon as Bodo Gebhardt was familiar with the basic technologies of digital photography he made a decision: He didn’t want to copy other photographers or just add some more nice pictures to the countless pictures already existing. Consequently he transformed his experiences into a personal style which is defined by special digital manipulation of the picture and – at least as important as this – by a very special and accurate light setting.
Although still being an amateur it was his goal to produce pictures of high quality and with a great recognition factor. And what we see today is the result of this exciting and challenging journey. As a perfectionist Bodo Gebhardt is planing every shooting in detail. Nothing is left to chance. Even all the accessories he uses are produced by himself.
Since some years he is presenting his pictures in many exhibitions. And also in many international competitions his pictures won a lot of recognition and were awarded by juries of leading photographers all around the globe. Of course this acknowledgement is highly appreciated. But it was never his objective to create pictures for a certain audience or market. Spirit of time was never his stimulus. From the very beginning he just wanted to follow his creative impulse.
During his time as student at the university he shared a small atelier with a painter. Here the first small studio with some backgrounds, flash lights and analog cameras was built. And also at that time he made the decision to dedicate all his creativity and passion to celebrate the beauty and diversity of women. Even at that time Bodo Gebhardt not only took pictures of girls and women but started building small sets by which he could stage-manage his models. He was never interested in any kind of documentary. Creating certain mood and atmosphere which emphasises the diversity and fascination of female bodies is his dedication. For him it‘s all about expressing imagination and phantasy – never about showing pure reality.
After graduation business life started and for quite a long time there was no time to focus on photography. But his wife knew about his desire to take pictures. And so on the occasion of his 50th anniversary he got his first digital camera as a birthday present. Even though his job as managing director of his own consultancy company was (and still is) demanding and time consuming it became very soon obvious that photography now should be more than just a nice hobby in his life.
Having no idea of digital retouching and modern studio equipment he was looking for help. Luckily a good friend of him was a professional photographer. So he spent every free hour together with his friend who introduced him to light setting and digital retouching. As soon as Bodo Gebhardt was familiar with the basic technologies of digital photography he made a decision: He didn’t want to copy other photographers or just add some more nice pictures to the countless pictures already existing. Consequently he transformed his experiences into a personal style which is defined by special digital manipulation of the picture and – at least as important as this – by a very special and accurate light setting.
Although still being an amateur it was his goal to produce pictures of high quality and with a great recognition factor. And what we see today is the result of this exciting and challenging journey. As a perfectionist Bodo Gebhardt is planing every shooting in detail. Nothing is left to chance. Even all the accessories he uses are produced by himself.
Since some years he is presenting his pictures in many exhibitions. And also in many international competitions his pictures won a lot of recognition and were awarded by juries of leading photographers all around the globe. Of course this acknowledgement is highly appreciated. But it was never his objective to create pictures for a certain audience or market. Spirit of time was never his stimulus. From the very beginning he just wanted to follow his creative impulse.