Jakarta. In one lightly saturated photograph, a group of male and female models, wearing clothes from the newest designer collections, are sitting on the floor, their shoulders touch each other with hands resting on their laps. Their gazes are straight but not fixed at the lens, giving clues that they might be watching something amusing or serious, depending on whose face expression you are looking at.
Meanwhile, another picture shows a female model sipping iced coffee behind a cafe counter. It could be an everyday scene, if it was not for the blue sculptural dress that she wears, making her look out of place — extraterrestrial even.
Fashion photography is commonly known to blend highly imaginative concepts and designer clothes, and this is exactly what makes Hilarius Jason Pratana, the young photographer behind the two aforementioned images, tick.
“I really love fashion photography because it is about imagining the concept, the clothes that we don’t see every day, and makeup that we don’t use everyday as well,” says Jason. “I think it’s a bit more surreal, which makes it exciting.”
Despite being in his early twenties, Jason is gaining popularity in the fashion community in Jakarta, especially among young designers and editors who want to shift from super-glamorous imagery that is becoming passé.
His photographs are known for their moody and understated vibe, capturing models in various locales, from a nondescript rundown building to the beach.
“I don’t use much lighting. If there is natural light from a window, I will use it,” he says.
Jason explains that he is into fashion photography in part because he likes to talk.
“I get to meet new people at the set. I get to work with models. For me, it’s quite easy to shoot something that I can talk to and direct, unlike inanimate objects. Apparently, that is what I like,” he says.
So far, his work has appeared in various Indonesian fashion magazines, both for women and men, such as CLARA and Men’s Folio, to name a few. He also does commercial projects for local fashion brands, the most recent being the spring-summer 2015 campaign for a Bali-based label called Olenka.
“But sometimes I also do interior photography projects,” he explains, citing AlvinT, an interior design line by Alvin Tjitrowirjo, as one of his clients. “My work is all about mood, and it doesn’t scream fashion, so non-fashion brands also want to work with me as well.”
A natural talent
Jason picked up a camera for the first time when he was still in middle school. He had chosen photography as his extracurricular activity and his work was instantly praised.
“I got good reviews and even started selling my work even though it was only at school,” he reminisces.
Despite early success, his parents would not let him major in photography in university and asked him to take accounting instead.
“At first, I was okay with it, but I rebelled a bit and decided to take graphic design at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.”
During one summer holiday in Jakarta, Jason interned with established fashion photographer Hakim Satriyo, who helped him refine his craft. Not long after, he started doing freelance projects.
He admits to being addicted to working, eventually leaving school and actively pursuing his photography career in late 2012.
“I tried really hard to prove to my parents that this work is good,” he says.
For Jason, the creative process behind doing fashion photography is the most fun part.
“A magazine usually has their own theme every month, and together with the stylist, we would develop concept and find references to put on a mood board. We also select models and decide how they should pose. The hardest part is keeping everyone in the schedule,” he laughs.
One of his most memorable photo shoots, he recalls, took place in Bali.
“This men’s magazines wanted the models to be exclusive — not from an agency — so we had to scout for three models on the beach. Surprisingly, everyone we asked was willing to pose,” Jason recounts.
Asked about the differences between shooting for women’s and men’s magazine, Jason says that he takes both in a similar direction, although the way he directs the models is usually different.
“Men’s magazines usually want to portray the model’s lifestyle. And menswear is harder for me to photograph, because there is a limit in terms of exploration. But at the same time, it’s relatable because I’m a guy,” says Jason, who considers Yohji Yamamoto and Christophe Lemaire as his favorite designers.
Human connection
Using the Canon EOS 5D Mark II as his trusty camera, Jason is often inspired by old paintings and pictures, “such as old mugshots from the 1930s. All of them depict human,” he says, adding that he looks up to photographers like Paolo Roversi and Bharat Sikka, a fine art photographer from India.
Jason also travels from time to time, most recently to places like Nepal and Shirakawa-go, a mountainous village in Japan.
“I do get inspired by [my] travels, mostly because of the people I encounter ̶ particularly in rural places, for example. I’m not a nature guy; I don’t really get inspired by seeing nature and stuff,” he says.
With even more photography projects on the horizon, Jason thinks that the biggest challenge for fashion photographers in Indonesia is resources.
“The locations we use here are a bit stagnant, and due to budget limitations, we cannot easily travel anywhere,” he explains. “The last challenge is definitely the fashion [industry] itself. It is still growing and we don’t have all the clothes here, so sometimes I feel bad for the stylists because they have to work only with what we have.”
Then again, he believes fashion photography has been taken more seriously in Indonesia lately.
“It’s still far from perfection, but we are getting there,” he says.
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