I recently went one on one with celebrity photographer Bjoern Kommerell. Bjoern has worked with many of the biggest names in the industry, including Meghan Markle, Elton John, Cindy Crawford, Danny Trejo, and Chadwick Boseman, and his work has been published in Vanity Fair, People Magazine, Maxim and other magazines.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts and advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What steps were instrumental to becoming a celebrity photographer? 

Bjoern: Photography has been a hobby of mine as a teenager. In the summer of 1996 I graduated from Business School in Düsseldorf, Germany, and right at that time I won the 1st price of a contest in the most prestigious photography magazine in Germany. And that encouraged me to pursue something more with it than just playing around with it as a hobby. So I decided to pack my bags and get a plane ticket to Hollywood. This city represented for me everything I loved. The whole world of entertainment and its players was - and still is - for me such an exciting environment to be a part of. I mean the amount of creativity I saw in movies and music videos at the time was just mind blowing for me. I was so into it. So asked any production I could possibly find, if I could do some stills on the set. For me it seemed the best way to practice and improve my knowledge and skills on a daily basis. And since I offered my service for free (I lived off the prize money from the contest), I quickly got access to super exciting music video productions with artists, such as Chaka Khan, Missy Elliott, Tears For Fears, just to name a few. Boy, did I learn a ton of stuff in such a short amount of time. And the best part was, that I got to photograph all these famous people while I was practicing my new skills. If I thought a photo turned out good, I offered it to the record label, who eventually bought it. Thus I also made my first money.

During this time working on film sets I met a lot of actors. I asked them if I could take some pictures with them for my portfolio. After a year of doing that I approached a bunch of talent agents and managers with my book in the hope that they refer some of their clients to me for headshots. And this was the next big step in my career. A year later I was booked pretty much every day. My network expanded every week. Producers, acting coaches, publicists all of a sudden would give people my name as well. And I think this was the most instrumental step in order to establish myself in Hollywood. The moment high profile reps in the entertainment industry start to trust you, because of the work you did with their clients, the snowball effect kicks in big time and you are happening.

Adam: What are the best lessons you have learned from your career in photography? What advice do you have on the topic of storytelling that is applicable to a broad audience of entrepreneurs and leaders?

Bjoern: One of my best lessons I ever received was to keep in mind, that the positive emotional experience of your client while working together is crucial: "People don't remember the things you talk about in a shoot, but they remember the way they felt in your presence." And if they loved it, they will refer others to you. Going the extra mile is another great lesson. There are moments towards the end of the job, when you know, you absolutely delivered. So you did what is necessary. But let's say you and your client have some extra time and energy, I'd ask them if they wanted to experiment a little bit with another set up for fun. And then you do what's not necessary anymore, but what is possible. And let me tell you, every time I do this, the pay off is tremendous. Creatively and emotionally. Talking about remembering how someone feels in your presence... since nothing is at stake anymore people really let go of their pressure and enjoy the process of taking photos ten times more.

Adam: What are your best tips for up and coming photographers or those interested in breaking into or advancing within the industry? 

Bjoern: Best advice for breaking in the industry is first: Know your craft! The entertainment industry is very chance giving. Meaning if some powerful manager likes you as a person and you'll get the gig simply based on this fact (yes, that is how Hollywood works a lot!), but if you don't know what you are doing and fail on the job, you have a big problem. Because word gets out fast in this business. Second: Find your style, your signature. If your work is all over the place it is really hard to break in. Find your thing that ticks you the most and become the expert for that. Once you are specialized the pitch is so much easier. For the same reason that you go to the guy who is known to be the best at shooting athletes, guess what, chances are high he'll get the job from Sports Illustrated to shoot Djokovic. You even see this on Instagram (which by the way, is as important as your website). You want to be the guy who is great in that specific field. May it be hot pix of hot models or black and white portraits of dancers in motion, there are so many options. Choose one and get good at it.

Adam: How have Instagram and social media impacted the world of photography? 

Bjoern: Instagram has catapulted the art of photography to such an amazing level that everyone who is just remotely interested in it gets to create something sort of artistic. I'd say the biggest contribution are the filters and the editing tools within the app. They allow even the most inexperienced amateur to create something interesting. And that led to this never ending cell phone exhibition. Looking for inspiration? Well, in this context Instagram is probably the most significant search engine next to Google. I use it for that all the time. Interesting is though, that I hear of influencers getting hired by ad agencies for a professional job and it turns out that they don't know how to recreate their lighting on the set. Eventually production had to bring a professional gaffer on the set to save the day. Which brings me to back to my point of know your craft. It is astonishing how much Instagram can jump start your career or boost a successful photographer even more.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Bjoern: The best leaders in my eyes are unapologetically honest. And because of that honesty they gain all the trust, which is crucial for any team. No matter what size. In terms of effectiveness I can only speak for creative productions, because that is my field of expertise. And there the leaders are called directors. The most important quality of a great director is his clear understanding of what he likes and what he doesn't like. That goes into every part of the production. The set design, the lighting, the wardrobe, the energy of the people being hired, it is a constant process of making decisions in terms of where this ship is going. So a good shot caller, who has the heart of the right spot and has a clear vision of where he/she wants to go, is the effective leader. To improve the leadership skills? Meditation. I know it sounds a bit strange. But it is my true conviction. To name all the benefits of meditation would take up way too much time here. But I am absolutely convinced that this practice will have a profound positive effect on every level. Even beyond leadership.

Adam: Who are the greatest leaders you have been around and what did you learn from them?

Bjoern: Thanks to the amazing technology we have in our days and Podcasts like yours, Adam, I can be around the most magnificent leaders in the world. Seriously, I mean it. The insight I get from this format is so powerful. The density of valuable advice I get in these 30-50 minutes is the ultimate way to access wisdom about leadership. The greatest leaders I have been around in person were not close enough for me to say: Hey man, let's sit down for an hour and you tell me all your wise thoughts on leadership in some sort of reduction. And because I could not, I am more than grateful for your work, to make it accessible for me. So, thank you for that! But these words being said, I did witness great moments of leadership in the movie business which inspired me immensely.

Adam: Who have been your favorite subjects to shoot and why?

Bjoern: People who are confident with who they are and what they look like. Since I hate the whole posing thing, it is always such a treat when someone stays completely authentic during the shoot. A lot of people change their energy and expression the second I lift up the camera. They make an effort to look a certain way, which is most of the time too contrived for me. I believe it is based in the subconscious drive to cover up the insecurities they have. And my job is it to create an atmosphere in which they feel so safe that they drop these layers and allow me to capture them without any pretense. I think this it one of the main reasons why I get hired. To do exactly that. So therefore it is always a treat for me when my subject doesn't care about all that and holds his authentic self the whole time in front of the lens.

Adam: What are some of the best celebrity stories you can share? 

Bjoern: To have to opportunity to do work with the truly incredible Chadwick Boseman was definitely something I will never forget. I wish I could tell you some crazy shit which happened during the shoot. But it was just such extraordinary experience. He was exactly like I described to you my favorite subject. So much presence and always himself. I am so sad that he left this world way to early. Another big favorite of mine is Joe Manganiello. We did our first job together way back when he was working construction. I remember him saying: " This photoshoot is my last shot at acting. I screwed things up, partied way too much and kind of blew my chances after my first success in Spiderman. So either these pictures get me in the room or I quit this whole acting thing." And, man, did they work. He started working constantly. And then...True Blood happened. And after that sky was the limit.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Bjoern: Your network is your net worth! Take good care of your relationships. Which isn't always easy. Especially in LA. People can very quickly drown in the swamp of loneliness here. It is quite fascinating how you had a whole pack around you for a while and shortly thereafter you feel like you are all by yourself. But that is a downward spiral. So make sure you always stay in touch with your contacts.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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