Joakim Hertze - TAP Photographer Profile
There is a lot to say about Joakim and the first of those things is that he is a great photographer. We are consistently impressed with the quality of work we see him posting. Not only that but he is an incredible person to have as a member of our community in our Facebook group as he regularly provides help and answers questions about the profiles and photography in general.
Joakim has also built a set of Photoshop scripts called Poser Frames that give people the option to add film frames to their photos with a look like a lab scanning over the edges of the frame. Even better, it is a free download! If you have seen posts in our Facebook group with film borders, it is a safe bet that they are Poser Frames. If you haven't already checked them out, please take a moment to download them.
Here is Joakim's TAP photographer profile.
IG Tag: @hertze Website: https://www.hertze.se
Where are you based?
I’m based in Skåne, in southern Sweden.
What camera gear do you use?
I use a Fujifilm GFX50R and a Fujifilm X-T2, both with Voigtländer lenses. I also have a Fujifilm X-100V, which I use as a simple point-and-shoot.
How long have you been shooting?
I've been shooting on and off since my teenage years, but I've taken it more seriously over the past decade or so.
What inspired you to shoot professionally?
Most of what I shoot is personal work, but I try to take on a few paid gigs a year to help offset the costs of photography. In my other job, I often meet people on the worst days of their lives. Shooting weddings and families allows me to spend time with people on their best days instead.
What is your favorite place to photograph?
Outdoors—almost anywhere where land meets the sea.
What place would you love to shoot but haven’t had the chance yet?
There are so many places, but one I constantly dream of is the island of Capri, off the Italian coast.
What do you look for in a session? (Light, location, interaction, etc.)
I search for light that takes my breath away. I find such serenity in perfect light, and I do my best to capture that feeling in my photos.
What is your archetype and why? (Which profile is your go-to?)
Portra 400+0 Noritsu is my go-to. The golden skin tones, greenish undertones, and contrast are just perfect for me. I use HP5 a lot for black and white.
What are some of your editing techniques or tips and tricks?
I use Lightroom for almost everything and keep it simple, mostly relying on basic panel adjustments (white balance, tint, exposure, highlights, shadows, and blacks). I use curves (specifically curve presets from Dustin’s TAP toolkit) to control contrast. I’ve created a few different presets from each profile, with varying contrast curve strengths.
Nowadays, I rely heavily on AI-generated masks for evening out exposure on the main subject and skies or backgrounds, as well as for correcting differences in skin tone between the face and body.
As a finishing touch, I add a bit of halation and film grain.
I also use the excellent Power Keys (https://www.getpowerkeys.com/) to speed up my editing process.
What are some of your biggest challenges in running your business?
Honestly, putting myself out there and finding clients who are willing to pay for my work.
I find a lot of inspiration in my growing library of photo books. I love the work of Swedish photographer Walter Hirsch and German photographer Peter Lindbergh. I also currently have a crush on Rodney Smith, though his method was so much different from my own. I admire most of the photographers featured on Counterpart Photos (https://www.counterpartphotos.com/) as well.
Like many, I also draw inspiration from motion pictures. I still find a lot of great photography on Flickr, though there’s plenty of crap to sift through.
Describe your “Aha” moment in photography.
In a podcast, wedding photographer John Dolan said you’re either a collector or a director, meaning you either have the ability to visualize what you want to capture and bend the world to make that happen, or you see things only as events unfold. I belong to the latter group, and I wish I hadn’t spent so much time trying to be the former.
What are some mistakes that helped you grow as a photographer?
One that comes to mind is the time I showed up at a wedding in a dark Scandinavian church on an overcast day with nothing but two analog cameras. I had to push my poor 35mm HP5 three stops just to shoot at 1/15th of a second. That’s when I decided I couldn’t handle the anxiety of being a film purist and bought a digital camera shortly thereafter. This eventually led me to discovering TAP.
What inspires you to stay creative?
I don’t think I rely much on inspiration to stay creative—it’s more of a built-in need, a counterbalance to the cerebral, problem-solving nature of my day job. It doesn’t always manifest as photography, though. Sometimes it’s coding, website design, or something similar.
What goals do you hope to achieve this year?
I’d like to pick up a few more weddings this year to see if I can do it—and if I enjoy it.
Is there anything you’d like to share about the creative process or editing that you think would be helpful?
My editing nemesis is the neurological effect of habituation, where my eyes get used to anything after a while, and I start to drift off in my colors. To combat this, I keep a set of images in a PDF that I use as a reference for skin tone, general warmth, and contrast. I can’t recommend something like this highly enough! Taking frequent pauses also helps a lot. I used to use anchor images as well but have been slipping lately.
What is something you wish you had learned from another photographer early in your career?
Spend as much time developing your taste as you do on your technical skills—maybe even more. Then, let that taste be your compass in every creative decision.
