Martin - Grand Visions
Our first man in the Power People group and we are very happy. Martin had one or two NINA REIN items with him during a great shoot in Tenerife. It was clear that we had to interview the person behind these great pictures!
What does Grand Vision stand for and how do you implement it in your products?
In photography and all other creative professions, everything always starts with an idea or a vision. We set out to make all of our customers' photographic visions come true. This includes the smaller ideas, of course, but also the really big ones - the GRAND VISIONS. We have already realized some crazy projects. Among other things, we once sent a camera to the edge of the stratosphere at an altitude of 33,000 meters using a weather balloon.
What tasks are involved in taking photographs until the finished image is produced?
We often take over the entire production for our customers. This means that we take care of the entire planning, from location scouting and procuring props (we even included a camel), to the actual shooting. During the shootings, we always work as a team with assistants, make-up artists and stylists. We often film in parallel or at different times in order to get the most out of a production day for our customers. At the end of last year, we founded our own model agency (GRAND MODELS). This means we can actually provide our customers with everything from a single source, except for the catering - but that may come later ;)
You have been self-employed for over 15 years, what has been your biggest challenge?
That's not an easy question to answer. Self-employment is a constant challenge, there are always highs and lows. As an entrepreneur, it's always important to keep that in mind. On the one hand, so you don't get carried away on the highs, and on the other, so you don't lose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel when things are going down.
What advice would you like to give to founders?
It is important to know your own value and not to sell yourself short. There will always be someone who will do it "cheaper". They should do it, because you don't really want customers who only have the price in mind. Perhaps an even more important piece of advice would be to keep fixed costs as low as possible and not always make investments based on gut feeling. Spending money is easy; earning money consistently is relatively difficult, especially at the beginning.
What role does sustainability play in your professional and private life?
I grew up on a horse farm in the forest, in a very idyllic place with only six houses, a small stream and a few fish ponds. I love nature and am of course very concerned about the developments of the last few decades and am rather pessimistic about the future in terms of the environment. We have also thought about how we can become more sustainable in the office and studio. We work purely digitally, so we don't use any chemicals or other consumables and we use green electricity. We have gotten rid of the company car and use public transport and car sharing. So we are doing quite well here. In our private life it is not quite so easy with four children, but of course it is also a constant topic at home: "Turn off the lights, turn down the heating and don't leave the tap running all the time". But I think that the younger generations in particular are much more concerned with the topic than our parents. Hopefully they will develop the future technologies for us that will ensure that humanity can live on this great planet for many more years to come. This requires GRAND VISIONS again, this brings us full circle and I thank you for this interview.
