‘The Certain Boy’ by the photography duo Jacob and Carrol is reminiscent of US American painter Walt Kuhn’s work and his preferred subject: portraits of clowns. In this case, a commedia dell’arte interpretation with Daan Van der Deen.

Jacob and Carrol, you are a photography duo; how did you get together and how did you get into photography?
JS: Getting into photography happened by chance.  As a teenager, I met a photographer who introduced me to the field through an artistic point of view. Learning the technical aspects came much later. This explains why, to me, photography represents an emotion.

CC: I was a fashion designer before I embarked on this project with Jacob several years ago.
After many conversations, we began to discover the commonality of our ideas on many levels. Taking photos became a way to materialize our thoughts while maintaining our individuality, which was important for both of us. The transition felt very natural.

What tasks do you each of you take on during a photo shoot? Do you each have particular specialities?
There really aren’t boundaries as to how we divide up the tasks doing a shoot.  We are integrated in every detail of the process, from concept to post production.
Nonetheless, the work of a photographer is always a solo job.  As a duo, our outlook is much more expansive, which gives us more possibilities to find a balance and variety of angles.  We are very different and that is the force and substance that we like to have in our work.  

Your New York studio is in Soho. It’s quite the perfect location for a fashion studio, isn’t it?
Yes, it is indeed a great location.  SoHo is a legendary neighborhood in NYC where many artists have lived and worked.  Nowadays, however, things are quite different.  You could say that any location in NYC at the moment would be perfect for an artist to have a studio.  

What fashion photography trends are there in NYC that are different to elsewhere?
NYC has always had a rebellious character and is continuously pursuing its own vision.  It refuses to see the world through a window.
We have the impression that many other places seek to do things as they are done in other places.  Not so in NYC.

Do you work predominantly in New York?
Mostly, yes.

You shot ‘The Certain Boy’ for the S Magazine in your studio. What’s it about?
This idea was inspired by Walt Kuhn’s clown paintings.  We imagined a character from an old theatre about to go on stage.  A simple guy.
From a photographic point of view, our intention was to create these images utilizing the simplest of techniques.  

Daan Van der Deen is a special, male model. What is it you like about him?
Daan Van der Deen stood out to us during the casting process.  We tend to go with our gut feeling.  It never steers us wrong.
He’s an incredibly professional and a sweet guy too!  He was great to work with.

How important was it to you to have complete creative freedom during this photo shoot?
Total freedom is the most important aspect of the work we do.  We seldom work with a mood board, with the exception of one, sometimes a couple of images that we use as inspiration.  This is our starting point but, in the process, we let our creativity loose and we have fun  looking for our own images.

You’ve been photographing with the S and SL systems for some time now. Which camera did you use in this case and why?
We shot this story with the Leica S.  
After using  both of these systems, we find that Leica S has a RAW file that is entirely honest and pure.  

Is the S just as good in the studio as on location? In this regard, do you see any limitations compared to 35mm systems?
Yes, the S is amazing. Regardless of where we use it, studio or on location, we are always very comfortable with it.
As for limitations, shooting in medium format is just our personal preference.