When I moved back to Charlottesville, VA in 2015 I was concerned about finding experienced assistants. The concern became very real and any time I had a local job, I would have to hire assistants from Richmond or Washington, DC. Around the beginning of 2017, I got an email from Kyle Petrozza. Kyle had been assisting out of NYC with some top photographers and decided to relocate to Charlottesville to get out of the city a while. I was very lucky to find him and we've been working a lot together the last year and half. We actually just finished up a shoot for Oreck down in High Point, NC. Not only does he know a lot about lighting on location and studio, but he's a great dude to travel with. That's a big + in my book. Kyle's got a bright future ahead in the photo world and I hope he sticks around here for a while.
Let's meet Kyle:
Describe what you do and how long you’ve been doing it.
On a good day, I'm doing all that's necessary to make whatever shoot I'm on run more smoothly, efficiently, and enjoyably. Sometimes, as in the case with Lincoln, I'm assisting a photographer and anticipating their needs, acting as a second second of eyes, hands, and ears, and chiming in creatively whenever asked (or, keeping my mouth shut if not asked). On most days, I'm a digital tech, ensuring all the 1's and 0's do what they're supposed to do to turn the team's vision into a beautiful, usable digital file. On ad jobs, I also have the pleasure of entertaining art directors, clients, and, if lucky, DJ'ing. Finally, when I'm producing a job, I do a little bit of everything, for everyone, before, during, and after the lights, camera, action.
How did you get your start?
The initial seed was planted during my first foray out of the country. That seed had quite the germination period. Four years after it had first been sowed, I quit my engineering job, walked into a meeting of the New Orleans Photo Alliance and declared to all in attendance that, "My name is Kyle Petrozza and I'd like to be a photographer". Someone in that room took a liking to me and the rest is history.
Who was your first client?
George Long (the person in that room) was the first photographer to hire me on. I spent most of my time editing, organizing, and toning photos while learning the ins and outs of the photography business. Little did I know then how fortunate I was to have landed in George's world, for George was the best connected photographer in New Orleans at the time. And that time happened to be the post-Katrina-boom and Saints Super Bowl winning era when the city saw a flood of photographers coming in to shoot everything from ad campaigns to fashion catalogs. My first "real", "industry" job was with Nels Israelson who was in New Orleans shooting the movie poster for A Little Bit of Heaven.
What’s a typical shoot day like for you?
Well, that depends. If it's a shoot day based out of Charlottesville, it usually involves meeting Lincoln in the morning, loading up EQ, then heading out for a road trip. Wherever the destination may be, we spend the day(s) making the work of talented architects and brands look as great in 2 dimensions as they do in 3.
For shoot days that begin in New York and LA, they usually begin with coffee and public transportation and end in exhaustion and a taxi. In between, the day may take on any number of forms from turning an empty studio space into something magical for an editorial spread or ad campaign, to moving through estates and homes of which I'd have no other business visiting, or, as was the case this past week, waiting in a stateroom of the Plaza Hotel for our 15 minutes with a world leader. Whether I'm assisting, teching, producing, or shooting, each day is vastly different from the next (except for those catalog jobs!) and brings with it new challenges, lessons, inspirations, and friends. It's a lifestyle that I've tried to pass up on, but to which I continue to return with glee.
What tools do you use to do your job?
I could list cameras and lenses and digital backs and pieces of grip and lighting modifiers and software packages for days as there are many material tools associated with this craft. However, none of those tools matter nearly as much as those hardwired within us: The ability to clearly communicate; The desire to think and see creatively; Knowing when and how to be humble; Being present and engaging in collaboration and the sharing of ideas; Engaging and living by a good work ethic, even if you may not like the work at hand; And, last, but certainly not least, always maintaining a kind, light, well-placed sense of humor. Having good taste in music and always wearing good socks doesn't hurt either!
What was the craziest thing that happened to you on a job?
We were on location in Anguilla for a Ralph Lauren campaign. It was a pretty cush job: everyone had their own private villa on the beach and since we were shooting natural light, we had a good chunk of the afternoon to ourselves. I had a bit of sailing experience under my belt so, I suggested that the other assistants and I take out one of the resort's Hobie Cats. Everyone was excited and four of us hopped on. The wind was blowing nicely and it blew all I knew about sailing right out of my head. I ended up crashing the boat, ripping off a rudder, and was left alone as all my mates swam to shore. Needless to say, I was the butt of many a joke for the remainder of the job, but remained on the job!
Favorite restaurant your in your favorite city?
Oh man, this is a trick question, isn't it?! Sadly, most of my favorite restaurants or my favorite iterations of them have closed (I'm thinking of Lham Zhou Hand Pull Noodle in Chinatown and Mission Chinese's first NYC iteration off the top of my head). Saravana Bhavan in Murray Hill is a place I have a hard time avoiding whenever I'm in NYC. Though, my favorite places aren't cities so if a favorite restaurant in a favorite city is another way of asking where would you go eat right now if you could go anywhere and eat? I'd have to say it would be the Roti Man on Pulau Tioman, Malaysia. Or that Casa de Popolo outside of Florence. Or Bacchanal in New Orleans. Or...
How can people find out more about you?
There are three ways:
- Buy me a cup of coffee and ask me a question, I'm an open book.
- Follow me on Instagram.
- Hire me ;)