The name J. Stephen Hicks is synonymous with quality and excellence in the field of photography. Hicks grew up in Colorado and developed an early passion for the outdoors and all its natural beauty. His childhood/teenage years focused predominantly on athletic interests and various other outdoor pursuits like backpacking and hiking in the local mountains.
At the late age of nineteen, Hicks purchased his first camera. Immediately, as he likes to explain, "I found my first true love." That, being photography, of course. At the time, he was a sophomore at the University of Colorado. As his academic interests became less compelling, exploration with film was his driving force. Shortly thereafter Hicks decided to re-focus his education to photography.
"I spent my last year at Colorado University taking only art and photography classes”, Hicks recounts. Realizing a more serious photography program was what he needed; he moved out to California and began classes at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. "It was a great change. I loved the weather, learned to surf, and got to focus my entire education on photography." Just as Hicks had a passion for nature's beauty, he also possessed a deep affinity for the beauty of women. “At Brooks I mostly photographed pretty girls and turned them in for assignments.”
One of his instructors was quite keen on his treatment of females on film. "This instructor of mine had a former student working for Playboy Studios in Los Angeles. He introduced us and within months I was working for Playboy as their studio manager." His stint with Playboy only lasted about two years but it was a springboard for the illustrious career that followed. After two years at Playboy he realized the environment there was very negative and tense and knew he had to move on in order to be happy “I knew I had to choose substance over form, ." states Hicks looking back.
Hicks went on to assist for a number of LA's top commercial photographers in the next year and a half. "I worked for some great guys. They ran big, successful studios, but again I was discouraged." Discouraged because he didn’t particularly like the idea of being art directed and hounded by clients when trying to create with a camera. "I couldn’t believe the politics and b.s. in that world. Art directors and clients often created pressure and tension that was completely unnecessary during shoots. You really had to be a good actor as well as photographer to flourish in that field. The entire idea of being a creator was reduced to being a technician and diplomat with a camera.”
Soon thereafter, J. Stephen Hicks the nude/glamor photographer was born. "Initially I produced a couple of nude shoots in a small studio that I was renting." Other than the make-up, Hicks did everything himself. "It’s funny to think about it now, but at the time, I had no help whatsoever." He recalls one of his first shoots in particular, that he sent out to a leading men's magazine for sale. "They returned my set with a letter that stated, 'This is not an art magazine,' it’s a sex magazine." But, he kept at it, always in hopes that could one day merge his aesthetic vision of shooting women to earning a living.
Within a couple of years, J Stephen was submitting pictorials to Penthouse. "I think at the time they were looking for some new blood." His first centerfold for Penthouse was published in 1984 and he's been an on and off contributor ever since. His niche with the publication has always been as the artsy photographer of the regular contributors. "The first black and white shoot I sent them, they held for eighteen months before publishing." Eventually those pics were published and the readers were excited about the different treatment. After that, Hicks has did a number of experimental projects for them including computer generated pictorials and hand-painted black-and-white shoots.
Although most men’s magazines and web publications i have taken a distinctly explicit direction, Hicks still holds his boundaries. Hicks was the only one who could send Penthouse a relatively soft pictorial and they’ll still publish it. “I’ve always believed one of the greatest things a woman has is a man’s imagination-so why completely take that away? There’s so much adult content out there that just doesn’t feel real, healthy or natural and I wanted no part of producing images like that."
Although most readers might think that Hicks work has been predominately published in the US, J.Stephen is quick to point out, "Actually over the last decade at least 60-70% of our work has gone to overseas markets. It’s a much nicer market out there for my pictures, more emphasis on aesthetic quality, less emphasis on explicitness."
Also, unknown to many, is the fact that Hicks is published widely as a stock photographer with his nature and travel images. "One of my best friends started an extremely successful stock agency and I've been really lucky to use him as an outlet for those sales." Many of Hicks' nature and travel photos can be found at the Corbis Stock website as well as a small gallery of his own, www.hickpix.com.
Hicks has never lost his love for shooting in nature and while traveling. Journeys around the world to places like Brazil, Africa, Japan, Fiji, Australia, Tahiti,Europe, Mexico and Hawaii have all added to Hicks' rich global library of images.
In addition to the nature/travel photos Hicks does, he's currently working on his fine art. His first showing was in Los Angeles in May of 1999. Although it attracted over 250 people he’s pretty much kept that part of life on hold until recently. Currently Hicks is publishing a high-quality coffee table Art Book of his nudes with renowned German publishers Skylight Editions. He is also launching an on line print gallery of both his erotic (www.jshprints.com) and nature/travel imagery (www.hicksprints.com). He will also be putting up an extensive desktop site, www.daily-desktops.com by mid-2010.
Undoubtedly though, Hicks has earned his reputation for his fine work with the female form. And wouldn't you know it, it is hard work. "The whole process, if you're doing quality images, is a ton of work," he says. "I'm completely drained at the end of my shoot days." “I typically work with three assistants and with my free flowing style I pretty much direct everyone for about seven hours straight. It’s an amazing experience when we’re all clicking but it certainly takes it’s toll”.
Hicks currently shoots much less than he did a few years ago. “I have an exceptionally gifted young photographer who shootsthe bulk of what we produce nude now. Occasionally for political reasons or just because theres a model I want to shoot, I'm behind the camera.” But more often than not these days his photographic passion has returned to the great outdoors.
Hicks has several websites featuring his photography with www.digitaldesire.com being the flagship destination for his nude/glamor photography. “When we first started our site, I had no idea what a big project it would become. I now consider publishing this site to be the most exciting and satisfying challenge of my career”. Having simply licensed his photographs to publishers for years, being his own publisher has special meaning.
Hicks shed some light on what it's like to have a job that most guys can only dream about. "It feels great," Hicks informed us. "But it doesn't feel great simply because of the subject matter. It feels great because I have incredible freedom to create, produce and sell my own images," he explained. “It’s amazing to put my vision into motion with a camera—I feel truly blessed to have a career where I can express myself in so many ways and earn a good living.
Known mostly for his work with natural light Hicks talked about his typical approach these days. “At this point in my career, my shoots are kind of like performance art. I do almost no planning. I believe in assessing the light and the model and pretty much winging it. It makes for a very exciting, challenging experience that evolves constantly.”
Hicks is also emphatically enthusiastic about the technologically changing landscape of photography. “I absolutely love the digital world—the cameras, Photoshop and the unlimited realm of possibilities it opens up, have given this profession a rebirth .I really feel lucky to have been a part of this technological transition—it's given me an entire second life behind my cameras.”
He is also voraciously learning and shooting video. “I’ve always been mesmerized by quality cinematography and suddenly I’ve been thrust into the world of motion. As humbling as it has been I’m completely enjoying it. Some day I may actually consider my video work to be decent”, Hicks states, howling with laughter.
A large key to his success, J.Stephen insists, is the team he’s built around him. “ I realize more than ever the importance of the smart, creative and dedicated people I work with. I don’t see our photos as anything less than a product we’ve all created together. I’m lucky to have a great group of bright and completely committed individuals that I’m proud to share my days with”.
When pressed to account for the reasons for his success, Hicks cites his interpersonal skills as a big factor. "Everybody has their own style--I'm pretty nice and positive." he says with a smile. "We never compromise the girls' intentions and never push a model beyond where she is comfortable. I’m definitely from the school of thought that you help people perform with praise. We want every girl who works with us to depart feeling good about herself and good about the way we treated her”. Hicks avoid the temptation to prey upon his stature in the business. "I think if you bring a certain humility to work, everybody feels better, including yourself. I’m a firm believer that you treat everyone you work with deserves equal respect--that goes for models, crew, everyone involved basically."
In addition to his skills at making the girls feel confident and safe, Hicks further attributes his success to good old fashioned experience, especially with shooting in natural light. "A dozen years ago I wouldn't have answered the question this way, but now I feel like experience is everything. I've been doing this a long time. I can walk into just about any situation and feel pretty confident about getting the shots in need. I never could have said that early in my career."
When asked about his gear, Hicks says, “I truly believe getting good photos starts with knowing how to use light but……..equipment is important. We’re all digital Canons with our cameras. The digital revolution has really opened my eyes to many new possibilities photographically—things I couldn’t have imagined with film. We use a lot of different lenses and we also use multiple light sources. Of course I’ve always loved natural light and we also do lots with strobe, tungsten and even fluorescent lighting. It’s great fun mixing light sources—the variety in color temperatures gives images so much more depth”.
In answer to the obvious question regarding his ability to stay cool in steamy situations, Hicks is adamant. "Once you begin to do anything professionally, and you take pride in it, you've just switched into another mindset. "Anybody that gets into this business to satisfy their sexual needs burns their bridges really quick. You're safe here naked" he laughs. “Anyone who works for me and crosses that line is outta here immediately--our entire business is based on trust and respect”
Currently, Hicks resides in California and is very busy running his business, several websites, creating ideas for new websites, beginning his art career, continuing to find time for surfing, mountain biking, snowboarding, and of course, as he states emphatically, “Most importantly, my family!" He sums up his life by saying, “I’m truly blessed in so many ways. It all starts with my wife and kids. After all of these years I’m certain that love is the most powerful force of life. But I also feel so lucky to be able to express my passion with my photography, the sports I do and the many great people in my life”. J.Stephen Hicks smiles, “It’s all good!”.
