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Once upon a time in Bucharest

Corporate photographer George Simian achieved success the old-fashioned way

George Simian’s career is about more than photography.  It’s also a classic immigrant success story that seems both inspiring and nostalgic at a time of intense debate on the issue.  George was born in Bucharest, Romania.  His father, an amateur photographer, cherished the goal of moving the family to America.  For eight years, the family endured difficult circumstances while trying to get U.S. visas and permission to leave impoverished, repressive Romania in the midst of the Cold War.  ‘It was extremely difficult,’ says George, ‘and even when we arrived in New York, we were relatively poor.  My parents never really caught on to the new culture here.  But I was just entering junior high when we arrived.  Being young, I acclimated very quickly and became an American,’


Finding a mentor

While acculturating, George studied hard enough to get admitted to the Bronx High School of Science, one of New York’s best public schools.  The influence of his father led him into photography.  He joined the camera club and started doing darkroom work while still in high school.  At prestigious Cornell University, he worked on the yearbook in order to have access to the darkroom but, as a psychology major, never planned to make a career in photography. ‘Towards the end of my time at Cornell,’ he says, ‘I found a mentor, a graphic design professor, who took me under his wing.  He made me an instructor, and I started teaching photography as part of a graphic design class.’  George taught for three years at Cornell while pursuing his own documentary projects, which involved photographing carnival hands, university staff, and other working people.



The ideal balance

The biggest step up in George’s photography career came when he moved to Boston and began working with one of the city’s leading graphic designers, Michael Weymouth.  Annual reports were just beginning to flourish as showcases of photographic creativity and Weymouth was one of the leaders of the trend.  ‘He became a new mentor for me,’ says George.  ‘I started shooting annual reports for him and found it really exciting.  Corporate work offered more creative freedom than advertising and better pay than editorial so it was a great balance for me.  My reputation spread by word of mouth.  It became very lucrative and kept me busy for the next 20 years.’

A seasoned traveler, who speaks four languages and has the ability to involve his subjects in the making of the image,, George has illustrated annual reports for many Fortune 100 and multinational corporations,  including AT&T, JOHNSON & JOHNSON, GEORGIA-PACIFIC and PROCTER & GAMBLE.  He also photographed for many small, cutting-edge companies in hi-tech, bio-tech, software, and financial-services.  His corporate photography has won numerous honors at the Mead Show and AR100 awards. 



Creativity and control

Creative techniques and precise control over the finished image are hallmarks of George’s work.  To draw the viewer’s eye to the center of interest, he has developed techniques to keep the main subject in crisp focus while surrounding areas are blurred.  ‘My work often takes place in boring corporate environments,’ he says.  ‘To separate the person from the background, I use a combination of flash and continuous light—a very short flash exposure on the subject, and a fairly long ambient exposure, during which I actually pan or move the camera.’  He also filters both strobe and lens to enhance color.

Ever since he started experimenting with digital in the late 90’s, George has been obsessed with color balance and color management, the difficult task of matching the image on the computer monitor to the output of the printer.  ‘There have been huge leaps in technology in printers and cameras,’ he says, ‘but I still want more.  I can’t wait for the next generation.  I want more: more resolution, more shadow detail, less noise.’



Teaching and tours

George has been involved in teaching digital photography for years, first in Boston, and now at UCLA Extension in Los Angeles, where he relocated in 2004, at the prompting of his Indonesian wife, who finds the SoCal sun more congenial than the harsh Northeastern weather.   ‘I’ve discovered that most people are pretty mystified by digital and appreciate having things simplified,’ he says.  ‘Digital has a high cost of entry because you need a computer as well as a camera, but once you pass that hurdle, it’s basically free.  I get excited by turning people on and encouraging them to take advantage of the abundance of imagery they can generate.  Most people improve very rapidly, once you give them new ideas to try.  The learning curve is fast and the satisfaction is enormous.  I want to see people happy, jumping up and down, enjoying their pictures and telling me what a great guy I am for showing them how to use their cameras.’


Now that the annual report market has slowed down in the post-9/11 world, George has launched a new venture, leading photo tours to Bali.  ‘My wife is Indonesian, and a fine art photographer.  We go to Bali every year, and want to introduce other people to the beauty of the country and the culture.  So now we’re combining our love of Bali with our love of teaching.  We’ll lead one tour this summer and have plans to do two or three workshops per year.’

www.georgesimian.com