The difference between the photography of Niels Van Iperen (1968), and most of his colleagues is not in the subjects he chooses. Neither does it have very much to do with his exquisite lighting or camera technique, use of color or composition. Being one of the first photographers who edited his photos digitally, after years of perfecting his darkroom techniques, never accepting a simple slide as a final piece of artwork, definitely makes a difference, but does not make him unique in his field. The real distinction is to be sought in his approach of the themes he chooses.

Niels is not satisfied unless he manages to capture the bare essence, the spirit of his subjects. In order to do so he goes as far as to actually live their lives. Whether that be by sleeping in the mud on a rock festival, pretending to be a football supporter between fans, being suffocated in toxic gases while working in silver mines, living in the street with drug addicts or spending time in jail, hardly anything exceeds his desire to understand and be part of his subject.

Fascinated by the medium, Niels started taking photographs at a very young age. By the age of 9, he was developing and printing his own black and white films. By the age of 15 he was shooting concerts for OOR, the leading Dutch music magazine. After graduating high school and finishing his photography education, he was working for magazines like Spin, Wired and Rolling Stone, and for record companies world-wide. He has had exhibitions of his work at the prestigious Naarden and Noorderlicht photo festivals as well as the Kunsthal in The Netherlands, and in the F/stop gallery in New York. Also he gained some photography awards such as the Silver Camera award in the Netherlands, and directed music videos. After seeing his editorial work many advertising agencies decided to work with Niels as well. That is how he ended up living in New York and Los Angeles, shooting international campaigns for clients like Nike and Coca-Cola.

At the moment, he tries to divide his time between commercial and editorial assignments, and his own projects which include portrait and reportage series, often done while traveling the world. Even though his home base has long stayed Amsterdam, he now spends most of his time in South America.

For a view of his most recent work and whereabouts, please see the Photo of the Month.

Client list:

Fiat
Budget rent-a-car
Midas Mufflers
Vans
Nike
Coca-Cola
Heineken
Chesterfield
ABB Lummus Global
Rapp Collins
Axe
Ola
Alo
Delmonte
Telecom
Diner's Club
Club Colombia
Fondo de Prevencion Vial
City TV
Centro Andino
Palatino C.C.
Aerorepublica
Banco de Bogota
Colfondos
LG
Libertel
Postbank
Rabobank
Zilveren Kruis
AMEV
Etos
Mona
PTT Post (Dutch postal service)
Politie (Dutch Police)
Belastingdienst (Dutch IRS)
Universal Music Group
Sony Music
BMG
EMI
Virgin
V2
Rolling Stone (US)
Rolling Stone (DE)
Rolling Stone (ARG)
Rolling Stone (COL)
Spin
NME
Wired
Detour
Elle
Marie Claire
Musik Express
OOR
Volkskrant
Parool
Nieuwe Revu
Rails
Johan
Ajax Magazine
Management Team
Veronica Magazine
VARA TV Magazine
NCRV Gids
Cromos
Fucsia
Jet-Set
Soho