Recently, Rangefinder spoke with Hasselblad Master Victor Hamke, a wedding photographer living in Leipzig, Germany, who, with his partner in life and business, Ronja Joy Waßmuth, make up the artistic wedding photo duo Muse & Mirror. Known for what they call their “melancholic beauty” style of imagery, Hamke discusses how they stay inspired to create original wedding imagery and why they are so taken with medium format.

Rangefinder: You come from a background in conceptual and fine-art portrait photography. Has that history had an influence on your current work and creativity? How did you grow into wedding photography?

Victor Hamke: Different from commissioned work, art doesn’t compromise and I think that’s the key aspect here. Our aesthetic was already there, before we did weddings and even before we did photography at all. As wedding photographers, we have different responsibilities. To create beauty for our clients is the obvious one. But there’s also the responsibility to keep yourself inspired to live up to your artistic potential and create something unique. I’ve always had the desire to create things that are closer to myself and more unexpected. My background in conceptual photography was and is my tool to create some unique work that’s typically uncommon in wedding photography. An important part of that is not pigeonholing ourselves. We photograph and explore a lot of different styles and we are always thinking how we can push our creativity, push the boundaries, how we can expose ourselves to new challenges and break patterns.

For example, for the last year we’ve worked on nude photography as personal work and those pictures are very different from our wedding images. As soon as something works, we turn our heads in a new direction to enrich our creative expression. Growing in our wedding photography means repeatedly reminding ourselves that we are free to do whatever we like or think is best. For example, we don’t stick to one colorization for all our work. Instead, we feel like every situation benefits from a unique color-grading and way of photographing. I think it helps that we are so quickly bored with everything we do; it keeps us on our feet.

Rf: What does Muse & Mirror reference?

Hamke: Muse & Mirror can be understood as a metaphor for the act of photography, the muse being the irrational and emotional part and the mirror as capturing something that’s in front of you. It can be a person or music or a painting or a feeling on a rainy day. Muse as a verb is equally fitting though, as this is what we do a lot—muse about all parts of the business and even more importantly, muse about our lives and ourselves. In the end your brand is you, and personal growth also means growing as an artist and a businessperson.

Rf: How did you first meet and begin to collaborate with your own muse, Ronja Joy Waßmuth? How does your dynamic work creatively and for your business?

Hamke: Ronja and I had been in touch a while before we met for the first time and when we actually did, everything went really quickly. We moved in together and jumped into cold water, photographing our first weddings without much of a clue but with all the excitement and motivation in the world. As it turned out, Ronja found pleasure in many of the tactile things in the business—packaging, albums, prints. And I’m doing what I prefer, which is the technical side. The true core of our dynamic is that our minds are very alike and we are both open to change and question everything.

Rf: You once said, “a wedding photographer normally tells the story of a wedding couple, of their togetherness, of friendships, tragedies and a connection of souls.” Are you struck by ideas after meeting with your subjects, or is your general approach more of an editorial style?

Hamke: We prefer clients who have a sense for art or are open for translating feelings into pictures; we don‘t really get booked to do only documentary photography. The candid part of the day is emotional and becomes a part of a family’s history—it’s the part where our style is very classic. We prefer to keep that part simple. Actively composing and creating pictures and developing ideas together with the people who we photograph, though, is even more satisfying to us.

Rf: Your lighting is so meticulous and almost painterly in approach. What is your lighting system for the studio and for on location?

Hamke: Depending on the circumstances, we work with available light or studio lights with softboxes. Indoor light situations are a good match for our aesthetics as they bring a natural light fall-off and the dramatic light situation is already in the captured photograph. When we are at weddings, where we know that the event is a bit more fast-paced, we don’t bring studio lights and work with what we have; nothing should get in the way of the experience on the wedding day.

Editing those harsher light situations, we often times go for very flat color-grading profiles because it seems to come closer to the real-life perception. Artificial light is a good option when you have the time to set it up. Many wedding photographers are missing out on that creative opportunity as they don’t like to concern themselves with the technical intricacies of studio light while in reality, it’s not that complicated at all. For starters, I suggest picking the biggest modifier possible—a large softbox or umbrella, for example—and only use one light. Many will be astounded by how much they can do with one light already.

Rf: You are based in Leipzig, Germany, which has such a beautiful clash of classic European architecture and modern culture. Is there anything about your location that you feel influences your work?

Hamke: I think that we carry all our surroundings into our work which is why we really love the city we are living in. Leipzig has broad streets with old buildings and the city is very liberal, young and progressive. It’s a peaceful place with a lot to discover and a strong artistic scene. We both have moved many times in our lives and we have finally found a place we feel at home in. Working in Portugal, we grew very fond of that country, too. The buildings have all kinds of textures and it felt very inspiring to roam through the streets there.

Rf: Speaking of Portugal, you’ve held two photography workshops called Legacy there already, and you are planning a future one once life gets back to normal after COVID-19 and people can travel again. What are a few of the things that you’ve learned in starting and running your own destination photography workshop?

Hamke: First and foremost we think of Legacy as a human experience—people connecting with other people. Everyone is in a different chapter of their career—from people who have yet to shoot their first wedding to seasoned veterans—but everybody can learn from everybody. We want the attendees and mentors to start a conversation and leave the event with new friendships. Selecting the speakers, we always look for people who inspire us personally and who we would like to learn from ourselves. Business talk, photography, editing and inspiration are all content of the event and we pick a location that makes it effortless to dive into a creative state.

The most important thing to bring is an open mind. What we’ve learned during our workshop events so far is that people book for the speakers, but that a crucial part are all the little conversations that take place surrounding the mentoring and shooting sessions. Our hope is always for everyone to leave our workshops with new and practical knowledge about how to to elevate their business.

“The distinguishing qualities of a medium-format picture can’t be narrowed down to a singular thing. It is a sum of the dynamic range, the color fidelity and the transition between shadow and light that separates the files from what you will experience on a full frame system. You have also a superior resolution to play with, although that consideration for us is secondary to the other mentioned benefits, just because wedding photographers usually don’t print billboards.”
—Muse & Mirror

Rf: You were honored with a Hasselblad Masters in 2018. What have the cameras and the company meant to your work and your wedding photography?

Hamke: Working with Hasselblad is a really special opportunity that most photographers dream of. We quickly realized how passionate and driven the people behind the company are. And then there is the photographic gear itself. The big sensor and the beautiful ergonomics inspired us to shoot and also enabled us to handle contrast-y light situations like never before. The transitions of light and shadow—which plays such an important part in our photography—are just smoother and more natural. Medium format makes you slow down and be more considerate. We are perfectionists and always pushing our output to the next level.

Note: All of the images here were taken with the Hasselblad X1D-50c—except for Victor’s self portrait.

Muse & Mirror is a photographer duo from Germany that consists of Ronja Joy Waßmuth and Victor Hamke. With a background in conceptual photography they strive to create wedding imagery with an artful signature. As photographers and educators they work all across Europe and have won multiple awards, including the Rangefinder Photography Annual competition in 2017 and the Hasselblad Master Award in 2018. They find the most pleasure in visual poetry and in creating and directing beautiful narratives.