Fredrik Fridays Begin… Now

Fredrik Brodén keeps it conceptual (and clever) as always.

My boyfriend’s father, Fredrik Brodén holds a peculiar place in my heart. A Swedish lad gone Texan, I didn’t know what to make of him when we first met. I will admit, I used to be perennially nonplussed by his dry humor and sassy spectacles. Fredrik’s best friend –and an old boss of mine –once referred to Fredrik as my future ex-father-in-law, and has never stopped apologizing for it since (honestly, Richard, I thought it was funny (but that’s my sick sense of humor for you)). But honestly, it isn’t only nepotism which has me featuring the photographic genius of Mr. Brodén: long before I knew I’d be dating his progeny, I was an unknowing fan of his –his shot for the cover of A Million Little Pieces is still one of my favorite photographs, and the only time I will judge a (totally dramatized but passed off as truth) book by its cover.

But the ways I love Fredrik’s work are as varied as the concepts which inspire him and that, my saucy aesthetes, is why he deserves this special notice. So, while Papa Brodén goes off to follow the Tour de France for a month, I’ll be here in Dallas, going from concept to camera. Here come the professional-sounding words.

Fredrik’s work emanates with uncharted immediacy —but he is most notably recognized for his process. Each work he creates is
preceded with a conceptual strategy as unique as the job. His award winning work has been featured in American Photography, Photo District News, Communication Arts 45th Anniversary Cover Feature, Communication Arts Photography Annuals, and
the Society of Publication Designers Annuals; at SPD’s 47th annual awards, Bloomberg covers were the majority Medal winners for Best Cover —one of which was Fredrik Brodén’s Put Your Head in the Cloud. Fredrik’s cover also won Gold for Best Cover —Design. Bloomberg is only one on a laundry list of Fredrik’s clients: this list includes —and certainly exceeds —Adobe, Condé Nast Traveler, Esquire, GQ, The Los Angeles Times, Texas Monthly, Random House, and countless others. Concept to Camera is a quick, fun, visual story that takes us into the midst of Fredrik’s process –this is as close as you get to process (or Bailey’s) without your eyes getting wet.

Hadleigh’s, the upscale, Dallas-based custom clothiers, love Fredrik Brodén –since their launch in 2009, the bespoke clothing company has used Fredrik for their editorials and online lookbooks. Let’s take our own look behind the creation of two of the iconic Hadleigh’s ads.

When imagining the fall 2012 lookbook, Fredrik started with this sketch