Behind the Scenes

Entrepreneur, trainer, curator, lobbyist, author, and lecturer. Joachim Giesel is not only the owner of a successful photography studio in Hanover; behind the scenes, he is also engaged in various roles and institutions dedicated to the medium of photography. The Atelier “Photographie Joachim Giesel”, first located at Bödeckerstraße 60 and later at Plathnerstraße 9 in Hanover, offers on two floors—with office, studio, darkroom, and dressing room—the capacity for complex productions. His clientele includes companies such as Bahlsen, Continental, Lufthansa, Pelikan, Rossmann, and Siemens, various automobile manufacturers such as Mercedes and Volkswagen, as well as newspapers and magazines including BRAVO, Brigitte, the Hannoversche Presse, and stern. Over time, sixteen photographers train in his studio. In 1972, he is involved in the founding of the spectrum Photogalerie. Since the 1960s, he has also been active in several associations: as first chairman of the Centralverband Deutscher Berufsphotographen (Central Association of German Professional Photographers), a role equivalent to the federal guild master of photographic crafts; as chairman of the Arbeitskreis Bild; and as a member of the Berufsverband Freie Fotografen und Filmgestalter. He is also appointed to the Gesellschaft Deutscher Lichtbildner and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie. Giesel advocates reforms in photographic education within the Centralverband Deutscher Berufsphotographen, as the profession faces new challenges due to the increasing establishment of photography as a subject at technical schools and art academies, as well as the emancipation of photography as an independent art form.

In this context, he publishes numerous articles in the professional press, such as Die Ausbildung zum Fotografen von morgen – müssen wir umdenken? (The Training of Tomorrow’s Photographer – Do We Need to Rethink?, 1979) and Wie überlebt das Fotohandwerk im Zeitalter der Elektronischen Medien? (How Does Photographic Craft Survive in the Age of Electronic Media?, 1988), in which he points out deficiencies in training. Giesel criticizes, on the one hand, that photography is not treated as an art form. On the other hand, curricula are outdated, as they fail to integrate technical foundations—taught in vocational schools—with aesthetic questions of image composition addressed by photo design. In his various roles, Giesel therefore advocates for a reform of education that incorporates both craft and artistic aspects, while consistently emphasizing the need for high technical standards in professional photography. By building a reputation as an advertising and portrait photographer and photojournalist, by reforming photographic training as a master craftsman and professional representative, by passing on his knowledge as an author and lecturer, and by establishing photography in a museum context through curatorial work, he plays a significant role in the institutionalization of photography in the Federal Republic of Germany.