(Interview) Ricardo Gomes, Madonna's Second Set of Eyes....

[Magic Pussy 423]

3 hours ago, RUADJAI said:

 

Exactly what I was gonna say. The industry has changed and requires CONSTANT output on social media. This requires a certain type of photographer to follow her around. I think it gets messy when he THINKS he's on the same level or as important as these other photographers, which he is not. 

 

interesting read though. 

Exactly. Madonna needed volume for social media and while Ricardo's photos aren't anywhere near the iconic category of Ritts or Klein photos, she seems to find a value and a sense of comfort using the same person to essentially follow her around with a ring light, edit with one finger and post within a few hours. 

[Gonzus 2,834]

I don't think Madonna has sourrended herself with great photographers in the last 10 years. I particularly dislike Steven Klein. He's very, hugely talented, but his aesthetics don't suit Madonna at all. She used to portray joy, glamour, fun and light. When and why she became dark and sinister, I don't know. It's just my opinion. But I think Klein was instrumental in launching this side of her, which she cannot get rid of.

[Adonna 20,488]

@xavier Thank you for sharing. What a cool interview. He seems to get her, and they have a great chemistry.  Love his honesty, and he obviously stood out enough to impress Madonna.  

[Alpha 1,893]

2 hours ago, Gonzus said:

I don't think Madonna has sourrended herself with great photographers in the last 10 years. I particularly dislike Steven Klein. He's very, hugely talented, but his aesthetics don't suit Madonna at all. She used to portray joy, glamour, fun and light. When and why she became dark and sinister, I don't know. It's just my opinion. But I think Klein was instrumental in launching this side of her, which she cannot get rid of.

I mean...lately all she's done is marilyn/early 90s madonna for the past decade...i miss y2k klein. MX has got to be the worst shoot she's ever done with him. Looked so dead and lifeless and cold posing as this intellectual wordly aesthetic. 

[Starchild 3,506]

14 hours ago, xavier said:

Aquarius feb 8

Interesting. I'm getting aggressive Sag or Aries energy from his words, so either could be his rising/ascendant.

[Starchild 3,506]

3 hours ago, Gonzus said:

I don't think Madonna has sourrended herself with great photographers in the last 10 years. I particularly dislike Steven Klein. He's very, hugely talented, but his aesthetics don't suit Madonna at all. She used to portray joy, glamour, fun and light. When and why she became dark and sinister, I don't know. It's just my opinion. But I think Klein was instrumental in launching this side of her, which she cannot get rid of.

Klein has done incredible work, and most of his W Magazine portfolios with her as subject attest to that, but I haven't been impressed by his lens in many years.

[Starchild 3,506]

6 hours ago, Magic Pussy said:

Exactly. Madonna needed volume for social media and while Ricardo's photos aren't anywhere near the iconic category of Ritts or Klein photos, she seems to find a value and a sense of comfort using the same person to essentially follow her around with a ring light, edit with one finger and post within a few hours. 

Bingo. Sign of the times, sadly.

[Starchild 3,506]

13 hours ago, TheGoth said:

Absolute trash. He can't style, light or set a scene like any of the other greats she's worked with. The overuse of filters is a giveaway that his images have little to know substance to begin with. He has degraded the royalty of what was once her brand. One is an icon, the other is simply, a con.

So, who's at fault for that - the boss who hired him, or the employee who keeps giving the boss what they like?

[Alpha 1,893]

3 hours ago, Starchild said:

So, who's at fault for that - the boss who hired him, or the employee who keeps giving the boss what they like?

The employee for sure. We've all worked at places where there is that one stupid employee who can't do shit yet somehow the boss doesnt see and gets taken advantage of but everyone around wants to say something but doesnt. Madonna isn't telling him MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS COOL TONED TO THE POINT WHERE I LOOK LIKE A CORPSE. MAKE SURE YOU AIRBRUSH ME TO LOOK LIKE A TODDLER. Madonna is just that boomer who gets shown something on the computer and gets impressed like those boomers who don't think there's anything wrong with using comic sans.

[Roland Barthes 6,092]

As a human being i understand why she wants her comfort zone, especially at her age but as an artist she needs her team to get her out of it and explore new territories. They have been stuck in the early 90's for too long, time to move on. 

[blondebenji 1,987]

You cant really compare him to Ritts, Klein etc (aside from their Talent) they worked with M on projects.  Not on a daily basis. Im sure the quality would have gone down some if they had to do pics everyday.  The industry has changed and the public want their stars like influencers.  M has just adapted to that with him. As official projects or publications go, hes only really done 4 since Madame X, Rolling Stone with Maluma, Vogue Italia Pride, Paper and the latest Re-edition. All the rest were videos and things from others work like Klein, Aukland etc. He definitely has put her touch with noncommercial queer artists.  This can only be a good thing.  reminds me of her pre fame days and where she found lots of inspiration. Heres hoping it spills over to new music. She has done so many pride events since hes been around as well.   It ain't all bad even if he could go a little easier on the fliter. ha.

[cyberrage 509]

Great to see an interview. We know what happens once they start talking....

To no surprise he has confirmed the type she is surrounded by, keep friends by all means but don't work with them once that shift happens.

[pawn_shop_blues 723]

He is the worst thing that happened to her. She doesn't see the fact that he sucks. It looks like she doesn't care, and her non-existing management doesn't notice either. I am tired of him and her ig posts. 

[Starchild 3,506]

1 hour ago, pawn_shop_blues said:

He is the worst thing that happened to her. She doesn't see the fact that he sucks. It looks like she doesn't care, and her non-existing management doesn't notice either. I am tired of him and her ig posts. 

So, would you prefer her pre-Ricardo, self-edited Instagram posts?

I'm not even on Instagram, nor do I like the excessive editing, but even I can admit that Ricardo has helped to improve her content.

[Starchild 3,506]

4 hours ago, Alpha said:

The employee for sure. We've all worked at places where there is that one stupid employee who can't do shit yet somehow the boss doesnt see and gets taken advantage of but everyone around wants to say something but doesnt. Madonna isn't telling him MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS COOL TONED TO THE POINT WHERE I LOOK LIKE A CORPSE. MAKE SURE YOU AIRBRUSH ME TO LOOK LIKE A TODDLER. Madonna is just that boomer who gets shown something on the computer and gets impressed like those boomers who don't think there's anything wrong with using comic sans.

I get what you're saying but you're also hugely underestimating her.

Madonna is not your average boomer, and she would be well-aware of other celebrity Instagram content.

Some fans love to push the blame onto the scapegoat, rather than consider the alternative.

[Gonzus 2,834]

On 7/9/2024 at 9:39 AM, xavier said:

Aquarius feb 8

OMG I'm Aquarius January 23rd LOL

[pawn_shop_blues 723]

2 hours ago, Starchild said:

So, would you prefer her pre-Ricardo, self-edited Instagram posts?

I'm not even on Instagram, nor do I like the excessive editing, but even I can admit that Ricardo has helped to improve her content.

Yes , I prefer pre ricardo ig era. Improved content looks the same to me. 

[whiteheat 214]

I definitely think she should switch up photographers. I think Ricardo could stay for social media but for creative projects it's time she found someone else. 

[Alpha 1,893]

6 hours ago, Starchild said:

I get what you're saying but you're also hugely underestimating her.

Madonna is not your average boomer, and she would be well-aware of other celebrity Instagram content.

Some fans love to push the blame onto the scapegoat, rather than consider the alternative.

Lol but she is! I couldn't believe it when she shared on instagram about fb and mark zuck etc like wow...but seriously tho...madonna has no graphic design skills/knowledge. She's not presenting logos or airbrushing photos herself (or maybe she is?). Ricardo snaps the photo, edits then presents to her. Nothing more than that. I'm sure she's amazed by the fast turn around and probably sees it as a talent when in reality she could easily do that herself. I am sure as well that she cannot gage people's reaction. She either gets YASSS QWEEN COME TO BRAZIL COME TO BRAZIL or EW YOU'RE OLD RETIRE on instagram posts so nothing is ever constructive criticism.

[Adonna 20,488]

Whether you like him or not, he works for her.  She chose him. I don't believe for a second she's gone into this relationship with him naively. We live in a world where image manipulation is far more prevalent than it's ever been. Still, it's always been there. Madonna is very verse in photography.  She's worked and has been friends with some of the biggest and most famous photographers.  Her best friend is Stephen Klein.  He of all people would be able to inform her if she's wasting her time with Gomes and if he was truly a hack.   She's very aware of image manipulation.  She knows how filters work, and I have no doubt a number of her Instagram/Tik Tok she's done herself, using the filters provided by both apps. Love it or hate it, it's all the rage in social media.  You don't have to like it, but she does.  No one but some people in the fan base obsess over this.  No one outside of her fan base cares.  She's still world famous!  She's still very active in the entertainment world, and I don't see her suffering one bit even with him in her circle.  I don't think she takes it as seriously as some are here.

[DiegoLCL 5,698]

He's not the greatest to put it nicely BUT I do enjoy their photos more than 2012 - 2016 weird angled, 2 pixels selfies she used to post before him.




I still think Madonna would benefit from being out of social media like Beyoncé does, I always though that. But people would complain claiming her to be out of touch with today's way of promotion and so on. There's no win here for a 65 old boomer, she'll always look out of touch no matter the quality of her photos.

Also, there's no way a great photographer would waste their talent/lifetime following Madonna to mainly take instagram pics, she knows that. Ricardo is someone she trusts to handle her unaltered images and someone that does not have what it takes to be that great to leave her behind.

[Alpha 1,893]

26 minutes ago, Adonna said:

Whether you like him or not, he works for her.  She chose him. I don't believe for a second she's gone into this relationship with him naively. We live in a world where image manipulation is far more prevalent than it's ever been. Still, it's always been there. Madonna is very verse in photography.  She's worked and has been friends with some of the biggest and most famous photographers.  Her best friend is Stephen Klein.  He of all people would be able to inform her if she's wasting her time with Gomes and if he was truly a hack.   She's very aware of image manipulation.  She knows how filters work, and I have no doubt a number of her Instagram/Tik Tok she's done herself, using the filters provided by both apps. Love it or hate it, it's all the rage in social media.  You don't have to like it, but she does.  No one but some people in the fan base obsess over this.  No one outside of her fan base cares.  She's still world famous!  She's still very active in the entertainment world, and I don't see her suffering one bit even with him in her circle.  I don't think she takes it as seriously as some are here.

The argument is BAD filters and BAD airbrushing. Nobody is stupid enough (at least i hope not) to expect all of a sudden unairbrushed photos of her. Ricardo was a breath of fresh air and still made her look human then all of a sudden she started looking like a toddler egg. You can literally see in other threads her at events where she looks f*cking AMAZING then cut to the insta where it's just so badly done she might as well do it herself. 

[Adonna 20,488]

29 minutes ago, Alpha said:

The argument is BAD filters and BAD airbrushing. Nobody is stupid enough (at least i hope not) to expect all of a sudden unairbrushed photos of her. Ricardo was a breath of fresh air and still made her look human then all of a sudden she started looking like a toddler egg. You can literally see in other threads her at events where she looks f*cking AMAZING then cut to the insta where it's just so badly done she might as well do it herself. 

 Never said I can't see the difference.   However, I think we've known Madonna long enough to know she doesn't let anything pass her without her approval.  Therefore, nothing you and I say here will change that.

[androiduser 2,779]

my only worry is that legends like Meisel or other legendary icons won't be booked anymore because they don't provide insanely airbrushed and deformed images. It's a vicious circle - Madonna doesn't want their style because she's used to extreme airbrushing, and they don't want to compromise their integrity by producing unrecognizable work, so in the end there's no more collabs with legends.

[Alpha 1,893]

2 hours ago, Adonna said:

 Never said I can't see the difference.   However, I think we've known Madonna long enough to know she doesn't let anything pass her without her approval.  Therefore, nothing you and I say here will change that.

Things are different now. Obviously this is not the same Madonna from 1992 or else we would've never gotten any aldo monstrosities. Also like I said, there's lots of boomers who think comic sans is acceptable. Things change and thats ok but unfortunately quality control is lacking and people literally laugh at her super airbrushed photos. I think some fans are fed slop and are ok with it and then there's some fans who are never happy so that's my theory as to why quality has dipped.