Thorsten Overgaard

Thorsten von Overgaard (born 1965) is a Danish writer and photographer, specializing in portrait photography and documentary photography, known for writings about photography and as an educator.

Early life

Overgaard was born in Aarhus, the second-largest city in Denmark.

From 1983–1985 he was cultural editor of the monthly magazine Blitz where did interviews and featured Danish comics talents.

In 1985, at the age of 20 he co-founded the advertising agency A-Z Reklame with Mogens Gårdsmann.

Career

From 1985 to 1993 he was owner or co-owner of the advertsiing agencies A-Z Reklame, Thorsten Overgaard and D3.

From 1993 to 1994 he worked at RMB advertising in Aarhus and then co-founded AD ONE advertising agency and eventually took over AD ONE in 1996 where he also went into producing Internet websites, cooperated with Tiscali and World Online on international on-line campaigns, build the first Navision eBusiness integration and founded the first on-line coupon magazine and online PR agency.

In November 2000, Overgaard sold all activities of AD ONE to Execon A/S but remained as CEO and member of the Executive Board for a year.

In 2002, he founded a consulting company and also started writing freelance for Iværksætteren, Jyllands-Posten, etc. and also arranged tours with John F. Kennedy speech-writer Ted Sorensen, and edited books for Klaus Riskær Pedersen. He also took up his interest in photography again and started photographing portraits for the interviews he did for the newspapers and magazines.

In early 2005 Overgaard went to South-East Asia to document the relief work after the Tsunami. This resulted in the photo documentary book and DVD "After the Tsunami" as a testament to the relief work performed by volunteers from all over the world.

Overgaard focused on photography from 2006 onwards and worked for Danish magazines and organizations doing reports and portraits. He also started portraying celebrities Kelly Preston, Juliette Lewis, Seal, Anne Archer, and statesmen Hans Blix, Bill Clinton, and the Danish Royal Family. He has produced images for Getty Images, WireImage, LIFE and Associated Press.

Overgaard conducts international photography workshops.

Publications

Publications by von Overgaard

• 2006. After the Tsunami. MacAlister. ISBN 87-990979-1-5.
• 2006. After the Tsunami DVD. MacAlister. ISBN 87-990979-1-5.
• 2009. Twenty Portraits of 2008. Self-published. ISBN 87-990979-2-3.
• 2010. Forty Portraits of 2009. Self-published. ISBN 978-87-990979-2-0.
• 2010. The Lightroom Survival Kit. Self-published.
• 2012. The Salzburg Collection. Leica Gallerie Salzburg. ISBN 978-87-990979-6-8.
• 2013. Finding the Magic of Light. Self-published.
• 2014. Die Magie des Lichts Finden. Self-published.
• 2014. Color Space: Contemporary Photography. Black Box.
• 2014. Snapshot Aesthetic: Domestic and Everyday. Black Box.
• 2015. The Moment of Emotional Impact in Photography. Self-published.
• 2015. The Lightroom Survival Kit 6. Self-published.
• 2016. The Freedom of Photographic Expression. Self-published.
• 2016. The New Overgaard Extension Course. Self-published.
• 2017. A Little Book on Photography. Self-published.
• 2017. Composition in Photography - The Photographer as Storyteller. Self-published.

Publications with contributions by von Overgaard

• Klaus Riskær (2009). "Understrøm". Edited by Overgaard. ISBN 9788798436416.
• Thomas Bloch Ravn (2009). By Den Gamle. Photographs by von Overgaard.
• Jørgen Nielsen (2009). Rock i Århus – Brudstykker af en musikhistorie. Aarhus Byhistoriske Fond. Von Overgaard was a contributor/photographer
• Lindsay Renee Adler and Rosh Sillars (2010). The Linked Photographers' Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media. Cengage Learning.
• Harry Mathias (2015). The Death & Rebirth of Cinema: MASTERING THE ART OF CINEMATOGRAPHY IN THE DIGITAL CINEMA AGE. Waterfront Digital Press.

Films about von Overgaard

• 2008: "Picture Perfect". Documentary on Thorsten von Overgaard and his view on photography. Made in Faroe Islands. Running time: 4 minutes. Color. Emma Brumpton/Channel 4.
• 2014: "A Life With Leica Featuring Thorsten von Overgaard". Documentary on Thorsten von Overgaard and his view on photography. Made in Rome, Italy. Running time: 8 minutes. Color. Northpass Media.
• 2016: "Magic of Light" photography television hosted by Thorsten von Overgaard. YouTube channel.

Exhibitions

• 2012: Thorsten Overgaard: The Salzburg Collection, Leica Gallery, Salzburg
• 2012: Thorsten Overgaard: The Raffles Collection Singapore, Leica Gallery, Singapore
• 2014: Domestic and Everyday, Black Box Gallery, Portland
• 2014: Color Space: Contemporary Photography, Black Box Gallery, Portland
• 2014: Art Gemini Prize 2014, TriSpace Gallery, London
• 2014: Thorsten von Overgaard, Schmidt Marketing, Hong Kong
• 2015: Exhibition Von Overgaard: In support of the Children of Cambodia, Leica Gallery, Singapore
• 2015: Noctilux - King of the Night, Hong Kong

Award

• 2014: ArtGemini Prize 2014, 2nd prize Photography.