Portrait Photography

Портретна фотографія

Over the time of my artistic activity, I've been often making portraits. At first, this type of photography may look quite simple: you just have to place a person in front of the lens, choose a pose, set the light, focus a camera and take a shot.

Yet, portrait photography is not as simple as it may seem at first glance. It's important not only to reproduce the person's appearance, but also to reflect their inner world, express their nature through a peculiar pose, this or that facial expression or mood. In this case, we discover a number of unexpected skills a photographer should possess. They have to be a psychologist, possess a good sense of humor, be able to create the atmosphere and mood for the model.

My experience shows that seeing a camera lens often makes models feel restrained and unnatural. Hence, my priority task as a photographer is to relieve psychological stress so that the model doesn't respond to the camera with a still face and a forced smile. It's essential for the model to feel comfortable beside the photographer and the camera and not to be scared to reveal her emotions. She has to be herself, as this will make it possible to skillfully emphasize the beauty of her soul. Of course, these skills come with practice, and it will take you some time to establish trust and mutual understanding with the model.

Portrait photography is able to reveal the secret of a certain moment or, vice versa, to leave a puzzle. The viewer doesn't know the person in the photo, they're withdrawn from the process of filming, they only see the output. If the output is able to catch the viewer, it means that the portrait has something that stays in the memory, which I highly appreciate.