Creative Process Behind the Art
Each photo takes from 1 week to several months of planning and preparations: thinking through the story and the plot, planning the color scheme, sketching, scouting for locations, creating the props, choosing the suitable wardrobe, looking for the right makeup and hairstyle looks and then blending it all together. In some cases, a whole team is involved in the shooting process.
For those, who want to go deeper
The shooting: I never use stock imagery to create my art (at least for now), I shoot all the details myself right there on location, so when everything is combined in the final piece the artwork looks as realistic as possible, no matter how surreal it might seem at a first glance. I pay close attention to shooting all the details in one and the same light, because the light is the soul of a photograph, even when (or even more so) it is not a mere shot, but a complex composite image.
The editing: Digital editing is a big part of the creative process. It is usually done 2-3 months after the shooting has been completed. This allows me to reevaluate and deepen my initial intentions and ideas. I get into a different setting, when I am completely alone with my thoughts and emotions and away from the distractions and interactions present on location. Now it's only my input and my story. Often the whole initial concept might be changed when I work on an image in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Creation in two ways: I have two types of creative processes and I love them both. The first one is when I have a clear idea in mind, a sketch, all the details figured out before the actual shoot and in this case the major creative part is happening even before the shoot. The second one is when I’m free-flowing on location, exploring all the opportunities of what the landscape in front of me provides and that my model kindly offers. In this case it’s a pure experiment, which can work out or not. Here a big part of creation is happening during editing. I open my files, and get surprised. More often then not I will see things that got in my frame accidentally, without me consciously noticing them during the shoot: lines, patterns, clouds, objects, animals, people. Now, when I have time to see them in all their mystery and beauty, I can play with them and extract something completely unexpected even for me from the image.
Behind the Scenes: I begin to shoot less and less of behind-the-scenes production material, as I feel that it ruins the magic of the moment on location as well as the magic of perception when you first encounter an artwork. This magic is precious and needs to be honored and cherished.