Q&A – Genres, Location, Portraits

I really enjoy the community we have on Instagram right now, I receive many messages from other photographers world wide and I sometimes I ask if I can share the questions and answers on my blog as well, like I will do this time with the questions from Emily.

When did you first discover your love for portraits, had you explored other genres?

Yes, I started at the age of 13 to make pictures of our puppy and the nature. I enjoyed this and it allowed me to learn the photography techniques. But I was getting more inspired by the photos I saw in fashion magazines. Two years later I wanted to explore other genres as well. I already knew that I was interested in fashion and portraits so I made many pictures with my sister and friends acting as my models. In that time I experimented a lot and one year later I decided to follow a course at an Art Academy to learn more about the creative process. At the age of 17 I was accepted at the Art Academy in Rotterdam. I was really inspired by how I could use conceptual art into fashion photography, in such a way that I also could use my own imagination. During the time at the Art Academy, I learned about all other genres of photography, so I had to try them all. This is very good, because I noticed what genres made me happy and what genres I didn’t liked to do at all. I also think it’s important to focus on 1, 2 or maybe 3 genres, I don’t think that you can be successful as a nature, and portrait and documentary photographer for example, unless you have photography just as your hobby of course, then I can imagine that you want to explore as much genres as possible!

What lenses are your favourites?

Sometimes I just want to work with two lenses, then I always go for the Sigma ART 35mm f/1.4 and the Sigma ART 85mm f/1.4. I think you can create the perfect fashion editorial with just these two focal lengths! For every shoot I think it’s important to switch focal lengths a few times to make it more interesting to look at.

Do you always know which locations your going to for a shoot?

Yes, a location is so important for the story. Before the shoot I ask people for recommendations, I search a lot on Google and Instagram to discover the best location for my editorials. Sometimes a shoot start with a location and then we are looking for the best styling, model and hair and makeup inspiration, but sometimes the location is just the final part of the preparations for the shoot.

Do you have “The shot in mind” before you begin shooting?

It really depends on the kind of shoot. When I work for clients, the most of the time we have to capture a lot of outfits so it is important to know what we are going to shoot at what time. Then we already talked about the kind of shots we exactly want and how many time we have for each outfit. But when I’m creating portfolio work, I only have the ‘bigger picture’ in mind because I love the kind of shoots were we can be surprised with unexpected moments. But of course every shoot starts with a moodboards, so everyone in the team knows what kind of mood/story we are shooting.

Is your work inspired by any other photographers?

Not really. But I think even when you don’t know it, you will be inspired because we so many images both online and offline.

What inspires you?

I’m a dreamer. I love to get inspired by my travels, magazines, books and even colors or light situations.

Can you give me some of your thoughts on the Jana shoot and tell me why you picked these locations?

Jana is a professional plus-size model and she contacted me because she needed new photos to add to het portfolio. We talked about what kind of style she liked and how she wanted to be captured. I knew this was the type of location she had in mind, and we were able to play with light to make the portraits a bit more interesting. (Click here to see the story).

Do you prefer black and white or colour edits?

Hmm, I love black and white photos, but I don’t like to do it too often. Sometimes the colors are so important for the feeling of a photo. Although I’m very happy with the black and white photos in my portrait portfolio. During (or after) every shoot I will look if black and white can tell the story or not.

Thanks for your questions Emily!
Right now I’m editing the Marrakech editorials and I’m writing down new ideas for this blog. I already changed the layout but I’m not completely finished with the new layout. Feel free to send me ideas for the layout or blog posts!