I asked myself this question in 2013, when I was shooting only studio and staged portraits and was too keen on retouching. I didn’t believe in my staff and felt that they were missing something key. “Movie! You grew up watching films, so take them as a basis,” a thought came to mind and updated my entire approach to filming.
Based on films, I began to study frame construction, lighting and color correction, how actors behave in the frame, how plots are constructed and scenes are created that you immediately believe in. I did photo shoots every week, more clients began to come to me, my work received a great response – and I realized that I had hit the mark. People still order portraits, couples, advertising and even wedding shoots in this very “cinema” style – natural and lively shots will never go out of style, I’m sure! All the knowledge I have, I gained on my own, studying the works of the greats, analyzing films, reading literature on photography and screenwriting, and absorbing videos from the shooting of my favorite photographers. This is a unique course in which I collected everything I learned over 9 years, from the basics of composition and working with light to creating a cinematic story and complex retouching.
