Inspiration in Action

Today’s guest’s art is an excellent example of how one person can make an impact with photos. Simon McCheung is an award-winning and well-selling conceptual photographer and a passionate gamer, who through a bit of playfulness, a bit of mystery, and a lot of visual effects tell stories about things that are important in his life. We discuss why no story or topic in your art is insignificant, why you should be open to real conversations with your viewers, and what’s the most important thing, if you want your work to sell.

Today’s episode is a gold mine of practical tips on improving the lighting element in your photography and maximizing its effect on the viewer. One of my favorite portrait photographers from Bratislava, Marek Wurfl tells us about how he learned to study the light and why it's important in visual storytelling, what’s the difference between a good and a bad light photo, and can you actually fix everything in post? You’re up for a treat, enjoy!

Today’s guest is an extraordinary young South African artist, Luke Rudman, who turns trash that he finds on the coastline into mind-blowing works of art. Combining visual and performance art Luke sends an important message about the state of the environment and oceans in particular. What started as a student project, later on, lead to collaborations with organizations like Greenpeace. We talk about why inspiration should almost be a step two for an artist, what can you do, when procrastination takes over and how one single weird idea can influence the minds of many. Enjoy!

In this episode I sit down with a photographer and filmmaker Sean Tucker, who is particularly known for his incredibly beautiful and sincere educational YouTube videos, watched by hundreds of thousands of people every day. Sean calls himself a visual storyteller and that naturally drove my attention to his work, ideas, and points of view on photography in general. We discuss things like being authentic in your art, finding your style, and searching for the stories you want to tell with your work! Enjoy!

In this episode I want to dive into a topic that interests all portrait photographers: how can you turn a simple portrait into a whole story about your subject. Real or imaginary, happy or sad, those visual stories are exactly what captivate viewers in great portraits, do you agree? My guest today is Laura Sheridan, a master visual storytelling, who magically turns her subjects into fantasy heroes or characters from horror movie scenes. Laura shares how story can be translated through poses, light, details that you see in the photo. But most importantly how the stories that you tell with your work can empower other people and transform their views and opinions. Enjoy!

Today I sit down with a successful fine art and fashion photographer, Kristina Varaksina to discuss the topic that so many of you are so passional about. How do we go beyond simply beautiful pictures and produce truly impactful work? The work that will not just communicate our point of view and values, but could also have influence on others? How can we expand the aesthetic component and join it with thoughts and feelings. This inspiring conversation will give you tips and I’m sure will bring a few aha moments.

In this episode, I’d like to introduce you to an artist on a mission. Her mission is to help people see their own beauty, gain self-confidence, and eventually inspire others. Lilya Corneli is an internationally acclaimed fine-art photographer and the creator of the to be a muse project, in which she and her team turn ordinary people into muses from paintings of the great masters of the past. In this conversation, we discuss Lilya’s journey from an economist and a stay at home mom to an influential creator putting together shows for the major museums in Vienna. Also, we touch upon topics like staying creative in the lowest moments of your life, secrets of working with non-professional models, and the importance of constantly challenging yourself. You’re in for a treat! Enjoy!

In this episode, I talk to Dina Goldstein, a war zone photojournalist who turned to a very peculiar and strikingly powerful satire fine art photography. Dina is known worldwide for her large-scale projects, with lots of actors and complicated sets. But what’s more important those projects portray the world in a surreal, yet embarrassingly truthful way. In her works, Dina touches upon the role of women in contemporary society, modern values, political icons, and ideals of life. If sharing an artwork takes courage, then sharing artwork with a sharp opinion takes 10 times more, if you ask me. In our conversation, we discuss what it takes to state your point of view as an artist and actively share it, as well as how you can shoot large scale projects on tiny budgets if you want to see your ideas happening in real life. Please welcome, Dina Goldstein.

This episode is the last one this year and is very special. Today’s guest is a Swedish photographer I was stalking for years for his clear, minimalistic and unique style of creating deeply emotional images. And let me tell you those emotions don’t come from anywhere. After fighting depression for over 7 long years, Gabriel finally found himself in conceptual photography art and now is on a mission of helping others to deal with their mental health through his work. In our conversation, we discussed the main first steps to finding a personal style in photography and creating authentic work, how creative practices can help you heal and why well-being is essential for your productivity as an artist.

When today’s guest just graduated from college and wanted to find a job as a photographer for a magazine, he sent 50 emails per week to any fashion editor, stylist, journalist or columnist he could find an email address for! And he did it for 3 months in a row! This is the level of persistence we all should be aiming at. It paid off! Today, Justin Dingwall is an internationally acclaimed artist who shot for numerous top brands as a fashion photographer and whose fine art works are exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world, including my very favorite Guggenheim museum! In this interview, we talk about trusting your creative intuition, how inspiration works and if you should pay attention to feedback. Today’s episode will blow your mind, I promise. Enjoy!

Today’s guest, Gosia, is an amazing sculptor from Canada, whose work has been exhibited all over the world, won a number of prestigious art competitions and found home in many private collections. But she couldn’t predict that would happen when she just started drawing as a child. For years she thought that she wasn’t even good at arts! Although she was never satisfied with results, she enjoyed the process of creating and never gave it up, a lesson we should all learn from her! Listen to the whole story of how Gosia established herself as a successful artist, why she thinks that and what should be your practical first steps for making a living from your art. Enjoy!

Today, I have a question for you? Can an instagrammer snapping shots just for fun become an internationally recognized photographer with exhibitions in multiple countries? The answer is YES! and today’s guest is a living proof of it. Valentina Loffredo, also known as @thatsval on Instaram, is mother of two, who started her Instagram account 6 years ago as a way to find some free time from her busy family life. Her little hobby experiment quickly brought her international acclaim and now she no longer views herself as an ordinary Instagrammer, but as a full-fledged conceptual and fine art photographer, planning the opening of her next solo exhibition in Italy and the publication of her new photography book soon after. We talk about the why art should be honest, how to talk to portfolio reviewers and why it’s important to watch TED talks.

Today I have a very special guest for you. First of all because she’s not a photographer, but worked with photographers for over 30 years, in magazines like Vogue and Elle. Petra Barkhof is a stylist and deputy editor in one of the most celebrated kids fashion magazines - KIDSWEAR. She is also the founder of the new and awesome Scimparello magazine. We talk about how a photographer should approach editors, if he or she wants to see her work published, what is the best way to find the right people to pitch your portfolio

Today’s guest is Julia Kivela (@julia_kivela), a nature photographer from Finland, who managed to turn her hobby into a successful photography/influencer business. Julia will share the tips on making money from nature photography, the behind the scenes of influencer communications with brands and why you should always pay attention to new emerging social platforms and not put all your eggs in the same social media basket. Enjoy!

Today, you’re in a treat! I’ll be talking to a young artist who started conquering the world of photography since she was 11. Experiencing severe health issues she chose to find escape and concentrate on her art, putting all the effort and passion into it. This made her into photographer touring the world with exhibitions by the age of 25. New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Shanghai - you name it, she’s been there! She collaborates with names like Adobe and Hasselblad, but on her own terms, creating the work that SHE feels like creating. Please welcome the photographer who learned ALL of her techniques on her own, the queen of Photoshop herself, Flora Borsi!

Have you ever thought about what’s your comfort zone is? Now maybe you think to yourself, right, another “comfort zone” stuff. I know, I know. It has become such a buzzword that everyone is sick and tired of it already. But let me explain what I mean by it. In general, when you hear “comfort zone” people mean your 9 to 5 job, quiet family life or what not. But have you ever thought that we all have our comfort zones and that they are changing for us all the time?

In this episode, I’m talking to Laura Sheridan from Studio Sheridan Art. She is a commercial fine art photographer from Belgium, who managed to turn her passion for fantasy photography into a successful business, which is growing. In our talk, she shares ideas that helped her get there and that allow her to stay humble and continue developing today. No matter what area of art you’re into these precious nuggets of wisdom will definitely allow becoming a better human being and will point you to success. Please enjoy!

Many insta moms dream of turning their kids into celebrities and growing their little family hobby into a business. However, not so many realize how much work it actually takes. Today I’m talking to Bonnie Vangeel - a multitalented pro, who is blending the skills of a photographer, a stylist, a set designer, and a retoucher to turn the life of her 9-year-old daughter into a continuous fashion fairy tale. When you look at her images, you’d never guess that they were made by just one person, not a whole team! No wonder why Bonnie and little Pepper started attracting the attention of high fashion kids’ brands early on and today successfully collaborate with many of them. I’m Dasha Pears, and you’re listening to my Inspiration in action podcast. I hope you enjoy and learn from this episode with an amazing mom, who is known as @pepper.pics on Instagram.

In this episode, I’m talking to a creative soul who keeps blowing our minds on Instagram by mixing reality with magic in her photos. Besides being a successful Instagrammer, who has been featured on the official Instagram account multiple time, she is also a blogger and has a popular youtube channel, where she shares her photography secrets with the world. We’re talking about the life of a content creator, how you can turn your social media hobby into a successful career and how to keep surprising your audience by adding magic to your photos. Please enjoy this interview with Veronika, known as Kutovakika on Instagram.

In today’s episode I’m talking to a photographer who has been a huge inspiration to lots of us for many years. Photographer who is famous for his whimsical, conceptual fine art photography. He has gained massive popularity sharing his personal and branded work, including that for Coca-Cola and Football World Cup Tour. He was one the first to develop the use of miniature worlds in conceptual photography. He instructed over 400 students in 8 countries during his creative photography workshops. But most importantly, he is the person who never stops believing in the endless creativity of every human being. And this is what he is sharing in everything that he puts out there. Please welcome Joel Robison!

I want to share my personal creative story with you so that maybe you can learn something from it too. And we all know, personal stories are always interesting. So here we go. Please let me know, what you think of this short solo episode. Should I do more? Dm me here or on Instagram!

Today I have a very special guest for you. Her name is Birgit Kleber and she’s a professional portrait photographer based in Berlin, Germany. During her long photography career, Birgit got a chance to work with many celebrities, including Monica Belucci, Rachel Weisz, Liam Neeson, Charlotte Rampling, Juliette Binoche, and many others. She also has a number of deeply psychological portrait series of women, exploring the changes that a female character can undergo in new circumstances. Birgit has a very interesting way of working with models, which she will be sharing with us in this interview along with other very useful tips, like working with photo agencies, printing your own work, what do you do, if your model doesn’t like your images. Please enjoy!

In today’s episode, I’m talking to Kristina Varaksina, a professional fashion and fine art photographer from Russia, currently based in NYC. Her work is an outstanding blend of surrealism, poetry, pastel color palettes and fashion aesthetics. Very few people can boast having such a combination in their works! Her work was recognized by numerous photography magazines and awards, including Aesthetica magazine, Vogue Italy, Int’l Photography awards, PX3, and others. She currently teaches photography at NY film academy and shoots for clients like Harpers Bazar and L’Oficiel. In our conversation, we discuss the very intriguing topic of formal education in photography. what does it bring you? do you need it at all? Kristina also shares how her creative process is organized from the initial idea to the final result. She also tells us about her experience of working with big brand names. Priceless information for any aspiring and even established photographer. Enjoy!

In this episode, I’m talking to Patty Maher, an internationally recognized conceptual photographer from Canada. Patty’s unique style faceless portraits of women were featured on multiple immensely popular art portals and received several prestigious photography awards. Among them Tokyo International Foto Awards, Moscow International Foto Awards, Fine Art Photography Awards, and many many others. Patty’s work is represented by several galleries in different countries of the world. And she has accomplished all that not even being a full-time artist! In our conversation, Patty shares what helped her find her unique personal style, what you should do to get a gallery to represent you and if talent is important in a creative life. I hope you’ll enjoy this interview as much as I did! It has lots of wisdom and practical knowledge about being an artist in today’s world.

In this episode, I’m talking to Ronny Garcia, a conceptual portrait photographer from Chile. Ronny is known to over 100k people on Instagram for his fantasy-like portraits. He has a unique editing style that draws thousands of people to his art. However, it was completely different, when he just picked up his camera 6 years ago, trying to deal with a painful breakup. Listen to Ronny’s story to learn how art can help you heal, why paying attention to color is crucial in photography and how daily art projects can help you grow.

In this episode, I’m talking to Karen Cantuq, incredibly inspiration digital artist from Mexico. Karen now has a Instagram community of over 90k people, has partnered with brands like Starbucks and CocaCola, but what’s more important is that she has figured out how not to be a starving artist and pay for traveling all over the world. But this is not how it started though. Karen’s story started with deep personal trauma and depression, which art helped her to overcome. Maybe you can relate to this. But please hear her amazingly inspirational story from herself and I hope you enjoy the interview!

This episode includes my interview with Rob Woodcox, American conceptual photographer who is widely known all over the internet for his series of images of giant structures made of human bodies. Besides creating and financing his amazing artworks, Rob also works for clients like Universal, teaches conceptual photography worldwide and has held over 75 workshops all over the world. In addition, Rob is passionate about helping those in need and organized photography-related projects to raise money for foster kids. There’s a lot to learn from him and this interview proves it. We discuss how his curiosity for shooting dancers turned into an impactful art project, Rob’s unique method of finding inspiration in music and how overcoming personal barriers helps you become a better artist. Enjoy!

In this episode, I’ll be talking to Helga Stenzel, a mixed media visual artist from London. She works across a wide range of media including illustration, photography, video, and animation. Helga started out as an Art Director in the advertising industry. There she learned the basics of branding, marketing, and strategic thinking. This set of skills is now helping her to create engaging content for some of the most popular accounts on social media. In our talk, Helga shares the challenges that she faced, when she just graduated from college, ups and downs of her own small business and the details of her creative process.

This episode features an interview with California-based fashion photographer Diane Villadsen. Diane's fashion shoots images the break all the stereotypes of fashion photography. Focused on pastel colors and creating her own location sets, Diane the has a thriving Instagram community of over 47 followers and a popular YouTube channel, where she shares all her knowledge and experience in shooting unusual fashion with more than 15k subscribers. We talk about how to get your first clients as a photographer, when should you make a transition to being a full-time creative, should you do free work and why your works should have a meaning behind them. I really hope you enjoy it!

In this episode, I’ll be talking to Anna Devis and Daniel Rueda an amazing and hugely Instagram famous couple. You can find them on Instagram as @anniset and @druerda. Anna and Daniel shoot “creativity-driven minimalistic architectural self-portraits” as they call their works and blow minds of thousands of people by the simplicity, originality, and positivity of their photos. In this interview, we talk about how perfectionism gets you nowhere, where you should search for your personal style, what to do when you don’t have ideas for your art. Anna and Daniel share how they get ready for each shoot and what they learned from working with clients like Netflix and Facebook. I promise you’ll get lots of valuable insights from this talk!

This episode includes my interview with Ted Chin, known as @eye.c on Instagram. Ted is an amazing digital artist from San Francisco, California. He creates mesmerizing composites that seem to stem from another world where everything is possible: whales flying over a city, giant wolves, ballerinas dancing on tree tops - anything that you can or can’t imagine. With an Instagram following of over 120k people, Ted has partnered with brands like Puma, Honda, Apple, Facebook, Adobe and many others. We talked about Ted’s artistic path, how he started and how got to where he is now, how he works with clients and how to market yourself as an artist. Have a listen, there’s precious insight info you won’t easily hear anywhere else!