Edita Bízová: Angelic Adriana
CALEB SCHAFTLEIN,
1. Could you please give us a little introduction and tell us about your first experience with photography? Who or what inspired you to begin photography?
I started taking photos when I was a kid (well, a teenager). I got a film camera from my dad and took it on my first trip abroad to Greece. I photographed around three rolls of film and then lost the camera in Athens :D Well, at least I kept the films and I have photos from that time there. I loved taking photos ever since – I photographed all family members and everything that came my way. I didn’t study photography at school, but it was always in my life. I came back to taking pictures after 20 – started as a TFP photographer, but I was willing to learn and fail and learn again. I loved it when people said my photos made them feel beautiful – specifically women – their confidence was boosted, they felt seen, and that kind of stuck with me. I love photographing women and creating what I call Beauty portraits – that are focused on capturing women’s beauty.
2. From your point of view, what are the most difficult aspects of professional photography?
The most difficult aspects of professional photography for me are pricing and marketing – I am an introvert so it takes some self-pep-talk to approach possible clients :D. Another thing was that as a woman in photography – people used to view my photography business as a hobby and didn’t take me seriously. Even when I started with workshops and content creating for photographers – I still feel that there is a huge gender gap. Even now a lot of men in the industry don’t take female creators seriously and just discard us that we should be in front of the camera and not behind it.
3. As the expert you are, what distinguishes your work from others, and what are the keys to mastering photography?
Well for me it is a lot of practice, learning, and failure. Even now I dedicate a lot of my time every day to learning from other established photographers I admire. I study photographs and other techniques and I always learn. The more I know the more I want to learn and improve. What is different from others in my photography is my signature and my point of view – I see women as strong and confident beings (or at least I want them to feel that way and empower them) and I photograph them that way. I don’t care if someone says “well I am not photogenic” or “women have to wear a ton of makeup to look good.” I don’t believe in that and I try to prove that my point of view is valid. As for my style – women in my photographs are strong, feminine, confident – images have a painterly feel and thought out color pallete.
4. What type of models do you prefer to shoot with? Why?
I prefer easy-going confident women that are easy to work with. They don’t have to look a certain way. But I like to see a spark in them. I love to have chemistry in the photoshoot because it will make the best results.
5. Are there any other photographers you look up to? Who?
So many! I am kind of afraid that I will forget to name someone, it is a tricky business :) I love the works of Maria Švarbová, Marek Wurfl, Evelin Bencincová, Julia Fulerton-batten, Lindsay Adler, Sue Bryce, John Russo, Annie Leibowitz or Mario Testino.
6. Can you walk us through your planning process for this photoshoot and how you went about conducting it?
For this photoshoot I had an opportunity to work with this beautiful model, hired a super talented makeup artist and created a mood board that I showed them both. Then we’ve done some of it and got carried away and created a lot more.
Photographer: @editbphoto, Makeup Artist: @tereza.muah, Model: @adrianakun
The chemistry on the set was amazing, I’ve created a ton of beautiful photographs and the hardest part was to pick just a few of them. I can’t wait to create with Adriana again.
7. What are your upcoming projects and what are your goals for the future?
Now I am creating some educational courses for photographers, I would also love to launch some of them in English. As for my projects I have one pet project that I call Essence of beauty – where I photograph women in swimming caps without makeup to show that they are beautiful even if we don’t enhance their best features because beauty comes from within. I am also expanding my beauty portfolio because I would love to work more with beauty brands. In the meantime, I would love to sell more wall art from my personal projects. And get myself a medium format camera of course :D.
8. Where can we see more of your works and get connected with you?
My most updated social media channel is Instagram @editbphoto. There is a lot to be found on my website editbphoto.com. But I also have TikTok (where I share tips and BTS from photoshoots), and my youtube channel is in my native language (Czech).
