Yana Zikova: Quiet evening

I mainly work with private clients and do individual photo shoots. As a professional photographer I have been working only for the first year, but already during this time my works have been published in more than 20 foreign and local magazines.

I have been taking pictures since I was a child. I used to take pictures of everything and gradually realized that I really like to take pictures of people. Since then I’ve been moving in that direction.

I have always been very attracted to the way people change during a photo shoot and the emotions they feel. The main motivation is the emotions people get with my photos, how they become a little happier

First there is a detailed discussion of the idea with the client, I ask a lot of questions and show a lot of examples, give the person the opportunity to already imagine what approximately will turn out. Then I suggest a suitable place for the photo shoot, choose the right clothes and props. Then the photo shoot itself and in 3-5 days I give the finished photos.

I try to create an individual story for each person, which will be close to them. I come up with an idea especially for him. I take care of all stages of preparation and create comfort in the process so that a person does not worry about anything and only enjoys it.

Music, movies, artists’ paintings, social networks and professional websites

The work of a photographer is often connected with the work of other people. I always try to foresee all the options if something goes wrong. But sometimes there are unpredictable situations. So sometimes it happens that models don’t come or, one day, right before shooting, the makeup artist refused to work and had to urgently find a replacement. Now I always foresee these moments and work only with people in the team, in whom I am not just 100% sure, but 200% sure.

The idea and the ability to beat it beautifully with light and color

We always discuss the idea in detail, and then show what elements I collect it from (photos of clothes, props, photo studio, etc.

I watch a lot of works by other photographers, I take interesting solutions and ideas from them for each element of photography. Someone has an incredibly beautiful light, someone has a beautiful color in the photo, someone uses interesting props. I really like to mix ideas and mix techniques. My most favorite photographer for many years is Tim Walker

I try not to do a lot of photo post-processing. More often just light skin retouching and color correction. This shooting is just such an example. But there are also ideas where you have to finish a lot of things, modern technologies and software capabilities help in this.

I am constantly learning something new in the profession of a photographer. At the moment I am taking a course on the development of creative thinking in photography

Be bolder and not be afraid to show your imagination

I love a lot of my photo shoots and each in its own way. I try to surpass myself every time and improve my skill. Therefore, if i need to choose, then my favorite is the photo that i created last.