This month I am bringing you an interview with
bwaworga ! Brenda is a photographer in Indonesia who has been with the DA community for 7 years, and she has made a huge mark on the community with her unique style! Her talent is undeniable and her style shines through in the variety of styling and locations she chooses. I hope you find great inspiration in her work and in her interview!
In particular her advice to beginning fashion photographers is advice that rings true for all of us in the photography community.
Enjoy!
What made you decide to photograph people? And was fashion the type of photography you first started out creating?
I always have thought people are complex, there is such a beauty about how different people are one to another. It's about how they express their self, their emotion, and even their taste towards something, including what they wear. And how amazing to bring that kind of beauty to my photograph and how I can manage to "play around" and create something through the "complexion" based on what I see. I have always loved fashion but I think my first creation was portrait.
Please, briefly describe your fashion photography style.
I love a lot of fashion styles... but my favorite is definitely dreamy fairytale-ish and street style.
Are you self-taught or formally educated in photography? And if you're self-taught, what resources have you found to be the most helpful on your journey?
I'm self-taught, never even once took a formal class. I actually would love to try to take a class, but living in a small town far from everywhere
I couldn't find any photography classes around, so I just tried to learn photography by myself mostly from medias especially the internet.
I found it really useful how easy it was to access information about anything, because internet nowadays provides almost everything.
Do you think in this age of technology that photography is "easier" or more "accessible?" And does this matter for the industry?
Yes it is! I must say technology helps out artists, especially photographers, and makes it accessible and easier to get recognition on their works.
Once again, living in small town far away from the capital city I must say technology "helps" me a lot to get my name and works out there,
which I think would be impossible for me to be where I am today if not for the technology.
I think Technology affects the photography Industry nowadays in a really big matter, not only the internet, but also there are so many amazing tools out there because of that, and it's easier for people to learn and try photography too, and businesses are getting bigger every year, so yeah I think technology really does matter.
What do you find most inspirational for your creativity?
My Inspiration comes from a lot of things actually but I think books really took a big part in how I find my inspiration.
I'm such a big fan of reading, I love reading equally with photography,
books took me to other places and times and I love to bring them out into my camera.
Do you plan out your photoshoots extensively beforehand? Or are you a bit more spontaneous when creating a fashion series?
I'm such a planner photographer hehehe
I have sketchbook and a notepad on my phone so I can write down ideas whenever I need to.I always plan my concepts before photoshoots... like the location, property, makeup, and so on. Sometimes though, I do spontaneous shots in the middle of "planned photoshoots" whenever an idea suddenly pops up on location.
What has been the most important piece of advice you've been given on photography? And what advice would you give to a fashion photographer trying to start out?
- "Shoot what you love"
That was probably a starting point for me to be more confident about my works. Throwback into my early years of learning photography, and
I tended to care more what others thought about my works than what I loved, like I would shoot just because other "big photographers" told me it was the best thing to shoot. I did post processing by the trends and I needed to follow them if I wanted to be a "good" photographer. I was loosing myself and I hated it. Then, a photographer friend told me that quote (too bad hes retired now) and from that day on I decided to do it and be proud of what I love to do!
My advice for a fashion photographer trying to start out... I know its hard but we are all struggling somehow in the beginning, so please keep practicing and keep doing what you love and stop comparing yourself to other photographers (cause it will kill all the fun)! The recognition is just a bonus, but do this for yourself and your passion!
What is your favorite and/or most successful photo-shoot you've created?
Probably the waterfall photoshoots.. it was a real struggle just to reach the location and to bring a lot of stuff together with the team
and to pose and shoot under the waterfall. We were drenched and wet and exhausted after the photoshoot, but I really love the result! It came out even better than I expected.
Putting together teams for photoshoots can be difficult, and many new photographers don't know where to start. How do you find people to work with? What kinds of qualities do you look for in a creative team?
Social medias 
It helped me out to find my first team...from models, stylists, designers, and makeup artists, basically most of the artists these days have their own personal business page on social medias, so it's actually easy to find someone who want to works together with you.
The kind of qualities I try to find on a creative team is the same big passion to create something as much as I do! I love working with passionate artists who can make my vision into reality.
How do you connect with your models when they're in front of the camera? Do you do lots of model directing on photoshoots?
I think it is important to get to know your models before you shoot... like we must feel comfortable with one another, try to create a small chat if you just meet them on location and try to break the ice and build chemistry, after that usually it will just flow during the photoshoot and directing model become easier.. I find being a female photographer is kind of an advantage too when it comes to female models being comfortable in front of my lens
About directing... I think it really depends on the model's experience.. some of them don't really need a lot of direction, I just tell them about my concept and they easily pose, while the others with not so many experiences still need a lot of direction from me to pose in front of the camera.
What kind of goals are you currently working towards with your photography?
I would love to create more diversity on my photoshoots, from concepts and models and ideas without leaving my personal style.
I would like to say thank you so much for this opportunity.. DeviantArt is my 1st online platform to show my photography works, and it has witnessed my journey from the very start, so this community really holds a special place in my heart.
