Interview with Claudia Wycisk
#1 Please introduce yourself
I was born in April 1985 in Suhl / Thuringia and now live and work in Mainz, Germany.
#2 How did you get interested in photography?
My grandmother gave me a push in the right direction to buy a camera while we were having coffee together on a Sunday afternoon. That was in 2007. From that moment, photography has grown into
an indispensable part of my life. Through photography I had the chance to meet a lot of wonderful people with whom I collaborated on great ideas and spent a fantastic time. Letting my imagination run wild and working with people, without being restricted by any external requirements is motivating me to go on. Photography means a lot to me, not only because it has changed me as a person, but because it just lifts me up, even if a day is not going so well. Just switch the camera on, switch the problems off and find myself again.
#3 Do you have an artistic/photographic background?
No, I’m autodidact. In 2007 I bought my first SLR camera. Since 2009 I am working only with people photopraphy.
#4 Which artist/photographer inspired your art?
Photographers that I like for example are Sylwia Makris, Christian Martin Weiss, Hannes Caspar, Daria Endresen… I get inspiration everywhere. From people I meet, while walking with my dog or going horsebackriding, from films, the internet, and so on. It’s coming from all directions.
#5 What is your favourite kind of portrait photography, and what is it that interests you so much?
I would say my photography is very sentimental. With every picture I would like to create emotions, so that people get drawn into the photos. Sometimes they might even find themselves in one of
these pictures. A view into the soul. That’s what makes it so interesting for me. I meet a lot of wonderful people with whom I can spend a creative time. One of my favorite quotes is: “It’s better to be a square something, than to be a round nothing!” I think this quote sums up my thoughts. I like people with character and some edge to them. This is the kind of model that I like to see in front of my camera. So, beauty to me is really something that people carry inside them. The soul, the expression, the devotion to open up to me.
#6 How do you find the models to work on your projects?
It depends. Most models I find on facebook. Facebook is a good platform to find models. Many models write to me on facebook or email and then I look if it fits.
#7 What is the most important thing you can recommend to young photographer that is interested in that type of photography?
Always stay in the game! ☺ At the beginning Phases come where you think it doesn’t go any further, but here is very important to be active and always keep on shooting, because that made me better.
#8 Could you please tell us something about your technique and creating process?
I photograph digital with Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 50mm 1.4 and the Canon 24-70mm 2.8. These are my favorite objectives. For the post-processing I use Photoshop. In order to make good pictures it is very important to create a connection between the model and the photographer. If there is no such connection I simply cannot make any good pictures. That’s why the communication before every shooting is so crucial. With some models the connection is great from the first moment on of meeting each other, but this doesn’t always happen. But that’s ok, too.
For me it is very interesting to work with the models until they trust me enough to let go. You can practically see how they become more themselves with every picture that I take.
The only and important thing in order to make good pictures is to create a connection between the model and me. If there is no connection I can’t take emotional pictures. Other than that, I follow no fixed rules to take good pictures. Many things happen spontaneously. This is great, because from my experience, spontaneity brings the best results. My pictures I let print on “Digitaloriginal”. My favourite paper is “Aquarellpapier”. This paper has a wonderful structure and my pictures look very good on this paper. The paper makes the pictures look like paintings.
#9 What do you do in your life besides photography?
Besides my photography I’m an office worker in a computer company. The job is not my dream job. The photography is for me the perfect balance. Other hobbies of mine are horseback-riding and
riding my bike.
#10 What future plans do you have? What projects would you like to accomplish?
Currently, I’m working on an art project which name is “The Black Series”. In this project people are being photographed in front of my black backround in the same light and in historical clothes. The pictures look like pictures of the 19th century. The series will be finished at the end of april. And then I will be producing a picture book of the black series..
Claudia Wycisk portfolio:
www.cwphoto.de
One Response to “Claudia Wycisk”
jacksavage12
wow, superb photos!