Alina Shevchenko
Alina Shevchenko
Who are you?
My name is Alina. I’m 25 and I live in Saint Petersburg, the northern capital of Russia.
You shoot a lot of portraits. What draws you to take photos of people so often and how do you work with your subjects to capture your images?
I have always been keen on shooting people. Each person has unique appearance, and this is my key motivation. Usually, I shoot using mobile phones of the guys who come to the photoshoot. Instagram gave me an opportunity to show these people right away, unretouched, in real time. I love my models, sometimes it’s like boasting: “Look, what a beautiful person is with me today!”. I also shoot my own friends, they are around almost all the time. Generally, I love people, that is my weakness.
During the soot, I ask a model to relax and simply follow my instructions. But sometimes I let them do what they want with occasional comments like “Freeze. Don’t move. Look at me”. There are people who don’t need the instructions, here belong my friends,too. For some reason, they look at me the right way, at once.
How do you feel the environment around you impacts your photography?
Social aspects of the reality have no effect on my pics, I’m a person of mood. If I’m elated, you will see it on my snaps, and vice versa.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your work?
The source of my inspiration are my husband, my relatives and friends. There are also a couple of Instagram pages (for example, @sarakhanov).
What is your favorite food?
My favorite meal is breakfast! I won’t leave home without eating something. If there is nothing to eat in the morning, I will stay in bed until my husband gets me some food.
What’s your favorite music album?
Jacques Brel, Ne Me Quitte Pas, vynil.
If you could travel anywhere next, where would it be?
If I could choose one place to go to, I would visit George Martin, I have a couple of things to tell him ;-)
Interview by Jack Sommer