Before reading this interview I suggest reading my Introduction to Interviews with Photographers.

This is the second part of my interview with Katerina Lomonosov. Click here to read the first part.
To read the whole interview in one piece click here.

Let’s talk about the following photograph:

Photograph by Katerina Lomonosov. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Looking at it I feel vague associations with some of my childhood fears. What did you want to communicate through this photograph?

This photograph is named “Philosophy of Unfreedom”. At first this photograph is simply gives an impression of prisoned child staring outside from the “cage”. But I put also a hidden meaning here. Pay attention to the child’s hands. Look how hard he clings to his “cage”. How often we, being unfree in the literal or figurative meaning of this word, are afraid to loose our “cage”, fear to make changes in our lives, and feel comfortable in our unfreedom, though not always admit it?

Such interpretation doesn’t lie on the surface, and if a viewer won’t take time to “decipher” it, it will remain hidden. But even without it the photograph turned out to be deep, memorable, and strong – mostly thanks to a good acting of my five years old son ☺.

Photo “October…” I liked the most. It breathes with tenderness and freshness of the autumn… Tell us a bit about the creation of this photograph.

Photograph by Katerina Lomonosov. Click on the photo to enlarge.

This work is one of my favorites. The model is a young woman who came to me. She wanted me to create beautiful photographs of her. So she wanted to look good in the pictures, and my goal was not to disappoint her…

The idea of hair-tree came immediately to my mind, but post-processing took several hours. Then I was ready to send the work to my customer, but something stopped me…
I was returning to work on it each day of that week – tried to add various elements, but nothing worked. Until one day I had the idea to add falling leafs to the tree… Then everything fell into place, and the photograph got its final look.

Tell us about the accessories that you use in your work.

Each composition gets its own accessories. Sometimes it’s gloves or a fan, often different types of fabric, sometimes flowers. I also like to use fruits and vegetables – they seem “real” to me, just as the nature created them, I think this is important for my work. Once I even brought a stepladder from work – it complemented the background of the composition, and I made some very nice pictures with it.

Photograph by Katerina Lomonosov. Click on the photo to enlarge.

What equipment do you use? How important is quality equipment for photographer?

I started with a small point-and-shoot Fuji A210. Many of my early works, which are made with it, now participate in international exhibitions and competitions. Later, I bought Canon 350D and used it for three years. My best works are made using this camera.
Now I have Canon 5D Mk.II. I gladly switched to full frame, but still think that the photographer’s eyes and mind create the photograph and not the camera.

My opinion is that in most cases it is not essential which camera captured the picture – most important is when photograph reaches deep inside and touches your feelings.

Tell us a little about your work with light. What lighting techniques and equipment do you use?

Lighting? I use natural light that reaches my living room through the windows. Nothing more. I don’t use flashes, umbrellas, or reflectors. The important thing for me is to have free time during the daylight hours.

How much time you devote to Photoshop? What features of Photoshop you use the most?

Post-processing in Photoshop is crucial to me. I devote quite a lot of time to it. I work on each photograph for several hours. I use color-correction, add various textures, and work a lot with masks and layers.

Photograph by Katerina Lomonosov. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Is it possible to buy your work, and if so, where?

I sell my work in galleries on the internet, some of them are presented in the Moscow gallery “Fotoloft”

You can also purchase my work directly from me.

If you could give only one piece of advice to a beginner photographer, what would it be?

I would advise to photograph with your “soul”. To put a maximum of “yourself” in what you do, and the result will not be long in coming.

Photograph by Katerina Lomonosov. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Thank you Katerina for your time and knowledge! It has been a true pleasure talking with you.

If you liked Katerina’s works, you can visit her Gallery.

You can also contact Katerina regarding purchasing her work through her email: lomonosov.katerina at gmail.com