How to Become a | Portrait Photographer

Kristina Varaksina is an internationally renowned and award-winning portrait photographer based in London whose work explores themes of representation and beauty. Her photography covers the personal stories of marginalised individuals, providing them with a voice and an opportunity to be their true selves. Kristina aims to redefine what we see as beautiful.

But Kristina’s work hasn’t always been this way. She started in fashion and beauty photography, photographing people who fit with conventional beauty standards. She was chasing visual styles and topics that she would realise were not what she wanted to be photographing. She wanted to find and connect with unique people with unique stories and give them a voice.

We are fortunate enough to have Kristina as a Wex Ambassador and have covered her work on our YouTube channel (which you can watch here), so we can vouch for her work. We were excited to chat about her journey to becoming a professional portrait photographer.

Leo White: How did your interest in photography begin?

KV: As a kid, I enjoyed drawing portraits as it allowed me to capture a person’s likeness. Although I initially pursued architecture and interior design at university, I found myself drawn to extracurricular art classes, such as photography, which provided me with a better understanding of the medium.

LW: So when did photography become your main interest? How did you transition into photography?

KV: I had a long career as a graphic designer, and then art director, before realising photography was what I wanted to do. For the most part, photography was a hobby.

As time passed, my interest in photography grew and I eventually left my job to study photography. I didn’t make the decision lightly. I had to sell my car to afford the first semester and then relied on borrowed money to live and fund my learning. After I graduated, I had to sell my apartment in Russia to pay off the loans!

But while at university, I learned to build a portfolio and contact clients for jobs, and thanks to my experiences in the creative industry, I had the confidence to reach out and be hired while studying. 

 

 

 

 

 

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LW: Could you speak about how you moved away from the conventional fashion and beauty photography jobs to explore the themes of representation and beauty?

KV: Advertising, fashion and beauty photography are conceptual genres. At first, I was given the freedom to come up with all sorts of concepts but as time passed, I found fashion limiting. I was lighting and directing models rather than conceptualising or having greater meaning to what I was capturing. I felt like I couldn’t express myself.

Sure enough, the pandemic brought the industry to a standstill and without commercial jobs, and being confined to our houses, I was able to reconnect with what was special about portraiture and storytelling.

The pandemic allowed me to reflect on photography and its immense power to influence and impact people’s lives. I could share my thoughts online but people are unlikely to read them. But I can post a powerful image to my social media and know that people will see and hopefully resonate with it. There was a moment of realisation that I could do much more than just be a fashion photographer. I could use my photography to expand a person’s point of view and expose them to different ideals.

LW: Has that changed how you operate as a photographer? Do you predominately photograph personal projects or are there still commercial aspects to your work?

KV: There is a fine line between them. I am fortunate to still photograph fashion and beauty portraiture for clients such as The Guardian, The Telegraph and Marie Claire. But unlike my early career, I work with “real” people — not models — and it makes a huge difference. I get to talk to them, learn their stories and create meaningful images with a fashion approach.

These jobs provide me with financial stability, allowing me to pursue personal projects I am not paid for; projects that may turn into an exhibition or a book (both potentially resulting in financial gain) but are self-funded.

LW: How has social media affected your photography career?

KV: As it does with any artist, social media has helped my career. It is a platform with essentially no limit to who can find your work. And it's free! 

At university, I was taught by photographers who had no social media when they were starting out. They taught us to send emails and postcard prints of our work, and that felt limiting. There are only so many emails you can send and postcards that cost to print and mail.  

Social media is also accessible to everyone. Where an email may reach a single person from a magazine or publication, your online portfolio can be seen by countless industry professionals or brands you’ve never thought of. 

LW: Do you still reach out to brands and magazines to get your work published? 

KV: I have an agency that represents me and will contact potential publications on my behalf. However, we’re in such a competitive business and it is important to still do some of that work yourself. You should always keep your clients and potential clients up to date with new projects you are working on to keep them excited about your work. 

LW: So when did you sign onto this agency? Is it easy to get signed?

It’s a difficult one. Some agencies, big and small, will be willing to take on photographers early in their careers. But it takes a lot of effort on their part to push an unknown photographer’s work because they generally won’t have worked with big brands or on commercial campaigns. These agencies have to recognise potential talent and invest in a photographer’s creativity and skill. 

When I signed to my agency in 2016, it took us a few years to reach a point where clients would call to work with me. And even then, it wasn’t easy. Even with the agency representing me, it took a combined effort.

 

 

 

 

 

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LW: Could you talk about a challenging moment in your career and how you overcame it?

When beginning a photography career, many will assist photographers on set with lighting or design. But I am a woman and I'm quite short, so it’s not easy for me to deal with heavy and bulky equipment. I felt that I needed to find something else. I ended up teaching photography and I found it a rewarding experience as I continued to learn while teaching. I had to make sure my skills were up-to-date and relevant so I could help the students and this helped me grow as a photographer.

Another challenge is when working with groups of people. On a shoot, there may be stylists, set designers, hair and makeup and more. Sometimes you don’t know who you’re working with and it can be a challenge working with different personalities and methods. 

I’ve learned that managing your emotions and trying to get the best out of a person can be difficult. You often have to simply adapt to how others work. If a person is too slow and you have a set of images to take, you have to think on your feet and maybe you can reassign tasks so you can deliver what is expected.

LW: Do you have any advice for those aspiring to a similar career? 

It depends on what type of portrait photography you specialise in — it’s such a wide field. Documentary or fine art photographers conduct long-term projects to tell a person’s story through portraiture. But it’s a unique experience for every photographer and it can be difficult to be successful straight away. 

Of course, there are more commercial routes such as shooting editorial portraiture for magazines and newspapers. Either way, I think it is important to focus on something you’re interested in outside of photography, such as photographing your community, the music you like or the sports you play. Having that interest allows you to easily connect with your subjects and images will naturally be stronger. 

Whichever route you take, you should create a series of images to send to art directors, editors and competitions. Submitting to competitions is important because it puts your name and work out for potential clients. This helped me early on and even now, I still submit my work to competitions every year.

Finally, assisting a photographer — whether moving lights or being a digitech — can be very helpful, especially with commercial portraiture. The best way to learn about the standards of lighting, post-production and what is expected of a photographer is to be on set on a commercial job. 

 

 

 

 

 

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About the Author

Leo White has been a member of the Wex Photo Video team since 2018, working in a variety of roles ranging from the contact centre to the product setup team. With both a photography BA and MA, Leo has a wealth of knowledge he's ready to share.