Today we’d like to introduce you to Helena Raju.
Helena, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Creativity and art has been two important parts of my life since childhood. It began with two colored crayons and a piece of paper. I realized that challenging myself while expressing the creativity of my mind gives me the best satisfaction. Focusing on many things, rather than one, is a key to my personal success. As a self-taught artist, who expresses its vision on canvas with help of oils and acrylics, I’ve decided that incorporating digital approach will be a great idea as well.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road of the beginner is never smooth. Having a professional digital camera does not make you a professional photographer. I had to go through many art and photography books and magazines, attend multiple online classes of well-known local and international photographers, visit museums and galleries. It helped me a lot to build my own style, learn about composition and create a story instead of just a regular boring shot.
The biggest challenge for a travel photographer is overcoming the jetlag. It is necessary to wake up super early if I have a fashion photography session on a popular landmark. Sometimes I assist with make-up and hair that could take up to 2 hours. Getting up as early as 3 am in the morning is usual, but still challenging thing for me. The next challenge is to find the best spot and “beat” the rest of photographers and their models to get the best angle.
Please tell us about Helena Raju Photography.
I specialize in different types of photography. As I mentioned before, it is extremely hard for me to focus on one thing. Therefore, stimulating my mind in various areas is essential to me. I do travel and fashion photography. I enjoy working with families, couples and aspiring models. I also collaborate with restaurants, cafes and bakeries as a food styling photographer.
My vision of creating photographs is fun, colorful, full of emotions and has a story behind each scene. I help my clients with choosing perfect location, clothing and try my best to make them comfortable during the session.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I was born and raised in a small town in Ukraine. Since it rains or snows a lot in Eastern Europe, we spent most of our time at home. We used to have a big library in our house with many books (which my parents carefully collected): from novels and short-stories to encyclopedias and educational books. I was a “professor” to my imaginary students and was plunged myself into science, history, art and other fields. And I really enjoyed those moments.
Source: http://sdvoyager.com/interview/meet-helena-raju-helena-raju-photography-downtown/
