All images by Anastasia Egonyan. Used with permission. All words by Anastasia Egonyan for the Phoblographer.

I have always valued analog photography over digital as there is simply no way of getting the same result out of latest technologies as much as I get it from the good old film. Well, at least to satisfy my needs and maintain my photography style that you might have noticed has evolved to a clear and romantic side which is proudly called the “Fine Art Photography”. Yet I try to maintain my own point of view here as well and not merge with the numerous artists that hold the classical label.

So this is one of the latest art shootings that I have done and the idea for it was to show an alternative beauty in a really delicate and soft manner. I aimed to play with contrasts and preconceptions as you know you usually get to see grunge girls in grunge images, but what I personally see here is a modern way of a renaissance beauty. Now we have girls with mermaid hair and colourful tattoos all over the body, but there is still a big part of being feminine and gentle appearance in that look and I was able to emphasise it quite successfully.

My gear for the shooting was the Contax 645 + Zeiss 80mm f/2, a medium format gem and I love this camera to death. I think it’s the best gear combination ever and I have gone really addicted to it due to its ease in use, the particular beauty of the lens and how it makes the pictures look so soft and sharp at the same time. My film of choice here was Fuji Pro 400h and I have picked it due to its beautiful magenta tones as the skin of the model is cool with pink undertones and it would not be smart to pick a Kodak in this case which gives a more yellowish finish. And adding to that we have blue/teal hair, blue/teal tattoos and a teal dress in composition, everything on white canvas which makes it on the cool side of the palette and in this case magenta base works better than a yellow base. As a result you see how we have a variety of colours on the skin – from pleasant yellow to a pretty blush on lips and cheeks.

As I have returned to nude photography as well, I think I have to mention some tips about working with girls in this direction. We are talking about normal people that don’t make their living out of modelling and that is where it gets a bit hard in this topic as you initially have to gain at least a bit of trust from the person as being naked makes the other part feel a bit uncomfortable and awkward, especially in front of a stranger. I just try to be nice and polite in first place while I text with a model before the shooting, but yet still really firm about the conditions of the event.

I get everybody to sign a TFP contract that allows me to publish the resulting photography at all medias and I also let the model know that there is no going back once we “hit the stage” as we all put time and effort in the shooting so if somebody is not comfortable with being naked in front of the camera then they should make it clear in their mind while they are still at home. And I know that while shooting nude many photographers let the model pick the pictures that they would allow to put online or elsewhere afterwards. I do not practice this at all, I think that making the picture is my personal and artistic process and nobody should interfere with it. I simply ask it straight while shooting “are you comfortable with this pose, are you okay if we show as much, is it not too much for you, etc.”

Better to be open and clear before you release the shutter. This also makes the model more confident and shows that you have nothing to hide and you won’t make any “discreditable” shots.

As we meet for the shooting we begin to get to know each other a bit better by dropping a few introduction phrases and starting a short conversation. In this particular session I have done the makeup myself as well and the reason was to mainly have the makeup match the look as I wanted, not having to explain this to another...