Photoshoot + Interview: 'Natural' by Weronika Saran
How many times have you left the house without makeup this week?
Or looked at a Photoshopped advertisement and compared yourself to a model endorsing a product? How much less would we consume if we actually felt good about ourselves the way we are?
For UK-based, award-winning photographer Weronika Saran, embracing non-manufactured projections of self is paramount.
“The series Natural (2016) is one of the most personal projects I've ever done. After a few years, I've finally discovered what it means to be a 'beautiful woman'. For me, it means accepting yourself, without layers and masks. Natural is about a girl who doesn't need to wear tons of makeup to feel beautiful and self-confident,” she explains.
While we don’t all look like Weronika’s breathtaking model Nathalie (we’ve got some serious freckle envy happening right now), there’s never been a better time to re-examine how going bare-faced can be refreshing.
Keep reading for an exclusive interview with the talented photographer!
Q: Why did you first begin to take photos?
A: When I was a kid I lived in my imagination. It didn’t take much for me to imagine myself as Anne Shirley or Tom Sawyer. I could run off into the woods and made up my own adventures. When I was 18 years old, I moved to England to start my studies at University at Warwick. The first year was daunting – I had problems with adapting to a new culture and didn’t have any friends. One day in the library, I came across Bazin’s book ‘The Ontology of the Photographic Image’. For full five days, I couldn’t tear myself from away from this book! It completely changed my perspective on photography. I’ve started to work hard to buy my first camera. After a few months, when I took my first photo, I felt like the happiest person in the world.
Q: Your shoot celebrates natural beauty - how important do you think it is that photographers do shoots like this?
A: There is little truth in photography nowadays. Almost every photographer overuses Photoshop to make his/her photos look perfect. For me, it’s not a definition of art. Art is not about creating the false images, but finding the beauty where nobody sees it. The great photograph thrills you to the marrow. It changes you. For me, a photograph that has been retouched several times loses its truth and magic. It’s just beautiful. That’s why, I think that photographers should celebrate the real.
Q: Is it important to you to work from the heart and tell a story with shoots, as you have here?
A: Anton Chekhov said: ‘The role of the artist is to ask questions, not answer them’. For me, a good photograph is like an enigma that can be solved in very different ways. Photography does not exist only to be admired, but above all to convey the unexplainable. An artist who creates mechanically, will never be able to talk to your heart in a deep way.
Q: What do you like best about portrait photography?
A: Portrait photography is always a challenge to me! Although I work with people I’ve never met before, I must immediately figure out how to make them feel confident and how to capture their essence in an image. Everyone is different so you can’t have the same approach to every person. The most fascinating thing about portrait photography is reading others and understanding their point of view.
Q: What are you working on next?
A: My next project will focus on exploring the bodies through movement. I’m going to create a series of photographs of the ballet dancer to explore how the human body can be simultaneously empowered and fragile.
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Check out more of Weronika’s portrait work online, and be sure to like her on Facebook to follow her journey.
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Full credits: Photographer: Weronika Saran | Model: Nathalie Elston-Hooper
Cecile Blackmore is a writer from Brisbane, Australia. She writes and edits at The Creative Issue and hoards vintage clothing – follow her adventures on Instagram at @saintcecile.