MM: Hi! Thanks for having me. I am Maria, a self-taught photographer from Southern Germany and I've been a professional photographer since 2014. Before that, I studied marketing and linguistics but wasn't really happy with this choice of profession. So I chose to put all my eggs in one basket and became a self-employed photographer- I have not looked back ever since.

MM: That was a long time before studying marketing. I think it was in my early teenage years when I found out that photography was a quicker way to depict my feelings than drawing (which I did a lot of back then). I am very impatient for results, so photography was the perfect way to get quick results.

MM: I would say it is a wild mixture of fine art, dark art, fantasy, and classic portrait photography. I'm interested in so many different kinds of photography, that's why it's hard for me to limit myself to just one style.

MM: I guess that was when I found the analog SLR of my dad in a drawer when I was a child. I had been playing a lot with different technical devices we had at home back then. E.g. I loved to press all the buttons on my parent's stereo or VCR and imagined them to be parts of a space shuttle. That's where the camera with its buttons caught my attention as well and I started experimenting with it.

MM: Photography is my profession, so it's an everyday companion. Besides that, it has been a cure for me when times were quite dark, as it helped me to express my feelings better than anything else I tried before (and I tried a lot).

MM: I know, it sounds kind of boring, but my main influence in photographing was the legendary Helmut Newton since the early 90s. I don't know if anyone remembers it, but I was a huge fan of the "MAX" lifestyle magazine back then. They always had great photo series in every issue and I used to tear the sheets out and put them on my walls. Helmut Newton was one of the photographers whose photos were published regularly in MAX and I quickly fell in love with his avant-garde black/white photographs of strong but also fragile women. I know, there are some people today that blame late Helmut for being a misogynist, but to me, no matter in what way he staged his female models, they always looked powerful and confident to me. And that's probably the main influence for my own photography: depicting female power with all its aspects.

MM: I think my main advice would be to always keep your eyes wide open for inspiration wherever you may be. Inspiration lies in the details. For example, I love to take detailed pictures of old paintings in museums, when a very small but yet important detail catches my eye. Whether it's the position of hands in a portrait, the light in the eyes, or props that were used to fill an arranged ensemble. Don't try to copy a photo you like, but try to find the essence of it (e.g. lighting) and combine it with other details you like from other sources. Create your own recipes and maybe you'll one day find your very own main ingredient that makes your pictures unique and recognizable.

MM: As I do many more client shoots than shoots with professional models, it's my everyday task to get the best out of inexperienced people. I think that probably starts way before having them in front of my camera, with communicating with them. I always try my best to answer all their question and take away all insecurities. When it comes to shooting them, I always offer everyone equal opportunity for me to be their guide through the whole photoshoot by telling them exactly what I want, and even posing in front of them, when describing my ideas verbally is not enough. Sometimes this leads to funny situations, that loosen up the mood and help people to relax and be more genuine in front of my cam.

MM: I think my most important component is having a certain dark twist and melancholy that comes through in many of my pictures, even though I don't always intend to bring that in, that is the most obvious part that comes through and as many people emphasize that when looking at my photographs they see that dark twist come through, so I guess that's my signature style.

MM: Yes it did for quite a while. I tried to keep the 3 pics of one series in a row, which forced me to always edit three pics of one shoot (even though I often only really liked only one or two). But I stopped doing that and have continued to post pics without a certain order. 

MM: That's a tough one....maybe don't shut yourself off from the beauty of darkness or melancholy. I have met a lot of people, who automatically think that I must be living a life in agony and grief because of some of my darker and sometimes even slightly bizarre pictures. My credo in life is: how can one realize light when you have never stared into the dark depths of your soul. Well, and as I preferred the dark princess Lili version in the "Legend" in my childhood to the light and fairylike one, I guess a certain kind of affinity for dark themes has always been there with me :D

MM: Be inspired, but don't copy blatantly. It is hard to be innovative, as almost everything has been photographed before. But you can always create something new by mixing different styles and elements and making it your own style.

MM: I would love to see less envy between photographers and more cooperation. You can learn a lot by creating something new with colleagues, whether it's the way they work creatively or how they manage their business.

MM: Maybe being taken seriously by people who only know the typical small-town photographers, that usually only take wedding or family pics. I don't know how many times I had to explain myself to people telling them that I am able to pay my bills myself through my work and I don't have to ask my husband to do so. But that's a stereotype many female freelancers from the creative scene see themselves confronted with.

MM: In addition to my previous answer, another hurdle is definitely not being taken seriously as a female artist. Especially in a scene full of male colleagues.

MM: Besides the old analog SLR of my dad, the first-ever photography gear was my Canon EOS500 with kit lenses and construction lights as indoor lighting. My current favorite gears is my Canon 85mm f1.2 and my everyday studio lens 24-105 f4.0

MM: My everyday highlight is the fact that people really like to see many of my photos as art and love to hang them on their walls. I could have never imagined that there are people out there that would pay thousands for a limited print of one of my pictures. That's probably really the biggest highlight in my career as a photographer till date.

MM: As I am a woman in a male-dominated scene, "Women Empowerment" means so much to me on so many different levels. Beginning with the way some male black sheep treat female models or not being taken seriously by male colleagues, especially when it comes to technical subjects. I am happy to see that more and more girls/women are rocking the photography scene and show how successfully they start from taking photos as a hobby to making it a profession. I totally appreciate the fact, that there are more and more female photographers who have started giving workshops and masterclasses to teach others about their knowledge and break old conventions by doing so. 

MM: Oh, thank you for the compliment :) And yes, as I mentioned before, photography to me is still a male-dominated industry. But I think, digital photography and the possibility to edit pictures on your computer without having to develop a film complexly in a darkroom made it easier and less advanced to get in touch with it for everyone - especially for many creative women, for who the creative process of editing is just as important, as photographing itself. And to be honest, I couldn't imagine the fine art and fantasy photography scene without the wonderful realms hundreds of female photographers create with their mindblowing photographs. To me, it's a fastly growing scene, as people seem to love to escape everyday life more and more frequently. And what is more suitable to stimulate one's fantasy and imagination quickly than visuals, like photographs or films.

MM: I use lightroom for making selections and cataloging, then I use photoshop for the editing. And that's what I would recommend to every upcoming photographer since Adobe often offers discounts that almost everyone can afford.

MM: My most recent big project was a music video we took of a darkwave band. We had a lot of fun and I could imagine doing something like that more often in the future. One of my upcoming projects is a series of photographs I took together with an illustrator " Marian Kretschmer". We are planning to have some exhibitions with them.

MM: I think the most surreal moments I had happened during our photography trip to Iceland in Sep 2020. We hardly met anyone during our shoots and had the most spectacular sites completely to ourselves due to covid restrictions. This was solitude in the next level.

MM: I love watching movies, visiting new places, and going out into nature. Basically doing anything and everything that would bring me new inspiration for further projects.

MM: As I said earlier inspiration lies in the details. For me, the biggest sources of inspiration are paintings, films, nature, and music.

OTSM: Any last words you’d like to add?

MM: Always keep your eyes open when it comes to seeing the beauty in details and never stop dwelling upon it. Never stop believing in the beauty of your dreams.