Good afternoon. First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to work with your team again. It is always a pleasure to work with professionals!

I was pushed to create this project by the realisation that many women, unfortunately, doubt their beauty, endlessly comparing themselves to models and influencers with their perfect pictures in social networks. To be honest, a year ago I didn't realise the scale of this problem, but time after time I was written to by ordinary girls (of stunning beauty!) with a message, the meaning of which can be reduced to one phrase: ‘Are you sure that I will look the same as all the models you work with?’. I was shocked. In fact, people are giving up their identity and their natural beauty in favour of imposed trends. But any beauty can be accentuated with make-up and styling (and even without them), with the right images to bring out the natural beauty of every woman even more, which is what I do in my work with private clients. And it's not about trends at all.

That's how I conceived of a project that would show absolutely any woman, ‘You are beautiful. Your beauty is individual. You can be that model/influencer if that's what you want.’ 

It was important for me that women could feel like real stars due to the atmosphere on the set, the professional approach of the whole team, and, of course, the result of the work. Because if you reduce everything to a minimum, the main thing is the inner feeling of your beauty, inner self-confidence, and uniqueness. And I think we have succeeded.

Photography, like any art, is an opportunity to stop time and record those aspects that are important for mankind at a given moment, and thus becomes a great tool for reflection. In my opinion, reflexion is one of the coolest mechanisms to draw conclusions and not to repeat mistakes, to track progress/regress or stagnation in social processes, such as, of course, women's empowerment. And art is the best reflection of existing processes.

By the way, I've noticed that I am surrounded by more and more really successful women who are achieving success not only in their careers but also in socially relevant issues. We work together and grow together -isn't that breaking stereotypes?

Natalija is an amazing person. She is a combination of beauty, intelligence, education, femininity, and so much kindness that I can hardly describe in words. I really wanted to tell more about her through photography. She is multifaceted. For me, as a creator, this is an insanely important fact because I work with people, first of all. And when I feel this human depth, I feel and see even more, and therefore I can reveal the full potential of the woman in front of the camera. The more facets she is willing to show me—I would even say trust me—the more trust there will be between us, which means that the depth of the work will increase exponentially. And another important fact is that she is not a professional model (I'm sure you were surprised). When I first saw her, I honestly couldn't believe it, but she is. Although I'm sure she will be the face of the biggest brands at one point in time if she wants to.

Fortunately, I have not experienced any difficulties in my field, but to be fair, I have not been in it long, but I do not rule out that there will be, because life is long. I can only say that I am the kind of person who does not pass over difficulties but treats them philosophically.

It is no exaggeration to say that she has the main role to play. I am sure that it is with self-confidence and self-belief that any great project begins. People can always sense whether you are confident or not, and it doesn't matter whether it's a client or your colleague on set. But, of course, this is especially important when working with private clients, because photography is like psychotherapy, you know? You have to trust; you have to open up; otherwise, what's the point of it all? If you don't feel confident, the client won't feel it either. I would call it this: You (the creator) are a beacon that lights up the right path, and can it shine dimly?

That's a great question! First, find a photographer whose work you really like and share with them your worries about the shooting process (e.g., lack of posing experience). This is a client's biggest fear, in my gut. But really, if the photographer has a great eye, it's not a problem. On the shoot itself, try to trust, let go of control, and listen to the photographer. I don't know any creator who would demand from the client from the first minutes of super cool posing (or demand anything at all); well, that's silly! We are all human beings, and we all need time to warm up (usually 10-15 minutes from the shooting time), and it's absolutely normal. And my personal advice: don't be afraid to ask questions when preparing for a shoot, because preparation is 50% of success. And, again, trust in the process. I love that moment when my client lets go of control and just enjoys the process. This is when you get the most beautiful shots.

To be honest, I don't know how to separate the two, but I think the point is that my style of female portraiture at the moment is built on this balance. Yes, I can choose strange angles, play with distortions, etc., but only for magazines and brands if the client wants it. I myself believe that there is already artistry in every authenticity; you just have to see it and bring it out.

Ever since I was a kid, I used to draw attention from people working in that kind of industry. I always loved to poste, to act, to play as I’m a famous superstar which resulted in me having a lot of photoshoots and being in kids modeling agency. I also had a great opportunity to develop acting career since I was noticed by a production company called Film 87 which is a sister-firm to Italian Cinecittà. Unfortunately, I had other plans and desires as I child so I never took that chance and made something out of it. My love for posing and being photographed never went away. I found myself in front of the camera once again and this time, I won’t take this opportunity for granted.

The most empowering moment during the shoot would definitely be having all eyes on me. I just love being in the center of the universe and having everyones attention. I feel like that boosts your confidence up and makes you feel like you could conquer the world.

Beauty has no standards. Society’s always trying to make us think you have to fit into a mold to be beautiful which is completely wrong. Nowadays, after all these years of having to look specific way to be considered pretty, it’s so beautiful to see someone who is everything opposite of that. That’s why, I think, people who have that unique beauty draw attention wherever they go. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and the key for feeling beautiful is taking care of yourself. God took time to create every piece of you, never change it just to fit into society standards that change every few years.

As someone who grew up with animals, I just cannot imagine my life without them. Animal activism is really important to me and I hope that in next few years I will be able to take it to a new level. We are the only spicie not living a way of nature and it will cost us a lot, and not only us as human specie but everything alive on our planet. My goal is not only to help animals around me but to educate people on how important is to be friendly to them, to feed them and help if needed. There’s one an Indian legend that says: "When a human dies there is a bridge they must cross to enter into Heaven. At the head of the bridge waits every animal that human encountered during their lifetime. The animals, based on what they know of this person, decide which humans may cross the bridge... and which are turned away.” and I’m giving my best to live by that. 

Art is the most important part of my life. It’s the way that I live. God gifted me with painting and writing skills. Apart from modeling and acting, I went to the art school and painting is for sure my biggest passion and love. There’s a lot of stories about me being in kindergarten and not playing with kids but sitting in the corner and just drawing all day. I loved drawing horses so all my relatives always got a nice drawing of a horse for their special occasions. As I grew up, I found myself in love with poetry and writing. I used to write my own books in the middle school. I used to buy those big notebooks and re-designs their covers to make it look like an actual book. Art, in every way possible, is as important to me as the oxygen is. Without it I wouldn’t know how to live.

First of all, I’d hug that little girl so tight. I would tell her that I am everything she always wanted to be and that I’m so proud how she handled everything that life brought to her. I wouldn’t tell her not to stress about making a mistake because everything is a great lesson and opportunity to learn something new. I just know that little kid would be proud because our ride wasn’t that easy but we made it as fun as possible. 

Those kind of projects is an amazing thing because you never know where you can find your next treasure. There’s a lot of people working in many other industries who are just waiting to be found. Some of them dream about modeling and some of them would do it for fun, but at the end of the day the most important thing is that you’re happy. I also think that fashion and modeling industry should be for everyone and models should be all the people who truly love that job. The beauty is in everyone being different and it should be seen.