Interview: Photographer Grzegorz Pytel (Poland)

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I am a 38 years old photographer from Poland. I am a total self-taught and started in 2008. From 2010 to 2012 I used to be a paid professional with my own business which I had to stop it due to many reasons and now after 7 years I am back to photography again with new ideas and lots of energy.

How and when did you get into photography? I bought my first digital camera from a college scholarship in December 2004. I didn’t have any models, so I have started from so called selfies. I was placing my photos on Myspace profile where I was discovered by a photographer from nearby city. She took a photo session with me where I took in my hands her digital SLR. The next day I bought my own digital SLR and since then (it is 2008) I stopped being a model and started to take my first photo sessions.

What does photography mean to you? Photography has become a way of artistic exploitation for me. This passion is the energy and it gives a sense to my life. It is a way more than just hobby. It’s a style of life.

Please briefly describe your photography style for our readers? At the beginning it was a very dark and horror style. Last year I started to take more sensual photos. In a nutshell I would call it Angels & Demons, like dualism of our life: Ying Yang, Day & Night… I always choose such pictures which contains emotions and have some story behind like in a film frame.

Where do you get inspiration from? I am inspired by good books & movies, theatre, video clips, music, mythology… I love movies of Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan and many more. I grew up on fantasy, SCI-FI and horrors in general.

Do you think in advance what you want in the picture? Mostly yes as I want to express my new vision, so I choose a place, model and stylization. Rest is usually spontaneous during the session self.

Studio, on location or both? I like both, though I prefer more particular location then a studio.

Would you consider yourself a hobbyist or a paid professional? Definitively I am a hobbyist, but I do not close myself for being a paid professional in the future. I have been for a short time a paid professional, however due to personal reasons I had to postpone this activity. It doesn’t matter if I am paid or not, I will be always at first the hobbyist.

What has been your most memorable session and why? To be honest I do not have such. Each session of mine is different, unique and full of emotions. Hard to choose one of these.

Nikon or Canon? Favorite lens? Definitively Canon, and lens are: 50 1.4 and 70-200 2.8

What is one piece of advice you would like to offer a new photographer looking a start their own business? The most important is a good idea about what, where and with who the session will be taken. A new photographer should take a lot of photos and shouldn’t fear any criticism.

What do you think of our new magazine?

It is a very good idea for showing the art of the picture all over the world. All photos are on an a very high level and I feel honored to present my piece of work in this magazine.

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