ramona_jessica_2_2018

Most of the time you work on Fashion assignments. What do you think about documentary photography ? From your point of view on a personal level what does that bring to you compared to another genre ? Ideally I like to combine the two worlds. It works best for me when they're interwoven. I like to stay close to reality when doing fashion assignments. Not too much embellishment. It's fun to experiment with this too though. I certainly keep an open mind. I'm also willing and pleased to hear the stylist's, make-up artist's or model's ideas and wishes. For me, working on assignments is a dialogue you're having with the whole team. I love documentary photography because it teaches you something and it can be very personal at the same time. You dig deep into a subject matter that tells you something you didn't know or like to know more of through imagery. That's how I fell in love with photography. Nan Goldin was the instigator. Her strong intimate and predominantly personal work made me pick up a camera. 

In general, what is your process in particular on your personal / documentary project ?
how did you find a new project / theme ? did you make some research before like « mood board» or you just go and shoot and see in the moment ?
I don't really have a process. I'm a very intuitive person, however, that can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes I feel I need direction and I find it hard to create that for myself. Perhaps that is just who I am. I am more of a visceral person rather than a cerebral one. Finding new projects is really hard. New ideas need time to simmer. And sometimes, after a while, you let go of those ideas and start over. I'm asked to make mood boards and I do it to introduce an idea to clients or stylists, however, I never resort to them once I'm working. I'd rather see what the moment brings. 
What are your influences ? when you start photography and then after your recent influences if you have some. sometimes our influences change along our evolution in photography - could be a photo but also something else What I find most important, and I only just found out, is that my mind needs to be calm. Free from too much input. All this information/ image overload can be paralyzing and impeding with your own creative growth. I'm currently taking 6 weeks off from photography to find calmness of the mind. I'm half way in and I'm feeling better already. The first week was difficult as I didn't want to leave Amsterdam and just keep working. I wasn't feeling creative yet I felt I needed to create for the sake of it, so this holiday was timed perfectly.