ALEKSEI KORZOV: “YOUR BEST SHOTS ARE BORN IN TRAVEL”

ALEKSEI KORZOV: “YOUR BEST SHOTS ARE BORN IN TRAVEL”

Photo credit:  Aleksei Korzov

Text:  Anna Mar

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PHOTO CREDIT: Aleksei Korzov

TEXT:  Anna Mar

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Meet ALEKSEI KORZOV – accomplished photographer, teacher, speaker and writer. Originally from Russia, he currently travels and shoots portraits in beautiful places around the world. Aleksei creates stunning black and white portraits that captivate us with their visual aesthetics.
Read our interview, check out Aleksei’s Instagram and get inspired!

Tell us about your introduction to photography. What drew you into this world?

I love creativity and I’ve always loved it. When I was at school, I wrote songs, played the guitar. Once I got a camera in my hands, I started shooting everything and fell in love with it.
Photography helped me make new acquaintances, communicate and give people portraits.
When I was 18, I worked in the Library (not because of the love of the book. Because of the love of a convenient work schedule). It was always quiet at work and there was internet access. I constantly watched photography lessons. After some time, I bought my first digital camera on credit and was able to put into practice what I studied.

What does photography mean to you?

Photography is my life. Really. Recently, my wife and I drove by motorbike on the island of Ko Tao (Thailand). I constantly stopped, took the camera out of my bag and took pictures.
And in the evening, my wife told me: “I don’t know what you would do if you did not like photography. I always see fire in your eyes when you are going to take a shot”
Photography is my job. Photography is my love. I am very happy that I can speak to the world with my photos. I am happy that I can show the beauty of our world and the people.

How would you define your photographic style?

My photographic style is to always change the style. Previously, I shot only black and white portraits in photo studios, then I began to shoot in color, then I began to shoot on the street, then I began to shoot video, then make collages.

When you hold your camera in your hands, you can discover many styles. I don’t want to stand still.

How do you choose your subjects, how they’re dressed, and how they pose? And how do you choose a location for a shoot?

Sometimes it seems to me that the heroes themselves choose me 🙂
I constantly meet them in cafes, at parties and offer to become my model.
I look at a lot of photos for inspiration. I save it to my phone in the folders “Clothes”, “Poses”, “Emotions”, “Processing”, “Collages”, etc. Then, before shooting, I collect a moodboard from all these folders and show them to the models.
Of course, during the shooting I improvise a lot, but with examples in mind, the shooting goes better.

Among your works, do you have a photo with a special story?

Most of the works have a special history. I am absolutely sure that the Universe controls us. If you are in your place, then the Universe helps you. If you are not in your place, the Universe tells you how to go your own way.
Very often we go to shoot in one place, but the navigator leads to another. More beautiful.
But there is one special story. When no one knew me as a photographer, I had a girlfriend. We have “our” song with her. It is a song by the Russian group Zveri. The song is called “The Sun for us”.
One day this girl told me that I need to stop taking pictures because it doesn’t make money. And I answered her: “Wait, what if I will take a picture of the singer of the Zveri?” She said it was impossible.
We broke up. A year after that, I photographed him. And he decided to buy this picture from me and publish it on the cover of his book. The book is called “The Sun for Us”.

Many people think that for good pictures you need to buy a good camera, learn a few rules of composition and learn Photoshop.
But I believe that photography is a projection of our current life. A plane ticket and a trip will make your photos more interesting, not a new camera. Meet an interesting person will make your portrait interesting, not Photoshop.
I like people. I love learning their story. I talk to them. They open up to me. All I have to do is press the button.
I came up with a phrase and I say it in all my lectures.
“Your best shots are born in travel”.

Your Instagram says, “I don’t photograph weddings, because you’ll get divorced anyway.” Is that your principle? And is there an amount for which you would agree to a wedding shoot?

I actually photographed five weddings and they all got divorced. But it’s not my fault. Look at the statistics. 80% of couples in Russia divorce six months after the wedding.
Why did I write this phrase in my profile? This is marketing. Trigger. People see this phrase, laugh and decide to look at my photos.
I love beautiful wedding photos. I believe in true love. Do not take this phrase as something serious

Do you have any interesting projects you’re working on right now?

Yes, now I’m filming the first music video in my life. More precisely, it will be cutting beautiful frames to the music. But this is my first experience, so I’m a little worried.

In the photographic world, black and white is an art form of its own. What do you think the magic of BW photography lies in?

I could say that the black and white photograph is real… I could say that the color distracts from the main things.
But I don’t like to lie. Black and white photography is just a genre. Like in the movies. There are melodramas, thrillers, comedies.
Do not exaggerate the importance of black and white. It’s just a beautiful color. And I love it.

What do you think a photographer needs to become successful?

Become a person. The photographer is a psychologist. The photos are just the result. Photos are a reflection of the author. If the author is boring, does not know how to communicate, does not respect people and the world around, he will never get strong photos.
First of all, you need to work on your personality, and not on the skills of a photographer.
Do you have many friends? Do they ask you for advice? Do they want to see you next to you? If not, then you need to fix it.

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