Do: Magdaléna Gray

As you guys know, I’m a huge fan of photography. When I post fashion posts on this blog, it’s mostly about the models or the photographer, not really about the brand which they promote. This time I wanted to introduce you to the work of a young artist who, in my opinion, deserves a minute of your attention. As an upcoming talent nowadays, it’s rather difficult to be seen and noticed because there is so much competition and the possibilities are HUGE, so for today I decided to give you guys the chance to get to know the work of one of my dear friends: Magdaléna Gray.

Born and raised, she grew up in France in a city near Paris. The 24-year old is passionate about photography and spends every single day behind the lens of her camera.

1) Where did your passion for photography come from?

-Well... I have a passion for Art in general, I sing, draw, act, design... Many members of my family are painters. My mum was a drawer and designer so I Kind of grew up with it. And Photography came quite late but very naturaly when I realized that I could not spend a day without thinking at least 15 times a day "this or that would make a good picture". And actually taking those 15 pictures a day lol

2) With which cameras do you work?

-I am a Canon girl. I have an EOS 450D, and an EOS7D with three lenses and an external flash.
But I also work with my blackberry torch !
Oh and for special moments I use my Fujifilm Instax (polaroid)

3) What does photography mean to you?

-Photography is making things beautiful. Or at least, showing a side of something that doesn't come to people's mind when they first look at it. It is also a way to take things, people and situations out of their first purpose.

4) What are you looking for when you want to shoot something?

-I want the picture to be strong. I want it to give more a feeling than a one way interpretation. I like when two people talk about my pictures and see different things.

5) Is there a kind of ritual or a habit which you do before starting a photoshoot?

-I check the settings, because I forgot once and half of my shoot was impossible to use...

6) What’s your inspiration? What do you want to achieve?

-My inspiration is mostly in other photographer's work, I also ask my models to bring ideas of what they would like to do in a shoot.
My goal is to show beauty. I had a few times shootings where models told me at the end "I usually hate myself on pictures but I do like the pictures that we did together. I feel confident". That's one of the best thing I can hear!

7) Are there any kind of feelings you want to bring up within people with your work?

-I may have to work on this but I don't want people to feel disturbed by my pictures. At least not in a brutal way. I like to have people charmed by every picture so they can accept things that would usually frighten them.
So I would say Attractive Disturbance :)

8) Is there something what you prefer to shoot more than anything else? For example; do you prefer to shoot people, landscapes or just other random subjects?

-My favorite shootings are portraits and fashion shootings. Fashion shootings are very complicated but you can bring a lot of freedom and originality in your shots.

9) When you shoot people, do you prefer to know them or do you prefer to work with people you’ve never seen before?

-I like both, I actually don't have any problem making people comfortable so at the end I know the model anyway lol

10) What’s the most daring or touching subject you ever had to shoot?

-I recently shot my first nephew who is a bit less than a month. They were kind of the first "real" pictures of him so it was a touching moment.
For the daring part, I once shot four guys and two of them suddenly took off their shirts. They were very tall and very strong so I felt a bit impressed lol

11) Where do you see yourself and your photography in ten years?

-With my own studio in NYC, doing Fashion Photography :)

12) What would be your advice for other people who are interested in photography?

-You can find a lot of advice on which way to do this art or another. Advices that sometimes make you feel like you're not a real artist because you don't do this or that.
So just go with your own flow, work hard. And above all, read the userguide of your camera, it is the answer to many photographic failures :)

13) Can you show me your personal top 3 of your own taken pictures?

-My Top three pictures would probably the next three pictures I'll take ...
The first picture I have been really proud of came from a Shoot that I did with a good friend where she is holding a Vogue magazine.