Marta Syrko (Guest Feature)

Marta Syrko

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hello, my name is Marta,
I have been working as a professional photographer for 5 years.
I have my own studio in Ukraine, but I also travel a lot, because of photoshoots abroad.

2. How did you get into photography?
When I was growing up I was always fascinated by photography and I wanted to learn and do it by myself, so when I was a teenager I started taking my first photos such as – macro, landscapes and portraits of friends.

3. How did you meet your first client?
My first real clients were actually a couple wanting to get their love story photographed.
They contacted me via social media and it was a great experience for me.
Thanks to this photo shoot I realized that photography could be my full time job and not just a hobby.
So that’s how weddings and love stories photo-shoots became my main source of income, but I was also doing my own projects (nude, fashion) at that time.
Now I have moved more to the fashion and fine art photography and my clients are mostly companies.

4. If you were about to start now, what would be your plan?
When I was at the beginning of my career I was learning mostly from my mistakes. There were no photography schools where you could learn the photography theory in my country. So I invested mostly in equipment.
If I had to start over now, I’d invest more in my education.

5.Tell us a secret talent of yours?
I’m really good at setting the mood in my photos, and giving them more cinematic look.

6. Coffee or tea?
Actually I’ve made coffee series! You can find the photos on my Instagram.
I can’t imagine my life without coffee, I have a small ritual in the mornings when I drink a cup of coffee with something sweet and read the news.
My favorite treat for coffee is mom’s apple pie. It’s a secret family recipe!

7. Tell us a story from one of your photo shoots when you learned a valuable lesson?
I learn something new about photography from every photo shoot!
What I have learned so far from my work with clients is that

During a photo shoot you are not just an artist, you have to be also a team player and aim towards the goals of the team.

8. You also take self-portraits, tell us about this?
What’s the hardest part and do you have some tips?
I really like it!
When I was younger I didn’t had a lot of work, so I took self-portraits more often.
Becoming better requires more practice. I think I just know my best angles better and that’s why I can take a better photo of myself then another photographer would.
Tips – try to adjust your camera settings and the angle that you’ll be shooting from and ask a friend to push the button for you, instead of running to the tripod constantly.

9. Do you have a final advice for the fans of The Fashion Photography Podcast?
You need to find your own niche were you’ll feel comfortable working in.
And you must not be afraid of trying something new!