My dream of fashion
Each piece of Kujta & Meri aims to represent a brave, feminine queen and always looks like a queen. No matter how much effort they put to simplify their pieces, again their dresses end up being high-class pieces, because in the end, such is the soul of these artists.
Exclusive Interview
What were the main milestones that turned you into the artist you currently are?
After completing a correspondence course in photography and then graduating with a degree in advanced portrait photography, I had the opportunity to attend numerous workshops and personal coaching sessions with renowned experts in the industry. That way, I was able to further develop my own style in a professional manner. In the meantime, a variety of photo series had been published in photo magazines such as VIGOUR, MALVIE, BOUDOIR, Top Posters, TSYM as well as HORIZONT magazine. I received a special honour at the end of 2020 completely unexpected at the "ONE EYELAND - Photo Contest" being awarded as one of the "WORLDS TOP 10" in the field of "Black & White" photography. A really great motivation…
How would you describe your style?
My style is characterised by my attention to detail. I strive to make my latest work my greatest and I am never satisfied with previous accomplishments, instead I am always looking for the best way and result.
Where do you find your inspiration / what inspires you?
I find fascinating and good work by other photographers to be very inspiring. Seeing something great, understanding it, always motivates me anew to mimic the ideas, the quality or the creativity of other artists.
Were you born with a camera in your hand or at what point did you start?
Late, very late actually, I found my love for photography. Like many other enthusiastic hobby photographers I never really got beyond the point of using the camera in automatic mode. However, this changed after our honeymoon in South Africa. The country and its people, flora and fauna are made to be photographed. From then on, I wanted to be able to take photographs properly. However, it took some time until my 50th birthday, when my wife gave me a correspondence course in photography, which turned out to be a breakthrough. Given the guidance of a personal tutor, I finally got the hang of it and fell in love with the creative process of photography with all my heart and soul.
What gear do you most enjoy using at the moment and why?
Since I got my first Nikon, a legendary "D700", I have photographed with Nikon camera equipment only. Not just because of the excellent quality, the outstanding dynamic range and the one hundred percent reliability of the camera technology. It is also due to the fact that you can invest a lot of money in high-quality lenses and then you will think twice about whether it makes sense to change systems, especially as the camera manufacturers operate on an equal footing in terms of quality. I currently use the D4S for sports and wildlife photography and a D500 as a second camera with Nikon lenses such as 12-24mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm as well as a Sigma 120-300mm all with an f2.8 aperture. For studio and event shootings I use the smaller and lighter mirrorless Z6 II and the Z7 II especially with a fast Nikon "S-series" fixed focal lengths like 35mm, 50mm and 85mm all with an f1.8 aperture as well as the new 50mm with an f1.2 aperture, a pleasant equipment for all-day events. I have set up my studio completely with "mobile" flash technology from GODOX. Since all flashes have very powerful batteries, I can use the system indoors and outdoors. A really high-quality, yet reliable and affordable system, in my opinion.
What advice would you share with aspiring photographers?
Whether it is an ambitious hobby or a profession, the most important thing is to keep the joy of photography. The moment your income depends on the success of the next shooting, your creativity and enthusiasm will fall by the wayside. There are extremely few commercial photographers who are able to make a living from what they really enjoy doing. The rest of our industry are service providers who have to do what the client wishes for. This does not necessarily have to be a bad thing if you keep areas or niches where you can pursue your love of photography and where the creative process is the measure of all things.
What have you got coming up in 2021, that you are super excited about?
I am producing and photographing a portrait series for an exceptional Welsh emerging artist, "Jennifer-Juliette", free of charge. For the shootings, the enchanting "NANNA KUCKUCK", a successful designer from Berlin, provides the outfits, also free of charge. In the context of the release of her first record, which she is launching with a New York producer, our cover story including an interview with "Jennifer-Juliette" about her love of music will be published.
