Interview with Marija Obradovic | GBPW Episode 76

In my studio, I can recreate natural light. The advantage of this is that my time isn’t limited.

Marija Obradovic

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This week’s guest, Marija Obradovic, specialises in brand photography, pet photography, and contemporary portrait photography! She loves to think outside the box and produce unique content for her clients.

Marija and I talk about:

• The definition of brand photography and how it’s an incredible opportunity to collaborate with people around the world
• How Marija photographs pets in a studio
• The advice she’d give to anyone who wants to take their studio photography to the next level

& much more!

Marija is a very ambitious and lively person. I learned so much from our conversation! I hope that her thoughts on studio photography help you look at this genre from a new perspective.

Here is a preview of our conversation with Marija Obradovic.

Q: How do you communicate with your models?

Marija Obradovic: The tip I can give is to show them all the poses. I usually say, “Look at me like I’m your reflection in the mirror that reflects what you’re doing.” That’s how they relax more. I’m taking away the attention from them. They might feel that all the attention is on them and that they’re under the lights. Theoretically, they are! The whole setting is a bit strange for people who are not used to having their picture taken.

It depends on the person, how much time they need to decompress and start enjoying the process. It’s very important to talk. I learned to just talk. Talk about anything. Try to make them laugh. This is a scientifically true fact: if you make people laugh, they will automatically see you as a more approachable person. Just make them laugh. When they start laughing, they’ll relax.

Q: Could you talk a little about brand photography and how you came up with it?

Marija Obradovic: Brand photography is quite a young branch of photography. It started to become a thing because of the emergence of social media. So, this kind of photography is especially made for freelancers. It’s made for social media, Instagram in particular, because Instagram is very visual.

Brand photography gives or curates the visual communication of a brand and identity. Personal brand and identity are two different things. Like Coca Cola, for example. Red is Coca Cola. Red is Ferrari. The colour red is part of the brand identity of Coca Cola. This type of photography is there to create the visual presence of a person or a brand.

Nowadays, people want to know who they’re buying their products from. For example, they want to know that Taya is not some random person somewhere in the world behind an image. They want to know that you are the real person. You’re the real person and you have your identity, you have your way of doing things. This is what people want to connect to.

This is the process of visual storytelling. Trying to communicate the identity of your personal identity and your brand. It can be whatever you want to communicate to your prospective clients and followers.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring studio photographers?

Marija Obradovic: Start with one light. You don’t have to go with the best or most expensive equipment. You can just buy a Godox flash.

Try to shoot just using one light. Just try to use it in any creative way that comes to mind. See what happens and how your images change. Try to use different intensities. When you really master one light, add two lights. Most of my work is done with one or two lights. I rarely use three.

Check out Marija’s work:
Website
Instagram (pet photography)
Instagram (studio work)

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