“PHOTOGRAPHER IS TO SEIZE THE REAL, IT IS NOT INVENTER IT”
By Maria Nadolu
This year, she celebrates 10 years since the release of her first photo “Fashion Week”. Andreea is known as a “front row and backstage photographer”; She covers from New York to Paris and Milan and her photos have been published by the classics, Vogue Paris, UK Elle, Harper’s Bazar UK. But, indeed, she is a storyteller in pictures, who likes to leave the categories fixistes. In search of authenticity, through her lenses, she surprises the human in its perpetual transformation, with its beauty and its shadows, raising surprising stories in image. Around an oriental coffee, with the breeze of a spring a little crazy, she shares her ideas, in images and words with Financial Afrik.
How did you discover the photo? And why the photo?
For me, it’s comfortable, it’s the simplest thing in the world. It came naturally, more naturally than brushing your teeth; I do it by instinct; I do not even have to think when I photograph; and it’s a real pleasure. I like photography since my childhood. I find it funny.
You are active in the field of absolute glamor .. … What is it, glamor today …?
Excellent! But what is glamor today? How do you perceive him, as ready? Glamor is freedom. Glamor is being yourself, having time, and being in love with yourself. A glamorous woman is a woman who is good about herself; who is herself. It is the archetype of Sophia Lauren, who was glamorous while being herself. If you define it in relation to a pair of shoes, a dress is volatile.
Was it easy to integrate your perspective into the world of fashion?
Yes, that was. There are many talents with different styles. I was lucky that my style was on demand at that time. Everyone was asking me. What is the secret of my success, but at the same time, it is the chance, as in a friendship, to share the same values. What I was offering was just what the magazines were looking for. Of course, it was at the right moment, because timing is so important; but in a way, synchronization is another setting, maybe divine, cosmic.
Could you define your style?
My style is the natural. It seems to me that this is the report with the minimum of interventions on the scenario of the photo. The feeling behind glamor.
What is the scenario behind a photo that surprised you?
… who surprised me or who liked me?
Well, one or both at the same time. Surprise goes well with pleasure, no?
Or not, it can create impact without pleasure. But in fact, the vast majority surprises me, because I wait for the moment, this moment, where the surprising happens. The majority of photos have a double meaning; we see a scene, but there is a background where something else is going on. And we come to say to ourselves: oh well, it was not what I imagined at first …
So, are you a little hunting?
Oh yes, if we would not be hunting, we would sleep. What do we eat if we do not hunt? That’s why the hunt was invented … we go to the discovery …
Between Milan, New York, Paris, how do you see the dynamics of the world of fashion?
It has changed, like the rest of the world; we are all organically linked. We see in fashion, what happens in a certain country, or region; the social and political context is seen in the dynamics of the industry. In our industry, the challenge seems to be in relation to digital, this new exhibition, the “influencers”, the new way of expressing yourself. In relation to the media, I do not see the need for a conflict between digital and print; they can very well go hand in hand. They serve as supports for two forms of expressions that may differ. We can give more value to print – with high content at the editorial and visual level. And the net is dedicated to its added value – speed; returning to fashion, she submitted to the phenomenon.
In my opinion, there is too much buzz on the internet; it is not so much the fact of being influenced by the facebook, the instagram etc .; but the fact that we waste time; the time of our lives, watching, many times, the lives of others.
Is there a race of consumerism in haute couture?
There was a moment when people presented themselves with their clothes; it was the power of the brand, “how and what I dress with defines me”; and we won well in fashion. Now I feel that the focus has changed somehow, there are other areas of interest, it is also expressed by our experiences today: travel, a trip to the restaurant, Mount Everest, the continuing education etc. and fashion loses somehow; and there are many who are not used to the idea of losing. And so, they accelerate the pace, they come out collections after collections. Looking at the race for novelties in which a lot of brands engage, we feel that something changes. Personally, I remain of opinion little, but better.
In the portrait, do you get too close to the spirit of your models?
Not at all. It’s a very intimate and subjective process, a portrait. It depends, how much we leave ourselves, we are sincere with ourselves and the photographer. I have emotions and anxieties every time; it is about the spirit of a person … there is an effort and a preparation for the day before. But as the session begins, all this shyness is dissipated, weird … and there is a flow, it happens naturally.
Life versus pose?
We think a lot about how to make the photo; how to ask etc. There are even online materials that tell you how to hold your hand to send such a message; to emanate a certain feeling by a gesture that is displayed; but what the receiver detects at first glance is whether the subject feels comfortable or not; self-confidence; fundamentally, what a portrait gives off is authenticity or its lack; it can not be artificially created by approaching one gesture or another; we must think less when we are photographed.
Black and white, versus color?
The two. But let it be, really. I like the photos with the blitz and the contrast. It’s true, in black and white, we read the story more easily; in color, the eye can be distracted by many things.
Memorable moments of your travels?
There was a time when fashion shows were like a theater. It was 15-20 minutes of intensity, a real show; now everything is happening faster, it’s more commercial. I remember those of Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs at Vuitton, the Chanel parades, the Prada parades.
A traveler’s emotion to share with our readers?
Be present when you travel! The journey begins when you leave home. In life, as in traveling, it is desirable to be present, to be with open eyes, not to be distracted. Do not be attached to your laptops. Look around.