“I find strength within myself” – Nadya Kaneva, professional photographer

Hello, Nadya! Where should we start? How did you decide to become a photographer?

How did I decide? Because of my children. They inspire me to photograph them. It all started as a hobby, and now I work with pleasure.

Preparing for the interview, I saw that you organize photography workshops. Tell me more about that.

I started doing this in January of this year. That’s when I felt ready, and I also had a few inquiries from colleagues from different parts of Bulgaria. Actually, I organized it because of them, but I dare say there was great interest in the workshop. So far, I have held 5 such workshops, plus an individual one for newborn babies.

How does one decide to pass on their experience and knowledge to people who will practically be their competitors in the future?

For me, there’s nothing worrying about that. In my opinion, everyone has their own clients, and I don’t think people choose a photographer only because of the photos they take, but also because of the photographer themselves, because of their attitude towards the client, their aura, and the emotion they bring.

What is the thing you photograph with all your heart?

Maybe advertising photography is close to my heart, because it’s always different, the locations are different. Every time we individually choose where to shoot.

I’ve seen your advertising photos and they definitely look great, and the models are so relaxed and natural. You are also popular with your baby photoshoots. I’ve always wondered how you manage to control these little babies. Is it difficult to work with such small clients?

No problem at all! In fact, they are my easiest clients, they have no demands for anything.

They sleep. (we laugh)

Yes. I lull them to sleep. Actually, I have a very calming effect on them. Parents don’t participate in the photoshoot, all the time I take care of the baby – I lull it to sleep, feed it, everything that is needed, and mom and dad rest during that time.

Speaking of demands, a person comes to you with certain expectations. How do you manage to balance what the client wants and what you have as a vision for the aesthetics of the things you want to do?

Thank goodness 95% of clients accept my vision and I have the freedom to do things the way I want. They always ask me for guidance on how to dress, what hairstyle and makeup to choose. I like that, that people have learned that in order to get good photos, they need to make an effort too.

Photography seems like a very pleasant profession, but it probably also has a lot of stress and pressure.

Yes, like any job, it has its stress and pressure. On some days, I shoot for 7-8 hours and that’s different people, with different interests and preferences. Everything requires patience. Patience – that’s the key word.

How do you relax?

Recently, I’ve been playing tennis and challenging all the young people to try it. I never thought I could play tennis until I tried. Everyone has something they are good at, and in my opinion, this is the second thing I can do well after photography. I train very intensively, even during family vacations, choosing hotels that offer tennis court facilities and a personal trainer. After only one year of training, I already go to tournaments, and in the first one I participated in, I became fourth out of sixteen contenders. I hope to climb the podium of one of them soon.

I wish you that from the bottom of my heart! Do you like to be photographed?

No! I don’t like it and I don’t like myself in photos. It’s very difficult.

That’s a common problem, I think. How do you cope when someone doesn’t like your work?

I have always valued feedback. It rarely happens, but if someone doesn’t like their photos, I try to make adjustments after processing to satisfy the client.

You are very combative and ambitious. Where do you get your energy from?

I find strength within myself. I’ve always wanted to be one step ahead of the others. At least four times a year I go to trainings, workshops. In general, I work towards developing and improving myself continuously.

Tell me about your creative projects that you’ve realized. Frankly, everyone was impressed by the three girls dressed in tricolor dresses who were waving so impressively at the Memorial Complex “Creators of the Bulgarian State”. The video and photos went around all of Bulgaria and did not leave a single Bulgarian indifferent.

The project I realized on the occasion of the national holiday of the country on March 3rd was inspired by one of my photo shoots in Dubai, where I was wearing a similar dress. In fact, I’m a person who least likes the color red. I decided to challenge myself and take a picture in a dress, exactly in that color, to get out of my comfort zone and do something that I didn’t think was possible for me. The moment I saw my photos, I said to myself that I had to do something similar here. I imagined three beautiful girls dressed in white, green, and red. I immediately started making the dresses and after only two weeks we had the finished shots.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1412805462684190

https://www.facebook.com/reel/213230701810581

Tell me about the second project you realized this year, “The Faces of Shumen”. What provoked you to decide to do it?

I constantly see on social networks people from our city who have won cups, medals. My idea was to show each person with the awards they won and through the photos to tell about the scale of what they have achieved. It was difficult to match my schedule with their commitments. Despite everything, we managed to implement the project in two weeks, as I had set a specific date for its presentation to the public. I showed exactly 50 photos.

Impressive! I knew most of the people, and for others, it was interesting to learn more.

Quite a few people who saw the photos contacted me afterwards. They also expressed a desire to include them or their relatives, and maybe I will make a continuation of the project at a later stage. I also participate in another project “The Different Children of Bulgaria”, which covers different children with specific needs. The shooting is absolutely free and the photos participate in exhibitions in Sofia, some of them are also exhibited in the Sofia metro.

Is the social moment important to you?

I do a lot of things for free, I give away photo shoots to people who can’t afford it. For me, money is secondary, humanity comes first.

What lies ahead for you professionally in the near future?

I can boast that I was invited to be a lecturer at the “AUTUMN 2024 FORUM” of professional photographers and videographers in October. 200-300 photographers will attend, some of whom I have even learned from myself. This is something I can be proud of and it is an honor for me to be chosen to pass on my skills and experience to such an authoritative audience.

What haven’t you captured yet?

I don’t know! If I knew, I would have captured it already! (laughs). The strange thing about me is that I get inspiration out of the blue and when I decide on something, I do it right away, without putting it off.

What do you wish for?

Health! That’s the most important thing. When a person has health, everything else falls into place. Also success and luck, because as one of my colleagues says, even the passengers of the Titanic were rich, but they were unlucky.

/HR Slavova/