26-year-old Amadeja Knez (@amyknez) fell in love with photography as a kid and later turned her passion into her profession. From travels to portraits, this passionate photographer from Slovenia finds as much inspiration in people as she does in landscapes. Amadeja is so passionate about her work that we could honestly have talked for days! Think of this interview as a quick introduction to her artistic universe. Enjoy the read!
Tell us more about yourself! What made you want to become a photographer?
I started doing professional photography 3 years ago, but as a kid, I’ve always had a special interest in the arts in general. I loved museums and I spent a lot of time drawing. My father was quite the traveler and I remember him capturing everything with his camera, and I remember finding that very inspiring. When I was 15, he gifted me with a film camera, which I was super excited about! So much so, that he got me my first digital camera about a year later. A whole new world opened up to me: from that moment on, I couldn’t stop photographing things. It was like an inner calling.
How would you define your artistic style?
It’s a tough question because I feel like I’m always changing and evolving through photography. Maybe that’s what my style is! One thing that’s for sure is that I like vibrant things and colors. Some people are into desaturating everything, but I like embracing colorful things. It’s part of who I am as a person. Nature has so many beautiful colors, it would be a shame to put that away!
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What is your take on social media as a promotion platform?
To be honest, I try not to be too concerned about social media. On one hand, it’s a great tool to display your work as an artist, especially at the moment, but on the other hand, I also feel like it takes up too much of our time. I think it’s important for people to remember that, and I often write about it to share my honest opinion.
Do people respond more to a certain type of post?
Definitely. When I share my thoughts and feelings, people tend to be more responsive. Also, sometimes when I take a new direction, it seems like people need some time to get used to it. For instance, it happened when I went for a minimalistic approach. One thing I try to do is question my practices to stay grounded, sometimes I’ll catch myself doing something I don’t like and ask myself «Am I doing this for the followers or me?». At the end of the day, staying true to myself is crucial for me.
If you could choose some moments that shaped you into the photographer that you are today, what would they be?
My inner curiosity as a whole and will to share my vision certainly had a lot to do with it. Throughout my childhood, my family owned lands in the countryside where we would often go on getaways. As I grew up, I realized more and more the beauty that I was surrounded with and felt the need to share that with other people. Take the sunrise for instance. I love it and consider it a sacred moment, but when you think about it, how many people wake up and take time to admire it? It’s so nice to be able to share that with people who don’t get to do that.
Your photos illustrate well your polyvalence in terms of formats. What are your favorite elements to capture?
I love capturing people, their emotions, and their personalities. Meeting new people and going through this process is a challenge that I enjoy. It’s difficult because people usually don’t open up from the get-go, but as you engage with them, they gradually let their guard down. With weddings, for instance, it’s so amazing when people trust you enough to capture the feelings they have for each other. It makes me feel so lucky, I could get addicted to this feeling! I also love being surrounded by so much nature. It’s therapeutic. I can just go out on my own, without having to call or be with anyone and capture whatever I feel like capturing.
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Is there a place in the world that you haven’t explored but dream of photographing?
Mongolia would be on my shortlist for sure. I’m fascinated by the nomads’ way of living and I would love to experience it.
Name a person, dead or alive, whose portrait you would love to shoot and tell us why.
If I could have made a portrait of a historical person, it would probably have been Sigmund Freud or Nikola Tesla. But to be completely honest, I would probably be more interested in discussing their discoveries than actually shooting their portrait!
How has the pandemic impacted you, and how have you been dealing with it?
This situation gave me time to reflect on who I am, what I want to do, who I want to do it with. I saw it as a time for growing and learning: every day I would work on my photography and my editing. So strangely enough, I feel like it brought me positive things. On the other side, I’ve also had to adapt to a lot of changes and reshape my business model. Luckily, I wasn’t only doing wedding-related work, so I got to work with different business clients and the transition was rather smooth.
Do you have any exciting upcoming projects?
Sure! The sanitary situation leads us to work with new people, among which several local farmers. We worked on a cool initiative to bring them together through a website to sell their products. I’m excited about it: it’s local, authentic, and I just love the idea of promoting their work! Make sure to check out their Instagram for more info!
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