My name is Michaela Ďurišová and I come from Dubnice nad Váhom, Slovakia. Currently, I live in a small village in Austria located near the Slovak border. I am an artist, body and soul.
My artistic side materialized itself through jam paintings on the walls of my parent’s house, it continued with watercolor painting, singing, theatre, design, make up artistry or handmade work which eventually brought me to photography.
Five years ago, I launched my, now successful brand Magaela Accessories from my living room. At that time, I already realized that good product photos are a must. The beginnings were very funny, but I started to be more and more interested in taking photos, bought my first photography equipment, wise books, and I gradually began to improve. I remember that feeling when I first held my father-in-law’s reflex camera. I also remember when I bought my first photography equipment. I felt nothing but pure euphoria which was reflected in many photographs I took. Some of them even won such wide acclaim I had never dreamed of. Now I know that the equipment I used was just a basic one and it is no longer good enough for my growing expectations … so I decided to buy a professional photography equipment, namely Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II, EF 70-200 mm f/2.8L IS II and Canon Speedlight 600EX II-RT.
How do I see the photos I take? I’m aware of all the technical flaws and imperfections but I keep examining them. I respect the opinions of experienced professionals who often see room for improvement in my work. I do not consider myself a professional, but I do have an unconquerable desire for continues improvement. When taking photos and photo post-processing I follow my feelings, everything I do corresponds to what I feel.
When taking photos, I aim to capture the reality, photos showing how I see the person and their personality. I try to avoid poses, overexposed photos and hyper-stylization. If I choose my models, there must be something emanating from them. I love naturalness. Nowadays, people use to pretend to be someone else, but I’m not a fan of that. When editing photos, I try to keep retouching to the absolute minimum. I believe that the photo is a heritage that we will leave to future generations, and therefore I try to take pictures, which show a genuine person.
I focus on artistic portrait and fashion photography. My work is shrouded in mystery, influenced by romance and fairy tales. I am fascinated by Slavic mythology, which I try to transfer to my photographs. I love the play of light and shadows, a naughty wind which intensifies the atmosphere in the photos … I love capturing relaxed emotions and woman’s natural beauty. In post-production, I mainly focus on colors and I enjoy the artistic depiction of the atmosphere that I personally feel from the photo.
When taking photos, I open my heart and let myself get carried away by feelings and fantasies. I love beautiful places and emotions in all their forms. I’m not afraid of new challenges, on the contrary, I’m an artist and I love beauty in all its forms, and this beauty is hidden in every single one of us, we just have to revealed it. [Official Website]
