My name is Aliona Kuznetsova and I am  a photographer. I believe that my art is a mashup of everything I saw, felt, thought and experienced. More than this: through all my life – four countries I lived in, dozens of cities I travelled to, a mood disorder I am battling, meeting and losing my closest friends – my art has been a silver lining that helped me day by day to refine the understanding of who I really am.

Then my bio: https://alionakuznetsova.com/info/bio

Inspiration:

Some creatives who really inspire me are:  Peter Lindbergh  because of his truthful approach and “loving”, warm vision of models;  Tim Walker  because he creates totally different world with his works, and this word is worth escaping to;  Gabriel Garcia Marquez  because his technique is so good he makes people take in absurd things and perceive them on totally different level where they make sense.

I worked on this photoshoot during a very rough patch in my life. During just a few weeks I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder type 1 and lost my job. At times it was very hard and I felt like I can’t breath, which made me create this series called “Breath In - Breath Out”

Our set is in the bath-tube covered with black fabric and filled with water. e lighting is

a beauty dish a meter above water and a bit higher them model’s head. Model goes up and down in the water while I photograph as much as possible to capture the right combination of waves, bubbles and relaxed facial expression. Some details that make it a bit more challenging are: - model doesn’t hear me when her ears are underwater. - the temperature of water that

is warm and nice for her body makes her face red which is not helpful. - you should watch the refections of the light in the water (playing with the position of lamp as well as waves on the surface). - you can expect to make 10-12 divings or turnings before the makeup will become unsaveable in photoshop (given the makeup is waterproof). - it’s extremely hard for the model to open her eyes under water or a er diving (a er diving the makeup gets into eyes) - When the model is under the water, the picture becomes a mess of bubbles and waves distorting all the proportions of her face, so one needs to wait a bit before making a shot. - some models are easier with the water and have less sensitive eyes than others.

Model - Leila Tahiri; MUAH - Elisabeth Peclard;