1. Tell us about yourself. How did you come to this creative partnership and your development path?
My name is Radosław Rędzikowski, I am based in Poland, and together with my wife, Asida Turava, I have been involved in photography for more than 15 years. We started with wedding photography, but we did not enjoy this job. We dreamed of having our own studio and working with models and other artists. After a few years, we opened a showroom with clothes from Polish designers and started doing fashion photography. Our makeup artists always asked us to take beauty shots for them, and that is how our adventure with beauty photography began, which continues to this day.
2. How do you adapt to changing beauty standards in the age of social media, where many brands have started creating content on their phones? Has this affected your photography?
I don’t feel this has any impact on my work yet. I strongly believe that high-end quality photography will always win over photos taken with a phone.
3. Do you use AI in the process of retouching or creating mood boards?
I don’t use AI at any stage of creation. I believe that robots should clean and cook for us while we create art, not take care of art while we clean and cook! Seriously, I’m an old-school photographer; for me, a photo has to be perfect when it’s created, and retouching is just a small cherry on top of the cake.
4. What trends in makeup and beauty photography do you find most influential this year?
I think that naturalness is the biggest trend that is constantly getting stronger, both in makeup and photography. I am not a fan of it; I am waiting for this trend to pass because I like polished, expressive photos, strange styling, and strong makeup. On the other hand, we have Pat McGrath and the famous “glass” makeup, which has become a huge trend on social media, so I keep my fingers crossed for the return of weirdness.
5. Where do you find inspiration amidst the constant changes and innovations in the beauty industry?
I try not to be directly inspired by someone else’s beauty photos but to reach further, deeper, to art, to nature. Even when I create mood boards, they usually contain photos of water, ice, fruits, colors, works of art, and not just photos of other creators. It is also a challenge for my makeup artists to do something of their own from scratch. We inspire each other, so that in the end, something amazing can be created.
6. Which brand of photography equipment do you prefer, and what are your favorite lenses?
I have always worked with Canon, and I have been loyal to this brand since the time I was involved in analog photography. When it comes to studio equipment, I use Bowens, which unfortunately no longer exists. My favorite lens, without which I cannot imagine my work, is the 70-200 mm. I think it is perfect for beauty photography. To achieve some dramatic and dynamic effects, I also like 35 mm.
7. What advice would you give to a newcomer in beauty photography?
Trends change and will continue to change, but you should stay true to yourself. Not everyone has to like you, and not everyone has to like your work. The most important thing is to develop your own style so that when you look at your photos, you can immediately say, “I recognize this photographer, I know him.”
