Jovana Rikalo

ēMBē : Bonjour Jovana, merci de répondre à mon interview, tu te présentes ?
Jovana : Mon nom est Jovana Rikalo, je suis de Zrenjanin en Serbie. J’étudie le Droit dans la ville Novi Sad. J’ai commencé la photo il a 4 ans et je suis autodidacte. J’ai commencé à prendre des photos comme tous le monde : de moi, de la nature et des mes amis pour garder des souvenirs et pour m’amuser. J’ai commencé à faire de la photo de façon sérieuse à l?automne 2012 quand j’ai acheté un appareil photo digital et j’ai réalisé comment j’étais passionnée par la photo.

ēMBē : C’est quoi t’intéresse dans la photographie?
Jovana : Ma passion de la photo vient de l’idée quand tu captures un moment, il durera éternellement.

ēMBē : ou trouves tu t’on inspiration ?
Jovana : Surtout de la vie quotidienne. Le moment avant de sortir pour prendre des photos, j’imagine dans ma tête quel type de photo que je veux créer, quel personnage. Cela peut être un événement de mon passé, une situation qui m’est arrivé ou un événement fictif.

ēMBē : Tu as quoi comme materiel ?
Jovana : J’ai un Canon 600D avec un 50mm f/1.8, un trépied et une télécommande quand je fais mes autoportraits, j’ai aussi un 18-55mm mais j’utilise rarement.

ēMBē : Dans la série “Butterfly bath”, tu utilises des papillons ?
Jovana : J’adore les papillons !! Je pense qu’ils me donnent un effet onirique à la photo et c’est tellement beau.

ēMBē : Dans la série “the Red clothes in the beach”, comment est venu l’idée d’avoir une porte sur la plage avec ton modèle ?
Jovana : Je voulais créer une photo ou le modèle pouvais voyager d’une planète à une autre, quelque part ou elle se sente libre, c’est pourquoi j’ai choisi une plage et la porte.

ēMBē : Tu utilises souvent des animaux dans tes photos ?
Jovana : La plupart des images d’animaux que je utilise dans mes photos sont des photos que j’ai prises moi même. J’amine toujours mon appareil photo avec moi et quand je repère l’oiseau ou un autre animal, je prends des photos et je les sauvegarde dans mon PC . Et ces photos sont toujours là quand je besoin d’eux.

ēMBē : Tu nous explique ta recette pour faire une photo?
Jovana : J’écris mes idées car de cette manière, il est plus facile pour moi de créer une histoire que je présente plus tard par mon image. Lorsque je me décide sur une idée que je vais à la recherche du modèle adaptée qui m’aidera à transmettre toute l’histoire. Après la séance photo, je passe la plupart de mon temps sur Photoshop dans lequel je traite les images et finalise toute l’histoire. Je passe beaucoup de temps, parfois jusqu’à cinq ou six heures. Je suis une grande perfectionniste. Je l’aime quand tout sur la photo semble parfait et bien intégré, tout comme je l’ai imaginé.

ēMBē : Hello Jovana, thanks to respond to my interview, could you please introduce yourself?
Jovana : My name is Jovana Rikalo, I am from Zrenjanin, Serbia. I am studying law in Novi Sad. I got into photography about 4 years ago and I am completely self-taught. I started taking random pictures of myself, nature and my friends to capture memories, mostly just for fun. I didn’t start taking it seriously until the autumn of 2012 when I bought new digital camera and realized how passionate I was about photography. That?s when I really started growing.

ēMBē : What interested you about becoming a photographer?
Jovana : My passion for photography and idea that when you capture something, it lasts forever.

ēMBē : Where do you find inspiration to make your photographs?
Jovana : Mostly from everyday life. The moment before I go out to take pictures, I imagine in my head what type of picture I want to create, what character. It can be an event from my past, some situation that happened to me or a fictional event. Any idea I have I write down because that way it’s easier for me to make up a story which I later on present through my picture.

ēMBē : What is your photo gear?
Jovana : I am using Canon 600D with 50 mm f /1.8 lens, tripod and remote control when I shot self portraits. I have 18-55 mm kit lens but I rarely use it.

ēMBē : In the “Butterfly bath” and others, what is your idea to add the Butterfly?
Jovana : Butterflies are my favorite! I think they gave dreamy effects to the photo and looks so beautiful at the same time.

ēMBē : In your series with the model in “the Red clothes in the beach”, where you get the idea to shoot with a door on the beach ?
Jovana : I wanted to create a photo where model is traveling on another planet but somewhere where she feel free and that’s why I choose beach for the location. You have freedom there.

ēMBē : You frequently use animals in your work ? 
Jovana : Most of the animal images I use in my photos, are photos that I took. I always bring my camera with me and when I spot the bird or other animal, I take a couple of shots and save it in my PC. And these photos are always there when I need them. Sometimes I plan shots with animals and I know exactly what to photograph, but sometimes the idea comes when I am editing photo in a photoshop.

ēMBē : Can you walk me through a typical photoshoot, from an idea to post-processing?
Jovana : Any idea I have I write down because that way it’s easier for me to make up a story which I later on present through my picture. When I decide on an idea I go out looking for suitable model that will help convey the whole story. After the photo shooting I spend most of my time in Photoshop in which I process the pictures and finalize the whole story. I spend a lot of time, sometimes up to five or six hours, working until the photos are finished. When it comes to pictures, I am a great perfectionist. I love it when everything on the photo looks perfect and nicely embedded, just as I imagine it.

ēMBē : You have shared on youtube some of your BTS, we see you making some amazing pictures. As we see you are almost alone : Make up / Model / Video shooter and you, you work always with a small team ?
Jovana : I feel comfortable working with a small team at this moment. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be in a bigger team in the future. I don’t love to somebody distract me while I am doing, love being alone and creating photo in a silence. Also we see you work only with Natural light / No flash / No light modifier. No, I love natural light. I think it gaves you the perfect result if you understand the light. I love playing with sunset and sunrise light, they are my favorite.

ēMBē : You said : “I don’t want it to look unnatural but naturally unreal”, could you detail your thoughts ?
Jovana : I sometimes manipulate my photographs a lot in Photoshop, but I always try to keep the photo-realistic look.I love telling stories with my images. I want, when people see my photo, to ask themselves is this a real or not? I love making realistic manipulation with my images.

ēMBē : All your model are gorgeous, how do you find/select them ?
Jovana : I am very picky. I am always looking for a unique models, with blue or green eyes, hair and to have something that makes the model stand from the crowd.

ēMBē : You’ve got publication in Vogue Italia, could you tell us the story ?
Jovana : It’s Vogue Italia. They have on their site, one section photography. And there, photographers add their images, you can add 2 images daily. And than you must wait to see if editors will choose them to pass or not. They are very selective. but I am very honored to see my photos on their site.

ēMBē : You have plenty of photos in Stocksy, are you able to sale some photos, it?s i good business to be a photo stocker ?
Jovana : Love Stocksy, I think if you want to sell something you must to work hard, to follow trends and to have your unique style.

ēMBē : You said the best place you like is Paris ? do you want to said us something in French ?
Jovana : Merci beaucoup, je t’aime haha I don’t know french but I would love to learn it, it’s a beautiful language! I adore Paris and I hope I will visit Paris this year.