Last Updated on 03/25/2024 by Chris Gampat
“…not all brands are open to creative ideas, many want to realize their specific idea,” says photographer Maria Raymers to the Phoblographer in an interview — also expressing that she’s really interested in the brands that give her creative freedom. “…the resulting works turn out to be much more interesting than if we simply implemented their certain idea.” Maria’s photography has a special thing about it that embodies magic and an ethereal look simultaneously. And none of this would’ve happened without her grandfather.
All images by Maria Raymers. Used with permission. You can see more on her Behance. Follow her on Instagram @masharaymers
Table of Contents
How Maria Raymers Got Into Photography
Maria got a camera for one of her birthdays from her grandmother. “My grandfather was an amateur photographer, so after he died, she wanted me to carry on his business,” she tells us. “After that, I never let the camera out of my hands. 10 years have passed since then.” These days, she’s shooting with a Sony a7 III and a Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art lens. Sometimes, she uses a Sony 85mm f1.8, Sigma 16mm f1.4 Art, and a Sony 50mm f2.8 Macro.
Her Creativity
There are a few different things about Maria’s creativity that help her make her final images. Firstly, she’s inspired by life itself and everything that surrounds her. “Sometimes, I am inspired by art, but perhaps I am most inspired by past experiences and nature itself,” she says. “Therefore, you can find many beautiful locations in my photos – I especially add them in order to convey this atmosphere of a place that you feel very close to, but have never been there. Human experience and emotions are also a canvas for essays, which can be translated into something more material, such as photography, so I am often inspired by my memories and past experiences…” From there, she spends lots of time preparing and planning the time of day to shoot and the actual shoot in advance. The details of even how she moves during the shoot are planned too.
Maria pays lots of attention to light intensity. But more than that, she takes a particular interest in the lens bokeh. It’s why she chooses Sigma for her needs. “…how the lens transmits light is important to me because this is the thing that I pay almost the most attention to in my photos,” she tells us. For that, she needs fast apertures because her work is otherwise in a lot of darkness.
From there, processing doesn’t take a long time — but she’s very selective about the colors she emphasizes.
Thinking About AI Imagery
Being so creative, Maria thinks about AI as an “interesting phenomenon.” Specifically, she doesn’t think that it’s artistically important since AI-based images use the work of many digital artists. For that reason, she thinks that all the art looks the same. Considering all the images we see, we’re likely to agree.