KOROLKOVAS' VALENTINA 16 Print

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Originally hailing from the suburban São Paulo city of São Caetano, photographer Alex Korolkovas (as seen in photo 1), developed his craft, becoming an established name with his trademark use of sexually charged photographs, bringing an edgy eye to fashion shoots, a fashion-informed approach to nudes and provocative fine art and advertising campaigns (as seen in photo 2). He continues to create and collaborate with other artists as well as the help of his subjects, remaining open to new ideas and seeking out inspiration from places that others might write off as problems. thalo: What are your biggest reoccurring challenges when you’re working with fashion? Alex Korolkovas: It’s always a thrill getting to a location with a whole crew of professionals and walk out of it with an incredible shoot. I love to shoot in places I’ve never been to. You start from scratch and I try to interpret what this place will look like in my pictures, how I’m going to light it, where the models are going to stand, how can I best take advantage of the variables and do a great job. It’s always a challenge. th: I imagine that nudes are challenging, too. What are the most difficult issues when you're shooting nudes? AK: You are dealing with human beings when they are very vulnerable—without their clothes on—so the first thing you must do is gain their trust. Once we have their trust, then we can create really cool images together: it’s always a mix, 50% model and 50% photographer—we can only shoot what the models give. So it’s our job as photographers to get them to do things they wouldn’t normally do in order to take a great picture. I try to make them feel very comfortable and relaxed—usually after an initial awkward time. Then after things start working out, we just have fun. th: Given the graphic nature of many fashion photography shoots, how do you differentiate your unique eye between fashion work and erotic photography? AK: I put a lot of energy into a shoot both mentally and physically, and I love to shoot women, beauty, glamour, sex. My interests always end up rotating around sex. I see it in many visual ways and it comes out in most shoots I do. I love to work with people’s sex appeal. I think a fashion editorial can be very sexy and even erotic. The major difference in this case is the client at the end, whether it’s a fashion client or a girlie magazine. I love shooting women, dressed or not.