20 year old Ksenia Raykova from Russia takes vivid and playful dog photos that her fans (myself included) are absolutely in love with. Ksenia agreed to talk to Bored Panda about her passion for dog photography and share some tips with us.
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She started her path as a dog photographer when she was only 14. Even though photography is still just a hobby for this architecture student, it sure does help her get by. Her inspiration and favorite model is her own dog, a border collie named Kim. She says that she can't imagine her life without this wonderful, happy and bubbly dog. "We play different dog sports and meet a lot of dogs and owners. Now, even the owners from different cities invite me to come and shoot their amazing dogs".
Do not forget to read between the beautiful photos for more of Ksenia's interview with Bored Panda!
"There are three photos that I love the most. In the first one (above), Kim made a funny face that conquered the web. It was 2011, we were on a regular evening walk, I asked him to put his paws on a tree, and he put his tongue out."
"The second favorite (above) is of Kim again, holding a cupcake. Everyone who looks at this photo thinks that he is craving to eat the treat, but in truth, he thinks that this cupcake is just a toy."
"The third favorite is of a girl with her dog in this magical lighting (above). I love to show the relationship of the owner and the dog in my photos. They are very pure and truthful."
"I am very lucky with my models. Most of them are well behaved, love to play, and have powerful connections with their owners. It’s harder to work with dogs that don’t even have basic obedience training. In such cases I try to catch interesting moments while the dog is at a casual walk."
"Inspiration always comes unexpected. Often you can find it in very common things, such as kind deeds, beautiful light, architecture of city streets, new people I meet, fresh morning air, sports."
"Over 6 years I used 3 cameras. I started with a very simple ones such as Nikon D40. Now I have Nikon D700, with Nikkor 70-200 f 2.8, and a standard pack of Lightroom and Photoshop."
"The most important advice that I can give you is to love what you do, and give yourself away to the process."
We’d like to thank Ksenia for giving Bored Panda an interview and we wish her the best of luck!