Daria Dunich: “I give quite a lot of time and effort to the charitable promotion of art in Kazakhstan…”

Creative, successful, popular, in demand, educated, a professional in her field, a mother of three girls and just a sympathetic person – photographer Daria Dunich . 

1. Daria, did you gravitate toward creativity from childhood, or did it all happen at a more conscious age?

My own grandfather was a photographer, my parents are artists, and from childhood they persuaded me to art, to painting. I really didn’t like it, because it’s a long and painstaking process. At the time when I was studying in Moscow, my mother’s friend was the editor of a magazine and they needed a photographer. A magazine about the interior, and, of course, that it was necessary to shoot interior items. After about two shoots, I realized that photographing objects is very difficult and needs to be learned. And I went to study at one of the best photo schools ” Photoplay “. I studied there for two years, but even now it happens that I listen to the lectures of some masters. I think that you should always listen to other people’s opinions.

2. Do you remember your first shoots and how did it go?

The first commercial shoot was for an interior magazine. It was a designer interior in a private house and we just photographed it for the designer’s advertisement in a magazine.

3. Daria, you are a member of the Union of Photographers of Russia and the Association of Professional Photographers of Kazakhstan, you have your own photo studio, you fly abroad for work. Is the burden heavy?

Heavy! Especially morally, because you have to listen from friends: “After all, you are a mother!” ))) But, in fact, I devote quite a lot of time to children, their development, education, and leisure. I can even say that more than any housewife.   

It seems to me that it is these women who run their own business who manage to do everything! My children often spend time on film sets, and I consider this only a plus. Even after giving birth, I could not stay in the hospital for more than 3 days and left on my own responsibility. Those people with whom I work are already used to this and knew that nothing would change with each subsequent child. I have three children and they are very independent, they know where not to interfere, somewhere they even help. I really like to create beauty attributes for shooting with my own hands and the kids help me with this.

4. Now there are a lot of so-called “creative people”. How to identify a professional from a fake?

No way! In general, I am never a judge, and I will never write to someone in my life, even if, in my opinion, it is not professional, that a person has no taste, that he does not need to do this, and so on. We all once stood at the origins and looking, for example, at my work while studying photography, it was wild horror (laughs). But, it was necessary to try everything in order to return to the classics.

 

5. What should a photographer not do if he wants to be successful and in demand?

Lots of things you don’t have to do! First, never criticize anyone. If a creative person has a thought or an expression – “how I did it beautifully”, then that’s it! You can put an end to everything and say that all the following will go down a step. I believe that this is an indicator for self-esteem. If we can look someone in the eye and lie that we doubt our knowledge, then for ourselves we always need to ask the question – “is this the 100 percent result that you wanted to get?” If the answer is “no”, then you are on the right track, you are going up, developing. 

And, of course, criticism. As a rule, amateurs criticize and it seems to me that if I make a mistake and in five years I grow up to this person, whom I considered not a professional, I will regret that I once said something nasty and, perhaps, turned his fate in the wrong direction. direction. And he believed me and broke down. And, just give people a reason – they will fly in and discuss. In order to move in the right direction, you need to exhibit the works that you want to be ordered from you.

6. You are an international photographer. Perhaps there are thoughts to arrange tours for master classes? Feel free to share your experience with newbies?

Always share and even for free. Many write to me on various social networks. where they write. My administrator is responsible for answering all letters, she reads to me in What’s App, I slander her and she answers letters. I don’t give master classes because I don’t like being the center of attention. I’m used to it and it’s more comfortable for me not to think that I’ll say something wrong, I’ll enter into an argument. There are people who just tell something in a stereotyped way and they don’t care if you shoot tomorrow or not. And for me it is important, so we recently opened a school, I wrote all the programs for a year, adjusted them to our mentality. In Kazakhstan, things are very bad with cultural development. I always organized meetings for photographers and amateurs, persuaded my acquaintances of famous photographers to give free lectures and share their experience.

7. If you look for information about you, then everywhere they write that you are a wedding photographer. Ever wondered how a photographer defines a genre?

I can’t say why such information is spread! I don’t even have wedding photos published anywhere (laughs). I, as a photographer, divide the shooting into two parts: shooting people and inanimate objects. If you can shoot portraits, then you can shoot everything! BUT, there is a small nuance – shooting newborns, because it requires the ability to communicate with children. I spoke with one very good professional and we came to the conclusion that you should never show those photos that you do not want to be ordered to you! 

And I realized that when I post certain photos, people order exactly what they see. So I deleted my entire portfolio and started all over again. I like doing fashion photography, nude photography. It should be noted that not every woman will go to a man for such a shoot, but, basically, such photographers are men. I think that nude photography is the most difficult area in this profession, because in terms of art it has a hard line. It should be both aesthetic and beautiful.

8. There is an opinion that looking at the picture, you can determine the photographer – a girl or a man.

I categorically disagree. Because it depends on the inner feeling. Because there are women who feel tougher inside, with a masculine core, and here I am one of them. I do not like such bright, flowery photo sessions. If there are flowers on the set, they are of some dirty color, just as an element of decor.

9. Daria , what are your components of success ?

Everything changes for me every day, and at the moment when I feel that I have a free minute, I immediately load myself with projects. I give quite a lot of time and energy to the charitable promotion of art in Kazakhstan. Recently, I was offered to revive the Golden Lens competition, which was held back in the Soviet Union. A person must move forward, like everything around!