From Russia with Love – Elena Shumilova

Elena Shumilova takes intimate photographs of her 2 sons with their pets in their farm in Russia. Trivial ? Not so much actually. the quality of her shots made exclusively with natural light are breathtaking.

She used to be an architect but the success and the raise of her children took all of her time, she’s now completely devoted to her passion which is photography.

She uses her Canon 5D mark II and essentially 2 lenses of her own:

– A Canon 135mm f/2L USM

– A Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM

Of course, most of her shots taken outside are taken with the 135mm and with the 50mm for those taken indoor.

Her pictures have been published in the Daily Mail in which she says:

“Kids and animals are my life. We spend most of our spare time in our farm where I photograph them with our dogs, rabbits and ducks. I prefer to use the natural light indoor and outdoor. At first, I thought it was important to have fancy outfits and a studio in order to take beautiful pictures. Later I realized that the more simple the settings and the clothes are, the easier it is to capture genuine moments.

I love those light conditions. Street lights, candles, fog, smoke, rain or snow are my absolute favorite conditions. Everything that gives a visual and especially emotional effect to the photograph.

I spent 6 months learning photography by borowing my parent’s DSLR and playing around with it. With highs and lows during that period, I was taking pictures everyday, analizing what I liked and didn’t like in my compositions. I’ve finally came to a point where people were complementing my pictures

I trust my intuition and inspiration when I’m composing my shots with my children. I also take time to figure out the poses and the gestures or I photograph them on a simple walk outside. All I want is to express something I feel in the moment.

The characters and emotions are translated through gestures and body shapes. I would suggest spending your time and figuring out your poses before you shoot. I don’t look only at the poses of my children but also the poses of animals. It is important to take into consideration the poses of everyone in your photograph.