Meet Andrey Mikhaylov:

I studied advertising in college after high school. I think this knowledge helped me from time to time, especially because in this subject you find out how some things influence the choice of brands, what people think when they decide and choose and why. The most attractive side of advertising and the most hardest part is to make the «brand of dream», more than just a simple ad campaign, something that will inspire people to buy the product. It’s not a trivial and easy task that is the same as getting a great picture.

I really don’t remember when held my first camera, maybe it was in middle school or somewhere there. The camera was a SLR Olympus IS-300, I took snapshots of my cat and family, of course. Later I started surfing the Internet and looking for some information about photography to know it better. I’ve never tp any kind of photography school, moreover I think it’s not a good idea to go to photography school.

It’s not easy to obtain and choose a great teacher, especially if you don’t live in a capital (at least in my country). The best way to teach yourself is be a strict master for yourself. In an era of tech you may get any type of information from the internet, there are tons of tutorials and tips, you just should find it, no matter where you live. Also I do believe that comprehension and analysis of your work will take you to the next level. Don’t forget to ask critique from Flo on Photigy forum (and go back and reshoot your composite shots from 10+ pictures) 🙂

Product and commercial photography had really caught me, I can’t say why it happened, I just love to shoot obvious things to make from them attractive images. It really is hard to tell a story about the product, to show the product at its best. I always look at ad prints on the streets and try to imagine how they created it; direction of light, quantity and quality of light sources, and so on.

That’s how I dipped into world of photography and I keep learning, because the more you know the more active you should raise your bar.

My first client was a company which produced roofs. I made a bunch of corporate portraits and photos of the environment. I climbed on roofs trying to get panorama of their yard. The client was satisfied, but from my point of view it wasn’t perfect work. Anyways it was good lesson for me about how to better from a brief job for the client, asking the right questions. So my first job wasn’t related to product photography, I just started to realize what I wanted to do.

I definitely didn’t want to run with the camera and shoot everything I can. I personally don’t feel successful right now, because I soberly evaluate my skills. I have a LOT of stuff to do, many things I don’t know. Artistic vision is very important role for me. I don’t want to create simple photos of products, but I want to create stylish and impressing images. Time will tell.

In the city where I live people usually know this guy shoot weddings, that one shoot cool portraits. Most of the time people hear recommendations from their friends and they make a decision this way. Even if you could produce better result it doesn’t mean that you’ll get an order. It’s extremely important to know the right people and talk to them. You can take great photos, but if nobody knows about it you’ll be frustrated. Currently I’m trying to work in this way. The internet is good place to show your works. In real life you have to be socially active. Maybe my thoughts don’t apply to US or Europe, but here it does.

Difficult question. On one hand when you know how to work with light, you can create any photo. On the other hand, meeting with an unusual product might require specific knowledge even if you have a good understanding of light. For me the most challenging assignment has been shooting water splashes with glass on a black background. At that moment I couldn’t figure out what’s going on and how to shoot it. I simply started to move my light sources and see what happen.
This is one of the best ways to understand if you can’t orient. I don’t regret that I spent my time for it. Much later I’ve seen tutorials with explanation. There’s no doubt that your suppose to see right techniques and a solution, but don’t forget to improvise.

Well, sometimes a client asks me to shoot a product such and such way, sometimes the client even doesn’t have an idea how the final result should look. Predominantly onlya few knows what they want. It’s a good chance to realize your own vision, of course, but it also creates additional difficulty. Arguing with the client is not a good idea, even of you have very creative vision and high skills.
It’s a lot better approach to try to gently persuade them and provide some arguments. Maybe he will change his mind tomorrow and you’ll be a winner. You may meet a very intractable client, so you must be calmer.

Mostly music influences me. Such bands like Muse, White Lies, The Black Keys, Pink Floyd, RHCP, Kasabian, Coldplay and so on are my favorites (hundreds of them, these are just my top list :). There is so much drama in their songs, that’s what I like.

Of course I look at works of other photographers, even sometimes I steal ideas and try to realize them. I don’t see anything wrong in it. I collect successful ideas and recycle them into something new. Or I get an interesting solution for my task.

Sometimes I find inspiration in books, my mind can create very unusual images, you know.

My main advice will be don’t concentrate only on the technical part of photography. No matter if you are a professional photographer or beginner. Do not waste your time sitting on the forums too much. Those people who know how to take great pictures already know it and you have to get off your ass and go shoot. Sometimes you’ll be totally frustrated like me looking at your shots, but you have to find some power to move on. I hope that everyone will be strong enough to realize their goals.