Interview with Michael Dorohovich from Ukraine

As I said, it all started with the Art College, where we had a subject in photography but the main practice began in photojournalism, in local publications which helped me gain experience, both technically and in communicating with people who later were very important and valuable to me.

If we talk about the portrait genre in which I have worked, then for the first time it was at the age of 15, when I photographed my friend in the image of Michael Jackson, who was his idol, I remember how we made a mini studio from the attic of a nine-story building to which I brought several table lamps and illuminated nature. These pictures are still preserved and one of them hangs in my home gallery.

In my work I use the Fujifilm-X system, I really like it for its compactness and quality, especially for lenses. When shooting portraits and working with people, it is very important not to frighten nature with large cameras and lenses and to relieve tension as quickly as possible which will ultimately give good results.

I am very pleased when many viewers of my photographs say or write that my portraits reveal the soul of a person, at this moment you understand that you work and create for good reason, it always inspires me very much to create.

To be honest, I am inspired by unique people, destinies, interesting personalities, without whom life in society would not be interesting.

Truthfulness, honesty and naturalness.

This award is very important and valuable for me. After all, I live in a small region of Ukraine and when you receive such a prestigious award, it inspires you very much for creativity and makes you not stop but go forward!

This is the story of a very strong-willed girl, a ceramics artist who beat cancer but lost one of her legs. I was always amazed by her positive attitude towards life, even in such a difficult period of her life. I decided to get to know her and offer to shoot her portrait in such a frank manner and she agreed.

The result impressed us very much because the photo came out very honest, truthful and spoke absolutely about it. The hand that Tetyana held on to was her husband who in life is always next to her and whom she can always grab and feel safe!

Such prestigious competitions always influence your career, because if your work is recognized at the world level then more opportunities will begin to open up for you in your homeland and you can really feel it.

I really like the portrait work of Richard Avedon and Dan Winters, but speaking of the MUSE Photography Awards 2023. I like the work of Jatenipat Ketpradit and was inspired.

The most valuable lesson I learned for myself was that a real photograph is written with light through the lens and not through Photoshop and other computer editors. I always try to match it!

Today we live in a world of great competition and this applies to photography in general. Therefore, the truthfulness of what you are filming has a very important role for our society, especially today where there is so much untruth around.

Therefore, my advice is, look for the truth through the lens and viewfinder of the camera and not photoshop. Photoshop is also a good tool but it is designed for completely different purposes.

When I shoot a portrait of a person, an important aspect is my relationship with him from the very beginning of my meeting, until the moment when he looks at ready-made photos of himself. A good psychological attitude and trust between me and my nature, this is probably my key to success.

In true creativity, it is very important to remain yourself, so new knowledge and information are very important just as a good technical tool but everything else that we call art should go through your life, your intellect, your feelings and fall into a photograph.