Erika Tal-Shir

PLAYTIME, DREAMY WORLD AND TREASURES

''I especially portray children, and young girls, because I would like them to experience a throwback in time, in a playful way, that also provides them with a beautiful keepsake. I feel that in our present time, their innocence disappears too fast.

I hope that I can contribute to their self-esteem with my portraits to make them feel beautiful and happy about themselves. Society often puts us in specific roles, in certain expectations, and as a girl who constantly struggled to find my own value and self-respect; today, as a grown-up woman, I try to show them their inner beauty is so visible in their portraits.

Doing so makes me happy to know that I can create a beautiful keepsake that will stay for many generations. Occasionally I will add a specific concept to the story, illustrating an idea that adds value to the portrait itself.

The photoshoots take place in my home studio in Raanana, and my favorite way of light is to work with 1 to 2 strobes, double diffused, sometimes with reflectors or V-flats, so I will get really soft light.

My background is made from canvas or velvet, but my favorite one is a plain neutral grey paper that gives me endless possibilities to add overlays through photoshop.

Those added elements can be landscapes that I pictured, parts of windows, ceilings or doorframes I shot while traveling in Europe, or even flowers or trees I shot while walking with our dogs.