Inspired, A Very Special Project | Ajaton Joki- Fine Portraits by Andrea Joki

Those that follow the Inspired Project here may have noticed that the posts have been few and far between these days! My normal schedule was interrupted due to a death in the family.  We hopped in the car (yes all four kids, three adults and our dog Jack) and road tripped across country from Colorado to Connecticut to be with family and attend my husband’s uncle’s funeral.  We spent about four days there before we headed back and travelled cross country all over again. Playing catch up has been a bit overwhelming but I have a TON of these posts that will be going up this week (many on unscheduled days) so bear with me pretty please lol!

This week I am SO honored to feature one of my most favorite photographers and one of my earliest photography crushes. Andrea Joki is based out of Finland but is probably one of the most well traveled people I know! Not only is she beyond talented but incredibly kind and such a GREAT teacher! I know first hand because I had the privilege of meeting her in Boston for a mentorship concerning my OCF.  She was so helpful and explained things so well that even my husband got the hang of it! Yes she even offered to teach him! I first discovered her work on a forum called ILOVEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM where she has a plethora of helpful tutorials and takes time to give honest and constructive feedback to forum participants.  I adore everything she does.  I am fairly sure there isn’t anything she isn’t amazing at!! So lets get to know her!!

You can find her Website HERE and Her Fan Page HERE.

Hello Andrea!!

Lets get to know you! How would you describe yourself in three sentences?

I value honesty and integrity – both with myself in how I deal with others. I like to do many things at once and tend to multitask everything. I will always prefer the surreal to reality.

Brisbane Australia Family Session

What sparked your passion for Photography?

I have my father’s camera equipment (he was a hobbyist photographer); I grew up playing with his Pentax and several lenses which were left to me when he died in the 1980s. In the mid 1990s, I was collecting antique fashions from the 1800s and 1900s and needed to photography them properly. I finally purchased my own SLR, a Canon, for that purpose.

Whats in your camera bag?

DSLR: Nikon D3
4 lenses: 85 1.4, 70-200 2.8 VR, 14-24 2.8, 24-70 2.8
SB900
Hoodman Hood Loup
2 Pocket Wizard Plus IIs. 2 Pocket Wizard Flex. 1 Pocket Wizard Mini.
Lots of Cables

Columbus, Ohio

What Camera/Equipment did you start out with?

I was happy with my Canon SLR and only broke down and purchased a Nikon D50 fairly later – 2005 or so, so I could transition from film to digital SLRs.

Helsinki

If you could only use one lens an entire session which one would you choose
and why?

It would greatly depend on the location of the session. No lens is universal and the right lens choice is often the difference between a mediocre and an amazing image.

What advice would go give to someone just beginning in photography and
hoping to have a business of their own?

Spend your money wisely. There is so much to throw your money at  and that excessive spending is one of the greatest regrets of most photographers when asked. Be sure you have a need for that item you want to buy. Invest in your skills/techniques first, everything else like props and equipment next.

 

Example of my commercial work: promo images for a computer game cut scenes and ads

What was your first official Photographer crush if you had one?

I had a lot of influences. For me, it was identifying what aspect of that photographer’s work that I liked and then learning how it would fit with my own perspective on photography.

What kind of photos do you like to take for just yourself when not working
with clients?

I always go for fashion-type shoots with styling, model, and set up.

 

What I do when not shooting for clients – model shot in my Ajaton Joki studio wearing a dress from my collection of antique fashions: a 1930s bias cut silk velvet wedding dress.

If you could photograph absolutely anyone who would it be dead or alive?

Cleopatra. She was not a beauty but captivated two world leaders on her own. I wonder if that could be captured on film.

Gold Coast, Australia

Describe your style in 3 words.

Peaceful. Surreal. Multifaceted.

Most embarrassing moment on a session would be?

Ah, the humiliation. I have quite a few stories from my travels (e.g., having the car of the person taking me to a shoot impounded, leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere with a male model and a lot of photography equipment alongside the freeway!). But I think the most salient one would be when I was photographing a little girl who had stepped into a lake up her knees. I was also up to my knees and when I bent over to get a shot along the surface of the water, a button on my pants popped off and my pants fell into the water, leaving me standing there in my underwear.

 

Any challenges you have had to overcome to be where you are today?

I was never interested in happy smiley kids so much as pensive ones. It is something I have had to defend often – but it is who I am as a person and a photographer. I want a calm and peaceful feeling in my images. I was worried that it wouldn’t be a good style for a business – but I’ve found that being unique and distinct has been a huge boon and helped separate me and let me stand out in a crowded marketplace.

 

Bridal in Finland

Favorite time of day to shoot is?

Evening. It gives me so much variety in the light as the sun sets.

If you had to stop taking photos right now, what would you do instead?

My career before photography was doing Mission Assurance work at NASA. I would probably return to that milieu.

 

Florida beach shoot – one of the first when I went Nikon

Have you attended college or had any formal education in Photography?

I have a degree in business management with a minor in advertising design.

What do you do to get your clients to relax with you?

I am calm and don’t rush anything.

Engagement session in Ireland

What are your photography related goals for 2012?

Continue to develop connection. Work on more studio lighting techniques. Continue to develop my ability to problem solve lighting and make the best image possible in the circumstances.

 

How do you push yourself to keep growing and learning? Any Big Aha! Moments?

I always invest in myself – training and spending the time shooting. And I travel around the world challenging myself by shooting in unfamiliar locations and conditions. I think it is easy to learn to shoot in one place and location where the environment/locations stay the same. But the difference between shooting the deserts of Las Vegas, forests of Northern Europe, and beaches/tropical locales in Australia have all made me a better, more well-rounded photographer. I don’t shoot Helsinki like Los Angeles, Las Vegas like Boston, or Brisbane like Washington.

I also feel it is invaluable to seek the advice/feedback/CC of others. I have been given so much growth by those who have gifted me their time to give their thoughts on images I have posted in forums. I am forever grateful for those gifts and try to give back the same whenever I can.

My biggest aha moment in understanding light came with an image I took in 2007 of my daughter dancing at a lake. It taught me how to get 3D feel to my images and also why some images are transformed in black and white and only mediocre in color.

“My ‘aha’ image – taught me about light”

Biggest Photography related insecurity?

Our photography community is made up of super incredible and talented people, I’ve been given so much by so many that my greatest insecurity is that I haven’t been able to reciprocal even near enough to what I’ve been given.

 

Natural light newborn

Digital or Prints?

Due to the constraints of living in Europe (and having to order in foreign languages), I am digital.

I love how generous you are with your tutorials on Ilovephotography.com and
the mentorships you do. You have such a pay it forward mentality and I love
that about you. What inspires you to be so open and giving?

What inspires me is our community – but that same community can be a double edged blade. I wish we spent more time building each other up rather than tearing each other down with personal attacks or witch hunts. When I see the meanness, it makes it hard to love photography and go out and shoot. I hope that anyone reading this really takes a moment to think about anything they do or say that would disparage a colleague. And then decide not to do it. Imagine what you could do with your photography if that time wasted putting down others was instead invested in getting better.

We get so much when we give positively. Perhaps not obviously or immediately, but over the years I have made great friendships, traveled around the world, and been given the chance to take amazing photos. Had I not worked with the community and given back, none of that would be possible.

I think so many feel that they are too new to have anything to give. But that just isn’t true – just giving your thoughts is important – after all, we don’t sell our images to professionals. We sell to the layman.

 

Las Vegas session

I noticed you recently jumped from Canon to Nikon. What was your driving
force behind that?

I was always drawn to Nikon and my first DSLR was a Nikon. But I didn’t like the CCD sensor and how it rendered skin tones. So I switched to Canon with a 30D several years ago. Now that Nikon has a CMOS sensor, the images produced are closer to Canon’s for skin tones. Since the 5DII was really letting me down with focus, I moved back to Nikon. For me and my work, I loved the tonality of the Canon images but love the clarity of the Nikon.

 

An early piece – shot in full Summer and processed cool.

You do some pretty extensive traveling. What is your favorite place so far
to photograph at?

Ironically enough, it’s about the photographers at those locations more than the location themselves. I have been so incredibly fortunate to meet so many amazing, talented, sweet, and especially inspirational photographers.

Set up from my Las Vegas workshop earlier this year.

 

Fun stuff:

Favorite Color: Teal.

Favorite Season: Autumn

Biggest Guilty Pleasure: Japanese manga and anime

Pet Peeve: Cutting down colleagues in the name of righteous indignation.

Favorite Pandora Station: No Pandora in Europe. We have Spotify.

Studio or On location: Both.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Geologist.

One thing no one knows about you is: Well, no one outside of a small few who were there at the tourney – I am the Finland National Pinball Champion of 2007.

Pc or Mac: PC.

Lightroom Or Photoshop: Both.

Film or Digital: Both.

Props or No Props: If they make the image more impactful, I’m happy to use props.

If you could travel anywhere it would be: I was invited to teach a masterclass at Russia’s largest photography convention this year in Moscow – I think that probably tops the list of exotic locales for me.

Glass Half Empty or Half Full: Just half. 🙂

Favorite photo ever taken: Don’t kill me, but I don’t have one. 🙂 My philosophy is to love everything I have but to also dislike them enough to want to continually improve them.

Raw or Jpeg: Raw

Favorite Music to Edit to: I listen to all genres – from big band like The Jackie Gleason Orchestra to heavy metal like Queensryche. I have a sweet spot for 1970s pop, though.

Favorite Quote: “I have abandoned my search for truth and am now looking for a good surreality”

Most valued material possession: Through various circumstances, my family has lost nearly every item we had in the past – all my childhood pictures, toys, records, etc. I somehow managed to hang on to a little stuffed octopus I named Gloopy when I was 7. So it would be Gloopy 🙂

Processing Style: Whatever best suits the image.

Coffee or Tea: Neither.

What kind of Camera bag do you rock? I’m not one into style over substance. The extensive traveling means I have a Lowepro rolling case that fits into all planes, large or small.