Viktoriya Bankova
My name is Viktoriya, I’m 28, and I was born in Bulgaria and moved to Canada with my mom when I was 4. My family is still in Bulgaria, except for an aunt and uncle that moved to Canada as well. They live in Toronto where my uncle opened a photography studio. I grew up with photography, but I didn’t get my first camera until I was in my second last year of high school where my uncle gave me his old Canon A-1 series. I still have it displayed in my apartment, although since I’ve made the switch to digital, I no longer use it - but it holds a lot of sentimental value, so of course I never plan to get rid of it either. I’ve always been a very artistic person, I also paint, and draw with pastels or simply just with graphite. Unfortunately doing the arts as a career wasn’t exactly what my parents had in mind for me (at the time), and as it goes for a lot of young minds, the pressure sometimes works and you end up doing whatever will pay the bills. When I finished high school I took a few years off where I worked, traveled, and continued to dabble in photography and the arts here and there. When I finally went into college I took a horticulture program, still under the mindset that I cannot be an artist. I do enjoy horticulture, and I now work as a trained horticulturist and Lead Hand for a landscaping company… that now helps fund my photography as I start making the switch to doing it full time, with the great support of my family.
I shot my first wedding about 6 years ago, and from then on I did weddings and family, and your basic commercial shoots. Although I enjoyed it, as photography is my passion, something was still missing and I wasn’t feeling fulfilled within. It wasn’t until my first fashion shoot last winter, where my creativity was allowed to flow freely with every image and I wasn’t limited, that I realized that that was something I wanted to do; and something I can get into as long as I continue to work at it and don’t fall to the pressure of “You’ll be a starving artist if you try”. I’ve just printed my very first business cards, and have several shoots coming up over the next couple of weeks, and I’ve even been asked to shoot a runway show held in Ottawa (I know right? haha). I’m very excited, and I look forward to whatever the future holds as I continue to slowly work my way up into the (fashion) photography industry!
As Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”. It’s never too late to do what you love, and to love what you do!
Fashion
Model: Angele Lalonde (http://m.modelmayhem.com/2387736)
MUA: Tiffany Ashley Judge (cannot get a hold of)
Photographer: Viktoriya Bankova (www.photographybyviktoriya.tumblr.com)
Location: Photographers downtown apartment
This was my first fashion shoot. A very good friend of mine wanted to have some pictures done for her upcoming jewelry business launch, Duchess Empire. I wanted to get a little creative with this, so I did a little bit of research on fashion photography to get some inspiration. I picked out the model and her wardrobe, did some thrift shopping and built the set in my downtown apartment, and I put my rather minimal sewing skills to the test and sewed the black shoulder piece together using tulle. I even did the model’s hair on the day of the shoot as I couldn’t find a hairstylist that was available that evening! I had a lot of fun with this shoot, and I was very proud of myself for moving out of my comfort zone and allowing myself to try something new.
Boudoir
Model: Rachel Rose
MUA: Tiffany Ashley Judge (cannot get a hold of)
Photographer: Viktoriya Bankova (www.photographybyviktoriya.tumblr.com)
Location: Model’s Home.
This shoot was done a couple of months after my first fashion shoot. Since it was something I wanted to pursue further, my friend and model, Rachel Rose, had suggested a boudoir shoot. It was also my first boudoir shoot, and I took it as seriously as I did with my first fashion shoot. I did some shopping, picked out a few key lingerie pieces for my friend to wear, and came rolling in with a car full of props and lights the day of the shoot. We turned her house into a studio! This particular photo is my favourite from the final product, even though it’s Rachel’s least favourite because she remembers how uncomfortable the pose was! We’re both very happy with the turn out though.
