After receiving her Bachelor Degree in Film and Video at the University of Arts London in 2011, Yulia immediately began to pursue her career in film and photography. Yulia currently works as a freelance video and photo artist, with special skills in make up and styling. Her photographs are intriguing and best described as visually hungry images excited by color and body movement.

Some of her exhibitions have been included in the Moscow International Photo Biennale 2010, the Thessaloniki International Photo Biennale 2010 and the Impressionist Normandy Festival 2010. She has also recently sold two photos on auction at the prestigious Phillips De Pury action house in New York.

Currently she is shooting campaigns for Tess Van Ghert. The future is bright for this young artist as her work keeps getting better and better.

Who are the people that inspired you to follow your dreams?

As banal as it sounds, the people who inspired me to follow my dreams are my parents whom I watched making their dreams come true themselves from the day that I was born till now. I see them never stop at simply reaching their goals, always trying to go beyond as there is no limit to dreams! That is what pushed me to pursue arts, particularly photography and filmmaking. I would never want to go back, there is only a way forward towards success.

Was their a turning point in your life that led to your current direction?

Yes, Originally I come from Moscow, Russia, but my parents sent my twin and I to Germany to an ecological island Spiekeroog in the North sea. On the island I have found myself surrounded and isolated not just simply by the sea but more like by the foreign culture and people. Now, I feel foreign even in Russia. Do the global strives of international relations destroy ones culture? I definitely think so. One should be able to identify themselves with their home and place.I would assume that that was my turning point which made me turn to the arts. First painting, then photography. One of the most significant points in my photography was when I started shooting for Tess Van Ghert. Following that I’ve been exhibited in Fashion and Style in Photography biennially 2011.

How could you advise young people to learn from their failures?

I could only advise to keep trying and not give up just because something is not working out. If you made a mistake the only thing to do is to make sure that you understand why you failed. One can not go on to succeed without first resolving past issues.

How do you deal with failure?

Of course it’s always easy to discuss other people’s mistakes, but it is truly the hardest facing your own. There is really no way to deal with failure apart from just simply living through it and getting straight back into business.

What does success mean to you?

One can’t measure success in money. At least not for me. For me it is receiving positive feedback from clients about my photography and my work. It is the best kind of reward! When you hear the excitement in their voice upon receiving the prints or checking up on their campaign photos – that is when I know that I succeeded.

Everyone aspires for success, but what drives you to work hard?

I work hard because I want to, and I would not be able to any other way! Otherwise, what would I be doing then instead? At this age, even though I’m young, I already feel that I’m years behind of what I could have already achieved.

Who’s career inspires you the most?

I admire many photographers, to name just one would not do any justice. But being a female in a business of mainly male dominated photographers, I would have to say Annie Leibovitz. My current favourite though is Ryan McGinley.

What is your dream accomplishment?

My dream is to see Russian art/photography scene to bloom and for me to be an essential part of it. It saddens me to see the streets of Moscow filled with imported produce. My goal is to slowly become a recognizable name of my own in photography, and the rest will follow one day.

If you could collaborate with any artist/entrepreneur, who would it be?

I would love to shoot for Ashish or Helmut Lang.

What kind of training and preparation do you go through every day?

I try to work on new themes for shoots daily. Going through extensive research is all a part of the final image, even when most of the shots are usually spontaneous.

What plans do you have for career that we would have never suspected?

I plan to be more involved in fashion film as I am a film producer by education.

With so much going on in your life right now and so many people flocking to you, how do you keep yourself humble in this city?

Staying sincere and always smiling. I think that is what attracts people towards my work – it brings a smile to their faces and lights up sparks!

5, 10, 50 years down the line, when you have achieved everything you aspire for, where do you see yourself?

I want to have my own creative agency, my own household name. I want my name to be a brand of its own.

Elite.

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This was taken from Elite Daily.