Erika Tal-Shir (born 1966 Antwerp, Belgium) is a portrait and fine art photographer who lives and works in Ra’anana.
Tal-Shir tries to apply poetical and often metaphorical language in her work. By doing so, Tal-Shir seduces the viewer into a world of fantasy, transgressing into historical periods but tinted with the awareness of present times. The portraits are captured, not solely to depict her subject, but to add a plus value to the whole scene, often by transference to the photographer’s identity or her inner world, upon the subject, and by doing so, she creates a piece of art that is more than just a mere portrait. It is as if she creates a way to lead the viewer into the artist’s essence. This secret passage will lead to the understanding of a hidden world only approachable by those who know the secret language of creation and imagination. Her work feels inspired by the nineteenth-century tradition of works, in which an ideal of “fulfilled absence “was seen as the pinnacle.
Her portraits appear as images in which fiction and reality meet, well-known tropes merge, meanings shift, past and present fuse. The passage of time and memory always play a key role, and human traits or social critique often come to the surface.
By emphasizing aesthetics, she wants to amplify the curiosity and intrigue of the spectator. In doing so, she is creating portraits that generate a tranquil and poetic environment that leave traces and balances on the edge of recognition and alienation. Her subject’s choices, from children to young girls or young women, are a conscious way to express her support in strengthening the feminine identity in a patriarchal world.
Her works can be classified as part of the new romantic movement, because of her desire for the local, the mundane, in the unfolding globalized world, as part of the collective memory. She creates her own vision within her world of imagination, often rising from the need to keep innocence, faith, and beauty alive and explore those same aspects. Her work is strongly influenced by the Old Flemish and Dutch Masters, proof of her Flemish roots.
Erika’s work has been awarded by several international photographic associations, and she achieved the level of Associate Photographer with Sue Bryce Education. Her work has been published in several magazines, including Lens Magazine and Art Market Magazine, and two of her more prominent works, “The Seeer” and “Interfaceable,” has been on display by PPA in 2020 at the Imaging USA and published in the “Loan Collection” book by Marathon Press.
Erika is the founder of Beam Collective, Israel.
An Exclusive Interview With
Erika Tal-Shir
By Paula Soito
Art Market Magazine: Can you share with Art Market’s readers your journey in photography? When did this journey start, and what was the main thing that drew you into being a professional artistic photographer?
Did you come from a creative family?
Erika Tal-Shir: I grew up in Antwerp, Belgium, as the oldest child in a family of two. Although my parents were not artists, they each had their own creative outlet: my father’s photography and my mother as a seamstress.
Art and classical education were a significant part of our general education, so visiting museums and studying music was mandatory, as well as reading classical literature.
After getting married and becoming a mother of two children, my focus was on their education. But creativity went along with it, from designing “Purim” costumes and unique birthday cakes to letting my own children discover what creativity was all about.
In 2012, I enrolled in a photography course of two years in Studio Gavra in Tel Aviv.
Realizing very quickly along the way that this could be the field where I could combine my entire world of creativity in one image, from concept, styling, storytelling, and the editing process. And that is precisely what I do today. I have found my passion and my creative outlet.
Art Market Magazine: Your artistic photography style is very unique. What led you to focus on this Master’s style specifically?
Erika Tal-Shir: I guess it came as a natural result from my childhood surroundings and education, combined with my romantic inclement. Antwerp, a city famous for its art center since the 17th century, provides enough inspiration while breathing in its ancient history, whether because of the Rubens House or its old elegant state houses lining the Meir and the old Centre. I have seen so many Old Master paintings while growing up that it is precisely this style that resonates with me and my vision, wanting it to mirror it somehow in my own works.
Art Market Magazine: To create this unique photography style, you need to have a strong knowledge of the Master’s work, including a high technique in portrait photography. Where did the knowledge come from?
Erika Tal-Shir: After I finished my studies in Studio Gavra, I wanted to specialize in portrait photography and was lucky enough to find a wonderful mentor, Sue Bryce, who had just started a platform for professional photographers called Sue Bryce Education or SBE. I became a member about four years ago and have not regretted that decision for one second. I was introduced to many talented photographers through her platform, each in their own field of expertise, like Richard Wood. He is a very talented portrait photographer from New Zealand, Grand Master of the NZIPP, whose course specializes in achieving the fine art style from the Old Masters.
Besides Sue Bryce Education, I went abroad to study with well-known portrait photographers, delivering portraits exactly in the style I wanted to learn, like Tracy Willis and Paulina Duczman. In addition, I followed online classes with Alexandra Lord and Barbara MacFerrin, each contributing to the enrichment of my own personal style. Still today, I am following online tutoring and online classes because I believe strongly that you can learn something from everyone.
Art Market Magazine: Where do the ideas come from? Can you describe the workflow of your creation from the point of the concept to the final outcome?
Erika Tal-Shir: The entire world is my source of inspiration, from its macro to its microcosmos. I can get inspired by life in general, human behavior, social expectations, religion, former classical works, a song I heard, a book I read,
a flower I noticed, a color, or a well-known quote. These inspiration sources will create a particular idea in my mind.
I will think about it and design the concept in my mind until I see exactly how I want it to be. Sometimes it will stay dormant for a long time until I know exactly what I will do with it one day. Then I will start to create the styling, the perfect accessories, the specific backdrop I want, the color palette I think might suit, and which kind of model I want to photograph. Then I will think about the lighting, how to place it, and whether I need reflectors. After the photoshoot, I will wait a few days before starting the culling process and choosing one to two images from every series I shot. (sometimes, I change outfits, accessories, backdrops but with the same model, in doing so, I create few series in every photoshoot). I find it extremely important to wait a few days because you can make a better choice concerning the “best image” after that break.
Art Market Magazine: You are probably putting enormous effort into post-production/editing of the images. What is your gear? What kind of post-processing do you use?
Erika Tal-Shir: To participate in internationally renowned competitions, your editing has to be superb; that is why I went to the best teachers to improve this significant step.
I pull my images into photoshop by using the original raw files, making a few tweaks here and there, and the bulk of my work is done in photoshop; as a finishing touch, I use a filter of Exposure X6 on low opacity. My never-ending passion for creation and creativity finds hours of pleasure in this compact digital world, filled with endless possibilities. The only danger here exists in getting lost [lol].
Art Market Magazine: Do you do only private- more personal portraits, or do you also shoot for commissioned and commercial projects?
Erika Tal-Shir: I only do private sessions with a creative vision or a personal session on special request. I did not have the opportunity to shoot commissioned or commercial projects, and I also did not look for them. So I am pretty content in my own small creative world, doing exactly what I like to do and developing from there.
Art Market Magazine: What can you tell us about the use of light and the importance of light and shadows in your Old Master’s artistic style?
Erika Tal-Shir: The light can make or break your image; this is something I learned from the very beginning. For creating the perfect Old Masters style, the light setup is essential. It will create a triangle of light under the subject’s eye on the less illuminated side of the face. Added to this, the catchlights in the eyes have to be at ten o’clock or at two o’clock. This way, lighting creates a contrast between the dark and the light, or “Chiaroscuro,” a technique that Rembrandt was known for, and it emphasizes the mood in your image. I like to add a reflector on the opposite side to soften the shadows, and I will also often add extra light in front to lit up the entire scene.
I discovered that once you know the rules, it gives room to play when you break them.
Art Market Magazine: Would you say your projects express a more emotional aspect combined with visual beauty, or are you trying to describe a philosophical idea?
Erika Tal-Shir: I realize that most of my work is combined with an emotional aspect and visual beauty or clean esthetics and less a philosophical idea. However, I do incorporate this from time to time, like in my work of “Interfaceable” and “Be the Flower” or one of my latest works, “Nobody’s perfect.”
All in all, I am still a newbie, developing my own voice for the last two years.
Art Market Magazine: Who are the artists and photographers who mainly influenced your work?
Erika Tal-Shir: I am influenced by the Old Masters, of course, and by contemporary artists like Paulina Duczman, Chris Knight, Sue Bryce, Richard Wood, and Tim Walker.
Art Market Magazine: What advice can you give the young photographer starting their journey in the fine art photography field?
Erika Tal-Shir: I would say: go and study first the basics in photography, and experiment with your camera as much as possible. Take portraits of people you know, like friends and family, use the clothes and fabrics at home, or create and arrange something yourself.
Use natural light and use artificial light, even the simple speed lights. Light is light, do not indulge in buying anything unless you are sure “that it will make your boat go faster.”
Secondly, go to visit museums and look into the work of the Old Dutch and Flemish Masters to see what you feel attracted to and write it down. Check out other artists doing exactly what you like, even contemporary painters, and again, write down what you like about it. Then, make a list of all the things you feel attracted to from other people’s works, and check to see how you can incorporate those aspects without copying someone else’s work.
Conclusion: you will see that you will be able to discover something about yourself as an artist, and you will be able to bring something entirely new, since you as a person are a whole world by yourself, with your own experiences and your own vision on life. If you know how to present this, you will find a way of living that makes your soul sing.
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