Mehdi Mokhtari | Self-Portrait for Inner Peace
“Through portrait photography, I can express my inner feelings. The positive energy is released in space, which significantly impacts my body and soul.” – Mehdi Mokhtari
” I was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1980 to an artistic family.
My father, a musician, played setar and was a singing master, and his music caressed my soul. We even fell asleep at night while listening to my father playing the setar. My mother and sister also filled the home with positive energy by making handicrafts, designs, and paintings, always being in a good mood and spreading their good energy on their surroundings.
These factors had a good impression, positively affected my soul, and gave me an excellent artistic environment to start my journey in photography. I could leisurely practice the art of photography study and become a professional photographer.
My first interest in professional photography dates back to my journey abroad, where I met several Japanese photographers at a zoo. They were fabulous guides. I chose portrait photography because I can establish a good mental connection with the spirit of the model I take photos of. The positive energy is released in space, which significantly impacts my body and soul. This good spiritual connection with lots of energy highly affects the quality of photos, and I can express my inner feelings through portrait photography.
I worked in portrait photography for eight years; my studio was based in Tehran, and I created a beautiful collection of models’ portraits. The shift of focusing on self-portrait came during the past two years, where the global pandemic started and affected the conditions. As a result, I moved from Tehran to the north of the country where my parents lived, and now I work and live in Royan city.
Since 2016 I’ve participated in many international competitions and photography festivals, which gained me outstanding achievements such as 9 Gold Medals, 6 Silver Medals, 3 Bronze medals, and 7 Rabans.
In 2018-2019 I participated in the 35AWARDS festival in Russian and was among the ten finalists & winners for the portrait category.
I think the art of portrait photography is a combination of high technique, with a deeper focus on light and shadows, composition, and a deep connection with the model. Working with a model and the quality of the outcome photographs depends on the photographer’s mental qualities and inner and spiritual feelings, which can be only achieved by gaining experience and cannot be defined. It affects both sides’ inner joy, energy, and increased creativity.
Since I could no longer work with a model in the past two years due to the coronavirus restrictions, I started this self-portrait project with the great help of my family here in Royan. I am deeply thankful for their support.
I hope my journey in the fine art photography field will lead me to collaborate with galleries worldwide and exhibit my work internationally.
