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Images by Recently graduated photographer Ville Makarainen

RAW Talent with Ville Mäkäräinen

Once on the verge of giving up on his dream of becoming a photographer after a particularly disheartening experience at a photoshoot, recent photography graduate Ville Mäkäräinen is now more determined than ever to carve out a space for himself in the world of photography. We spoke to Ville about how his love for skateboarding and run on Finland’s Next Top Model led him to where he is today and the anxiety and excitement of taking the leap into a new profession. I’d like to start by asking you about your origin story. How did you get into photography? It all started when I was a kid and skateboarding a lot. Me and my friends wanted to get new tricks on tape and as the creative child, I was often the one picking up the camera. It was my dad’s camera, which was probably one of the first digital cameras that could record video. Fisheye lens is a big deal in skateboarding, and I remember taping up a peephole right on the lens, probably leaving …

Day in the life of a photographer at Copenhagen Fashion Week

While still in the shadow of its more established New York, London, Paris or Milan counterparts, Copenhagen Fashion Week has, for the past few years, carved out a place for itself in the fashion world as a front-runner in sustainability and is turning heads among trendsetters and influential personalities within the industry. As more people open their eyes to the trends coming out of the Danish capital, the photographers who are there to capture the latest designs, street style, and behind-the-scenes moments are busier than ever. We followed local fashion photographer Mark Dexter who pulls up the curtain on what it is like being a photographer during fashion week in Copenhagen and the new tools that let him go from location to location without stop.   On a misty February morning on the streets of Copenhagen, the sun is slowly starting to peek out between the buildings, hinting at the first signs of spring after a long and dark Scandinavian winter. “The weather can be really bad some days. Especially during winter, you don’t want …

Behind the image – 10 minutes with Mads Mikkelsen

There is pressure in photographing one of your idols. Having only 10 minutes to set up and get multiple good shots of your idol takes that pressure to a different level. On assignment for Scandinavian Traveler (the in-flight magazine for Scandinavian Airlines), Danish portrait photographer Andreas Houmann took on the challenge of getting a cover and a spread of the world-famous actor Mads Mikkelsen while working against the clock.  Join us behind the image with Andreas as he shares how he spent 10 hours preparing for the 10-minute shoot and got what he needed without compromising on his vision. Let’s start from the beginning. What was the brief you had for this job? The brief was quite open because it was my first assignment for [Scandianvian Traveler], but they had seen many of my images and liked my style. So, it was up to me to create what I wanted. I was told that I would have 10 minutes with the actor Mads Mikkelsen. From that, they wanted a cover shot and five to six …

RAW Talent with Raymond Alva

Portrait and documentary photographer Raymond Alva, or Rap – short for Rapberry – as he’s been known since the 4th grade, wants to challenge people to look at each other in new ways; to create understanding between different groups. In this month’s RAW Talent, the recent graduate gives us a look at how he is taking the plunge into the world of professional photography after his studies and using his education and personal interests to explore hidden stories within street culture, fashion, and music. How did you get into photography? I first got introduced to stills back in 2014 at a summer camp I went to. Some older campers I knew had cameras and I was immediately interested in what they were doing. About a year later, I got my first camera from my parents for my birthday, and I’ve been shooting ever since. You studied photography at California Baptist University. How was that? And how did it help you find your voice? My time at CBU was incredible, to say the least. My professors …