The photos taken by photographer Irina Maskalenko can be recognized by the love and warmth they radiate. In both family and children's photo sessions, she has developed a special approach and aesthetics characterized by naturalness and liveliness. As the photographer herself says: "To me, taking a picture means much more than just pressing a button on the camera, it's like a challenge, creating a story, a performance - all together.

Irina Maskalenko

It is important for me that when looking at my pictures, people think, so that the photos embody harmony, light, and beauty. I like to work with natural light, because it creates the atmosphere most effectively and is the closest to what we see in life, around us.”

Photographs inspired by children

Irina Maskalenko photographs people, conducts family photo sessions, she also has experience in wedding photography, but after becoming a mother for the second time, she focused closely on photos of children and children's products. It was a great way to combine work and the opportunity to spend more of that important time with the children. She does aesthetic children's photo sessions for the smallest, from birth to four years old.

Due to her cultivated style, she is also approached by brands of children's product design, wooden toys and ecological products, she is happy to cooperate with such brands and implement advertising photo shoots. The photographer explains: "When photographing children's products, I try to create a harmonious atmosphere suitable for each product to help the development of the brand, I find small models, children who use the given product and play with it, so that I can capture beautiful and lively moments."

Speaking about the special nature of her photographs, Irina Maskalenko admits that children are often the most valuable teachers for parents, and the style of her photographs is largely influenced by her daughters. She used to photograph the children in chic and aristocratic outfits, everything was bright and shiny, because the first daughter liked to wear gorgeous dresses.

After the birth of her second daughter, Irina's approach and taste changed, as her daughter preferred to wear looser and more comfortable clothes instead of princess-style dresses. She bought the first natural linen dresses from the brand IK Happy Anna , with which she has already formed a permanent partnership, for her youngest daughter. Along with the first purchase, the love for linen clothes grew, it has already grown into a whole collection, which is now actively used in children's photo shoots.

Naturalness not only in photography style, but also in lifestyle

Irina Maskalenko likes to use natural materials and textures in the design of the environment for children and family photo sessions, her photos are kept in natural colors and pastel shades. She is attracted by the Scandinavian style, in her photo studio Irina herself and sometimes with the help of decorators creates an interior design suitable for photo sessions. The natural range of colors is not limited to beige tones, in fact there are many bright, warm and cheerful shades in nature.

Photographer Irina Maskalenko respects old objects and uses them in photo sessions, which give the photos a light retro feel. Objects with history have a special charm and with their different textures create depth and diversity in photographs. In addition, they get a new life as environmental decorations for a photo session, for example, you can restore old furniture - tables, chairs.

Irina Maskalenko uses clothes made of natural materials and the palette of colors found in nature not only because it looks harmonious and beautiful, but also because the ecological point of view matches her family's lifestyle. The use of natural products and the use of natural materials in the surrounding space is good for a person not only in everyday life, but also in a photo session in such a harmonious and unobtrusive environment, it is much easier to open up and capture a person in natural radiation.

Children's photo sessions in natural linen dresses

As already mentioned, as one of the options, Irina Maskalenko offers to choose IK Happy Anna clothes for children's photo sessions, which can be tried on and selected in her studio. Thus, mothers don't have to worry about the child's clothes for the photo session, they don't have to bring it with them or buy it if they want to be particularly spoiled for the photo session. This is also relevant if the family has come from abroad - it is not convenient to bring several outfits with you for a photo session. By the way, it is customers from abroad who especially appreciate linen dresses because of their naturalness. Linen clothes are a very suitable choice for children's photo shoots, as they do not distract attention from the children in the photos. They do not prevent the child from moving and it is possible to take lively pictures in which the child is in motion. In addition, linen is a very beautiful and skin-friendly material.

There is a wrong stereotype that linen is ancient and even everyday. More and more recognizable fashion brands use linen in their collections. Linen summer clothes can also be formal and delicate. Looking at IK Happy Anna children's dresses, you can see that you can also make holiday dresses from linen, which, by the way, are an ideal option for children at weddings, and they are available in a wide variety of colors.

Speaking of festive outfits, Irina Maskalenko says that mothers often dress up their daughters in gorgeous and shiny dresses made of tulle and other fabrics during holidays and photo sessions, without thinking about whether the child will feel comfortable in them. Most often, children sneeze at weddings because they are hot in the shiny princess dresses, they are not pleasant for the skin and limit the child's movements because they are made of synthetic fabrics. In contrast, linen children's holiday dresses are comfortable, breathable and no less gorgeous.

Children's photo session

Irina Maskalenko has her own children's photo studio in Latgale, but she also likes to take pictures in nature. She says from her experience that a photo session in a studio usually does not last longer than an hour, longer sessions would be too tiring for children. Before the photo session, you should make sure that the child has slept and eaten. Lina's outfits and relevant accessories for the photo session are available in Irina's studio, but parents could take care of the child's hair in advance, taking into account that maximum naturalness would be desirable for children in such style photo sessions.

Talking about how to capture children in photographs, she says that it helps a lot if parents know how to calmly discuss everything with children. Of course, you have to take care of the children's well-being, you must not forget to take some healthy drinks and snacks with you, but for the very little ones, a bottle to give the child if he gets tired. You can also think about a gift for the child after the photo session.

If, however, the child shows dissatisfaction, Irina does not recommend solving it by putting cartoons on the phone to comfort the child. She says that in this way the contact with the child is lost, which is very important to her as a photographer. She talks to the child during the photo session, turns it into a story or a game that interests the child and keeps the attention. While playing, the child relaxes and live pictures are obtained, in which the child is captured in motion.

Customers often tell Irina Maskalenko that her photos are warm and sweet. It succeeds because Irina creates a natural environment for her photo sessions, a free atmosphere and treats children with genuine sincerity. The photographer encourages: "Children grow up fast, so it is important to capture the moments when children are growing up and are so small and cute. Also, appreciate the natural beauty so that your children grow up close to nature and free."

Author of the article: Renate Berga

Story: photographer Irina Maskalenko