Insipration Lives Here # Kateryna Prekrasna

We first connected online, when Katya messaged me asking about Patreon — how I started mine, what worked, what didn’t. Not long after, we met in person for the first time in Kyiv in autumn and planned a shoot together.

That first shoot? I left thinking I’d failed her completely. The studio felt flat, the light wasn’t inspiring, and I was sure the images were a disaster. It took me forever to send them because I felt like I’d wasted her time — especially knowing how incredible she is in front of the camera. But when I finally sent them, she ended up loving them and told me they were among her favorite shoots. And honestly… looking back now, I can’t believe I ever doubted them — there are some really beautiful shots in there.

After that, we felt a certain connection and decided to test it in a different way — by traveling together. We went to Tenerife for a few days, and not only did we survive another shoot, we survived the trip itself. That’s when it became clear: we could definitely be friends.

Katya is the kind of model who gives herself fully to the process. She loves being part of something bigger — part of art — and she puts her whole self into shoots, both emotionally and physically. She prefers working with photographers who create for galleries, print, or larger projects, where the work has meaning and will live on. She’s the kind of model who will leave a mark in the art world.

She was also my mentor in the early stages of my own modeling work — introducing me to photographers, encouraging me to work only with those whose style and values matched mine, and even connecting me to Alex Stoyanov, which led to my first (and very successful) workshop in Berlin.

Beyond modeling, Katya inspires me for another reason: her strength. The last couple of years have been a huge transformation for her — war, moving to Portugal, changin working field, traveling constantly for work, moving again to Paris, losing her mother to cancer. She’s now in a city she hasn’t fully settled into yet, without the safety net of close family or a big support system. And despite being this delicate-looking young woman, she handles it all on her own — making decisions, building her life from scratch, navigating a new country and language. Honestly, I don’t think I could do what she’s doing.

This September, she’s coming to Mexico for work — which means we finally get to see each other here instead of me flying to Europe. I can’t wait for us to spend a couple of weeks together: catching up, drinking wine (or maybe tequila), laughing until our faces hurt… and, of course, shooting. Because with Katya, no “just chilling” plan ever stays that way — find a beautiful location, and she’ll be half-undressed telling me to grab my camera. I love this woman, truly.

If you want to see more of her, follow her on Patreon — she’s one of those rare models who can inspire you just by being herself, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Trust me, you’ll want to be there for it.

P.S. Just to prove she’s a real person and not only a muse from my camera roll — here’s some solid evidence)