suddenly there was this mix — strength and fragility, tension and trust, almost a struggle, almost a dance.

I wanted to tell you about a shot that’s rare for me.
Not just a girl. Not just a guy. A pair — even though they’d never met before that day.

I was shooting Vlada. We were making some pretty raw, edgy images in the studio. At the time, I was in an intense, almost aggressive headspace — pouring my own emotions and pain into the frame. Everything felt wild, right on the edge. I was turning hurt into something new, something I didn’t know before, breaking open boundaries.

Artem came into the picture by chance. He’s a theater actor — I’d just seen a performance of his at Gogol Center in Moscow. He happened to be dating the girl I was renting an apartment from. After the show, I thought it might be interesting to shoot him, to see how my style would translate to a male portrait.

Either he arrived early or we’d simply been shooting longer with Vlada — I don’t remember exactly. But at some point, both of them ended up in the studio together. And I thought: why not put them in one frame? I’d hardly ever directed two people together before, especially strangers. But Vlada and I were already in full speed, fully warmed up, and the energy was powerful.

Artem, being a stage actor, wasn’t just a model. He knows how to play with a partner, how to hold space. So I trusted him — and my gut. I asked him to lift and lower Vlada, to experiment with the balance between their bodies. He’s strong and muscular; she’s delicate, feminine, but incredibly sensual. Suddenly there was this mix — strength and fragility, tension and trust, almost a struggle, almost a dance.

That’s how this image happened: me chasing the fragile moment where one person holds, the other surrenders, and together they become something bigger than just two bodies in a frame.

It’s not really about striking a pose — it’s about the tension, the balance, the breath between two people.

For me, shots like this don’t happen often. They’re special. You need more than just a photographer’s eye — you have to create a space where two strangers can trust each other, connect, and let something real and unexpected happen.