The award-winning fine art photographer Lubo Sergeev was a lecturer at Futuro 5 Digital Arts Festival this year. We had the huge pleasure to ask him several questions about his impressive work and hear his advice to young talents. But first, who is Lubo Sergeev?
Lubo Sergeev, who works at SergeevStudio, is a super successful fine art photographer and a digital artist. He’s worked for world-famous clients like Mercedes Benz, Audi, Johnsons and Johnsons, Philips, Gillette, Sobieski vodka and many more. With the numerous awards he’s received, Lubo has become a globally recognized specialist in high-end photo-manipulation and commercial image production. His work is absolutely impressive and mesmerizing, so we couldn’t wait to hear just a small portion of the little secrets behind the huge success.
Before the interview, you should definitely check out some of his art:
by Lubo Sergeev
by Lubo Sergeev
by Lubo Sergeev
You have over 20 years of experience in photography. What is the biggest project you have worked on and for which client?
Considering that I’m working on a big project almost every week, it’s kinda difficult to say which one is the biggest. I’d love to think that the biggest project that I’m working on is the next one. But I can’t really recall something so, so big.
And how much time do you usually spend on a project?
The average time is probably three weeks – depending on the project also. I just finished one. I just wrapped up the shooting and that was maybe a week only but the one before was two months. So average I can say something like three weeks. Depending on the project – some projects are easy, other projects are much more difficult. The hard ones are usually three weeks, maybe a month. And it also depends on how many photos they want at the very end.
Nowadays, there are more and more photographers. How do you manage to keep ahead of the competition?
Very difficult. This is the most difficult question actually in the business right now. You have to have a goal. You have to have a purpose. You have to have something that you really wanna pursue. If you say “I want to get this client”, you gotta do that. Day and night. Just focus on that and go on, and go on. A very good friend of mine, my former agent, was telling me: You can’t be the most trendy photographer in the world or in your community. That’s impossible. Trends change every 15 minutes. So, that’s impossible. That’s why you have to have a goal, a purpose which you follow. And do the best you can do. But the important part is to do it all the time. Without any break, any rest. Just go for it.
by Lubo Sergeev
And what is your favorite type of photography you do in your free time?
Maybe I really like fantasy. A lot of fantasy. That’s pretty much it. People, fantasy, portraits. But mainly fantasy.
And how do you think technology would change digital art?
It is beyond me. I can’t truly say how technology will change that. But it has changed so much by now. Honestly, I think photography is a little bit fading away. The trendy thing right now, because of the cellphones and everything, is that almost every single person in the world can take a photo. It is very much like back in the days when people started to learn to read and to write. So, everybody thought they could write a great novel – but not so much. We all use the same physical laws and the same letters to write a novel. And we use the same physical laws to take a photo. But the question is: How good our novel is? How good are our photos? What story are we telling? So, technology will make things even easier. The story behind that is what counts.
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You are also a mentor. Which is the biggest challenge your students face?
To get me there. Because I travel constantly. Actually, this is the worst. I had an internship program for two months and these guys managed to get me there maybe for three weeks only out of two months. Because I was traveling all of the time. The most difficult thing about being a mentor is to be there.
What is your best advice to young photographers?
You have to believe. Probably that’s the most important thing out of everything. You have to believe that the things that you do are the best and the most important things. That you are right and whatever you do is the right thing to do. And your photos are the best. Faith. A lot of faith.
by Lubo Sergeev
by Lubo Sergeev
You can view more of his art on his website: Sergeev Studio.
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