Interview: Lenni Mattanja
BYO: Why do you take photos?
LENNI: Because I was surprised by how much I liked it, by the results and reactions. I’ve tried to be creative before through writing and drawing but never liked what I did.
BYO: How do you determine your subjects?
LENNI: I guess every photographer would say this, but I always look for something unique. If you see a picture of a model and they stand out from the rest, it just clicks and you feel connected with them simply from a photograph.
BYO: Your subjects are mainly people, do you ever venture out to other subjects?
LENNI: For the moment, I mostly do portraits, very natural portraits. I think other forms of photography are brilliant and I respect it all very much, however, I’m still in love with making a beautiful picture of a person and my satisfaction is drawn from my subject looking at their photograph and saying, “oh yeah, that’s exactly who I am.” After that I am very interested in artistic photographs. I feel inspired by anything that moves gracefully in my eyes, like dancers or athletes. Of course, people on the streets, living their own lives are amazing subjects as well.
BYO: Who or what would be your dream subject?
LENNI: For me, a dream subject is someone who is comfortable displaying different versions of themselves, who are expressive and able to move naturally, being able to have fun with it. I think experienced actors have perfected all of these qualities. Who wouldn’t want to photograph a face like Robert De Niro’s or Meryl Streep’s? There is something very romantic about the idea to capture legends in a particular industry.
Insta: @lennimattanja_photography
website: www.lennimattanja.com
