Georgi Todorov: I love photographing people, but the truth is I'm still searching for myself

He doesn't have a shot that he considers his dream. Because for him, the photographic journey is part of a constantly evolving process. If this year he wants to achieve one shot, next year it will be another. But he always prioritizes light before the camera. Today we introduce you to photographer Georgi Todorov.

As a child, he played with a toy camera; student life introduced him to the digital camera

As a child, photography for Georgi was just a game. He often got hold of his mother's Smena 8 film camera. To prevent him from exposing film while playing, she gave him another camera. He played with it without worries, because it simply... didn't work. 

His first more serious encounter with a camera happened during his student years when he experimented with his roommate's digital camera.

"It was literally trial and error. I shot at student parties and gradually got hooked," says the telecommunications engineer, who has never practiced his specialty to this day. 

Guess what he bought with his first paycheck! A camera. 

"At that time, it was a Sony turbo point-and-shoot – now my mother uses it," he smiles at the cycle of life.

However, in 2008, he didn't know this yet. Nor that he would soon fall in love.

Falling in love with DSLR 

Falling in love with a camera is similar to falling in love with people. Before it happened to him, Georgi had held a Nikon D50 with interchangeable lenses in his hands, which deeply impressed him.

"Later, I was at a wedding where another friend was shooting with a Nikon D80, with a good lens and flash. He handed it to me for a few shots, and that was it. On the first workday, I was at the store, and a Nikon D80 was my first camera – with a kit lens that was 18-135mm. With that, I started shooting whatever I could. It was an absolute mishmash – landscapes, people, gatherings, whatever I saw," Georgi recounts.

Nightclubs and the importance of light

Luck definitely walked hand-in-hand with him, because while reading literature on photography, watching his first videos, and attending courses, he started collaborating with a media outlet that covered nightclubs with electronic music. Later, he also became a photographer at "Yalta." It was here that he understood the importance of light. 

"I had an interesting case with a DJ's lighting technician. While playing music, she watched me use the flash and showed me some things. I experimented with how to reflect it to get better photos; she explained more specifically how to do it better. And I started playing more with light. In clubs, it's very tricky – it's dark, but the photos need to turn out well, people need to be visible and bright, but at the same time colorful. It was a bit like military service for me – an interesting environment that made me orient myself faster to catch cool moments."   

For 4 years, he learned a lot about reportage photography. In 2014, however, he became increasingly interested in artificial lighting photography.

"I decided that if I wanted this to be my job, a business to develop, I needed to be able to control the light myself."

Faces from the streets of Sofia

His first big experiment was on the streets of Sofia. Influenced by American photographer Peter Hurley, who shoots close headshots, Georgi went out in the evening with just a camera and lens and started photographing faces. For models, he initially used his friends from the clubs. And the advertising billboards with fluorescent lighting became large softboxes for him. After about 30 portraits published on Facebook, people themselves started seeking him out as a model.

"One February evening, at minus 1 degree, I had 7 people lined up. I was shooting with my third camera by then – a Nikon D800E and an 85mm f/1.4 lens. It captures great detail, draws with softness, and the background looks soft and pleasant. A favorite lens!"

Not only did the project grow, with Georgi managing to photograph over 150 people in less than 2 years, but he also received recognition for his work from Peter Hurley himself. And he decided it was time to invest in lighting.

Investment in lighting

The first lighting equipment Dimitar bought was from Profoto.

"I realized that you might not have a very good camera, but you need to have very good light. For me, things go this way - light comes first, then everything else. And I bought Profoto. It was expensive, but it was battery-powered - exactly what I wanted so I could use it anywhere."

Among the "anywhere" is also the first studio where Georgi has partnered with a colleague since 2017. However, he doesn't stop experimenting and participating in workshops. From Encho Naydenov, he learns how to make a lot from a little. And he continues to follow this philosophy.

Models in front of his lens

Model agencies liked his work, and for two years, beautiful girls were in front of his lens. Gradually, however, he began to look for more interesting faces to photograph.

"I was interested in the moment when I would work with someone who wouldn't be burdened with model poses, and I would have the opportunity to direct them myself. I continue in that direction. The truth is, literally every now and then, I keep searching for myself." 

He says that in his "head," this has no end. And also, that in photography, talent helps, but everything can be learned. 

Where talent begins

"Trial and error, a lot of observation, a lot of criticism. You take specific parameters into account and how light is used. Where talent comes in is creativity and the idea," Georgi Todorov further explains. 

And he returns once again to some of his first photography lessons, which he taught himself.

"In the club, I realized I wanted to photograph people. But I continue to seek emotion – not just a beautiful shot, a beautiful model, but I'm looking for something more in the shot. And not in the technical part, but as a psychologist."

Because photographing people is psychology, he adds the truth that other photographers share in our section. 

Currently, Georgi Todorov shoots with Fujifilm. However, he has recently entered a completely new world for him – that of Leica, where the lens is fixed. He is yet to discover how this limitation of a non-interchangeable lens will creatively challenge him.

You can learn more about the photographer's work on his professional Facebook profile and Instagram. And on September 28th, join us for the event Freeze the Moment with Georgi Todorov, which will take place in the renovated large studio of Dynaphos. He will talk about his favorite light and the capabilities of Profoto.

The photos were provided for publication on our blog by Georgi Todorov.