Most father and daughter photography projects involve depicting the heartwarming moments or close relationship between the two. While there’s certainly nothing wrong about that, it’s also a great idea to get extra creative with it once in a while.
Are you thinking of trying something new for this year’s Father’s Day? Or, maybe you’re planning some future projects starring a father and daughter? Either way, I’m sure you’ll get inspired with the work of Russian fine art photographer Andrew Vasiliev.
Simply titled “Relations,” the 2021 series is Vasiliev’s moody and conceptual take on the father and daughter relationship. Based on the aesthetics of the shoot alone, we can already tell that he made it with a complex narrative in mind. It’s also an interesting preview into the whimsical storytelling of Vasiliev, who has been doing art photography for over 10 years.
Exploring a complex father-daughter story
There are different dynamics and dimensions to every father-daughter relationships. As such, there are actually many creative approaches to telling these stories, whether real or imagined. It’s something that all photographers are free to explore for both personal and professional projects. Understandably, however, the ideas or inspiration for this approach may not be easy to come by.
For Vasiliev, it came with the intention to show more complex connections between his subjects. Or characters, in the case of this conceptual shoot. “I think that many viewers and commercial photographers are used to seeing shoots with beautiful and often fake love stories. I wanted to show more complex relationships. For this series, it was the relationship of a single father and daughter.”
He also added that the idea for the shoot came to him when he found Ivan Petkov, whom he casted in the role of the father. “In real life, he is a very kind and cheerful person. But he is a wonderful actor and I wanted to change his character a little,” he shared. “Then the beautiful model Yulia Lyubivaya was soon selected for the daughter of a strict father. Finally, we found a location that was suitable in style and atmosphere.”
A tale of two generations
Since this conceptual shoot involves subjects who are outright not biologically related, it’s easy to assume that it depicts a romantic love story. Also, there’s not much we can deduce from the title alone. However, Vasiliev clarifies that there is no need to look for sexual connotations in this series.
“There is love here — the love of a father for his daughter,” he noted. “But it is hidden behind his strict attitude toward her and general fatigue in life. I wanted to show the difference in the characters of the two generations. Here, we have an aristocratic, strict and secretive father who wants more from his daughter. But the daughter is more emotional and wants freedom in life.”
From there, we can get an idea on how to approach conceptual shoots with father and daughter themes: Tell a tell of two generations. It can open up a myriad of interesting contrasts, which can be challenging yet worthwhile to translate into a photo series.
On what drives his visual storytelling and how it resonates in this series, Vasiliev said he likes depicting feelings or unusual characters in his photo. However, he also tries not to give too much away in the details. ”Each viewer will be able to see something for themselves in this story and add to it if they want, based on their life experience. Then, the story will resonate more to every viewer.”
Enjoyed this series? Make sure to check out Andrew Vasiliev’s website and Behance portfolio to get inspired by the rest of his impressive work.
All photos by Andrew Vasiliev. Used with permission.
