About me

Who is Max?

Hello and welcome! I am glad to meet you here. Let me introduce myself: my name is Maxim Zayats, my friends tend to call me Max. I am 34. For this relatively short period of time I went through series of jobs and hobbies none of which was relevant to this site. Last six years were dedicated to studio photography. At this particular moment this is just a freelance job for me. Most of the week days I spent in the office, on business trips and meetings, fighting deadlines and dreaming of a weekend so if you are about to pick me as your photographer you could face something like "not today, sorry, but Friday evening should be fine". If your are not completely disappointed by this previous sentence (and since you are reading the next one I really hope that you are not) let me assure you that I fully dedicate myself to each of my projects and aim to make your images better than those you saw here.

Portrait and retouch

I consider the studio portrait to be my favorite genre of photography. The age, sex and appearance of a model don`t play such a significant role here; the original idea and cooperation with the photographer is the most important part. In my workflow I tend to use (sometimes even overuse) the Adobe`s Photoshop and other editors resulting in dissapearance of unwanted wrinkles, pores and pimples at least or - ideally - the new collage, the most unpredictable and interesting part of the portrait genre for me.

To get a first impression of my work check out this small trailer from Igromir Expo photo shoot. To get a higher quality image switch from 360p to 720p while watching the video and use Full Screen mode (button with arrows at bottom right corner).

Nude or not?

It would be unfair not to mention the nude photography since this genre takes the significant part of my job. I equally disagree with hypocrites forcing people to feel ashamed of their bodies instead of admiring its beauty and with freaks looking only for a trash porno in nude photography. In my opinion any nude picture, including the hardcore erotic, could and must be beautiful - remember, for example, some of Andrew Blake`s movies. I like working with nude scenes and do my best to help the model feeling free and comfortable at the shooting stage.

Advertising and outdoor shooting

I am also interested in advertising projects and  feel sincere gratitude to Igor Sakharov who opened this fascinating genre for me. While preferring to work with familiar equipment in familiar studio i am also available for outdoor shooting excluding the weddings, jubilees, corporate banquets and other events like this. Live shooting requires the ability to navigate through the crowd capturing the precious interesting moments which is totally different from stage shooting I am used to work with.

This is a small trailer from NTV channel program to see me at work and find out about aqua-portrait (but please note that the prices mentioned there are far from being up-to-date).

"How much does it cost?"

What do you need to get new photos? It is as simple as calling me by phone or sending me an e-mail with the description of the job you want to be done. It is hard to come up with the price-list for all kind of activities so we will discuss the intriguing questions like "how much does it cost?» right after composing the general plan for your shooting. The total costs include photographer`s fee, post-processing and retouch, rent of the additional equipment and accessories (if needed) and fees for all the specialists involved in our project, including models, assistants, make-up artists, designers, florists, etc.

"I want it for free!"

I am always looking for something new and unusual. If your idea is interesting enough we can agree on TFP (Time For Print) free shooting. Naturally, preparing a catalogue of new cosmetics or ''make me a beautiful portfolio'' ideas don`t fit the TFP requirements unlike something intriguing and out of the ordinary. :) I am always glad to collaborate with other photographers and models — both professional and amateur. Call me, send me your messages and photos — I am sure we will find something interesting to work on together.

In fine

You've really made it by the end? Well, this means you know a lot about me already. I`ll be glad to answer your remaining questions by phone or by e-mail you can find in ''Contacts''.