Katoma & Photography - Adelaide Photographer

Model Portfolio Photography in Adelaide
Studio and Outdoor Photo Shoots

About Katoma Photography

Thank you for visiting my site. My name is Ilya. I live in Adelaide, South Australia.
I am in photography for over 10 years. I worked as a registered photographer at one stage but now I take it mainly as my own little hobby to fill up my spare time.
I use professional photo equipment and, of course, I use Photoshop - not to create virtual miracles but to make my images and my models look a bit better.
I specialise in fashion, glamour, boudoir, art nude, model portfolio photography and personal portfolio photography.
What is a difference between model portfolio and personal portfolio? Personal portfolio is taken for the personal use only. Other than that it's the same thing.

How it works - studio and outdoor photo shoots

I have a small home studio in Norwood equipped with professional studio lights. I also shoot outdoors on various sites and beaches, and I can organise an indoor photo session in a hotel or a holiday house. Most of the spots I use for outdoor shoots are located outside metropolitan area - Aldinga, Port Willanga, Waitpinga, Barossa and Adelaide Hills. Some sites require not only driving but also walking time, for example, Deep Creek Conservation Park.
How do we get there? I will drive you there. Usually my models drive to my place at Norwood, leave their cars there and we go further in my car; and other way around on our way back. However a pick up can be arranged if you happen to live on the way from my place to the sites we plan to shoot at.
Our goal is to visit at least 2-3 sites on the day to get different backgrounds on your images. No wonder that sessions usually take up to half a day. So if you want to give it a try - be prepared to dedicate all second half of the day to your photo session. Why the second half? Because it suits better to most of my models and it also gives us a chance to get some wonderful sunset light which can add a lot to the images.

Free photo shoot or paid photo shoot?

Yes, that's correct. Free photo shoots are available. If you think that you can contribute to my portfolio, particularly to this website, the session will cost you nothing or almost nothing. A studio shoot will be absolutely free and if we go for an outdoor shoot we will share expenses such as price for the fuel used on the road and hotel/holiday house rent price (if we go for the hotel photo shoot), and that's all. To get a free shoot you would need to e-mail or MMS me a couple of your photos (portrait and full height) and agree in your e-mail that the images taken during the session can appear on my website. Free photo session always includes full range of styles - portrait, fashion, glamour and art nude. As you see from my website, I don't shoot any inappropriate or distasteful images, only fine art.
Paid photo sessions. If you are not ready to share your images with me, the photo shoot is naturally paid. The price for a studio shoot (around 3 hours) is 600 AUD. The price for half a day outdoor photo shoot starts from 750 AUD. This is quite non-standard service so there are no standard packages available. The price will depend on how far we travel, how many locations we visit and so on.

Confidentiality

Few words about confidentiality - I don't distribute the images taken on the net. They may appear on my photo websites only. Some of them might be indexed by Google and appear in the Google image section when you do a search for "Katoma Photography". And, of course, your name will never be associated with the photos, and it will not come up anywhere.

What will you get after the photo shoot?

After the photo session you will get all the images taken on your USB stick plus up to 15 best images of your or my choice, post-processed in Photoshop to the best quality in two formats: for large printouts and for internet/email use.
To make you appreciate this number - usually processing of one single image takes from 20 to 30 minutes. I am not promising miracles but I will do my best to get up to 15 great images from our photo session.
I will manage you through the shoot to achieve our best.

Frequently asked questions

- Do you provide hair dressing and make-up?
- No, I don't. Please, don't go for anything complicated with your hair leaving the option of having it differently. And if we shoot outdoors, the chances are that we will work at windy conditions. Please don't overuse make-up as it can be not too good for the close-up portraits. Let's keep it natural. We will better rely on your natural beauty, your postures, and your expression; on the light, background and composition rather than on products.

- Do you provide costumes?
- No, I don't. For both studio and outdoor photo shoots, you are free to bring as many outfit sets and accessories as you need. For an outdoor session take with you jeans, dresses, shorts, light fabric clothes or sarong, bikini and few good underwear sets. Man's shirt does work very well at the beach if you can find one. A lot of light tops, a hat or a straw-hat, maybe some light material we can wrap you in. Don't forget sun glasses - you will need them. High heel shoes - take a pair or two plus a simple and convenient pair for sand walking. Basically we will need all lightweight, see-through, bright and sexy clothes you can find in your wardrobe. Along with the casual clothes you can take anything unusual you have on your mind and you'd like to bring for a shoot.

- Can I take my friend/boyfriend with me?
- Yes, you can.

- It's the middle of the winter now. Can we go for an outdoor shoot?
- We can go for a hotel photo shoot any time. It will be a bit more costly for you. An outdoor session season roughly ends in the middle of April. Alternatively, we can wait for a really nice day to shoot outdoors or we can shoot in the studio.

- I am a male. Do you work with male/males only?
- Sorry, I don't. I am not experienced enough in this field of photography.

- We are a couple. Can you do some intimate pictures with two of us?
- Yes I can. It may be a love story in the photographs or just images shoving your relation, feelings and tenderness; or provocative, sexy images containing some art nudity. No hard core though. I just don't photograph that kind of stuff.

- Can we meet in person before going for a session?
- Absolutely. This is a common practice. My phone number is listed below. Just contact me and we will set the time, meet at and discuss the details of our future shoot.

- What does "Katoma" mean?
- "Katoma the Oak Hat" along with "Ilya the Murometz" is a hero of many ancient Russian fairy tales called "Byliny" and few modern novels as well. He is a kind of controversial person but for some reason I like him :) Another interesting detail - "KATOMA" spelt in capital letters can be read exactly the same way in both English and Russian languages.

Finally

Now, if you have managed to read all this and feel ready to give it a go or have more questions to ask, please contact me! :)
Remember - life and beauty pass, good photographs - stay.
Thank you.
Ilya of Katoma Photography

Katoma Photography Contact Detaits

Mobile: 0448 624 554
E-mail: ilya_havr@hotmail.com
Address: unit 10, 22-36 Charles Street, Norwood, SA 5067