German photographer Sina Domke discovered her passion for photography in 2014, when she started taking pictures as a side project. It was a hobby that grew into a profession. Some of her most important clients so far are HUAWEI, Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Stock. She values connecting with other artists and exchanging ideas with them.
Photography for Sina is a personal form of expression. It gives her the chance to process her thoughts and feelings through pictures. Her images often deal with interpersonal relationships or topics such as time and transience.
The most beautiful compliment for me is always when my pictures trigger something in other people and they feel understood. I think that most people are thinking about quite similar things. If my pictures give people the feeling that they are not alone and understood, then I am happy.
Sina feels very connected with her work; photography offers her a personal place where she can be 100% herself and create her own worlds.
I love the complete process when creating my images. The taking of pictures at the beginning, which mostly takes place outdoors in nature, but also the editing of the images and seeing how piece by piece the image that I had in my head evolves.
Her ideas usually arise spontaneously from an experience, place or feeling.
I think the best tip for when one feels they lack creativity is not to put too much pressure on yourself. The more you want to create a particularly creative and great picture, the less it will work.
It really helps to get completely involved in the process and not to think directly about the image, but to start first with what you actually want to express. Even if it then sometimes takes some time until an idea is really mature. But I think the most important thing is that you really feel the image, what you create.
To photographers who are just starting their journey, she advises not to compare yourself with other artists.
There will always be someone who is already where you want to be. Also, don’t be so pressured by any Instagram algorithms. Art sometimes takes time and it’s important not to be too perfectionistic. Everything is a process and with each picture you will get better.
If other artists inspire and motivate you, that’s great. But the most important thing is to find your own artistic voice.
Looking at photo editing apps and how they can help artists, she says she’s impressed with how they have evolved.
I think photo editing apps are great and I use a few myself. Mainly to quickly edit cell phone photos, but now the apps have become really really good and I’m impressed with what you can do with them.
However, for my pictures they are just not enough, I need a very large screen and a graphics tablet to edit.
Finally, we asked Sina to share some of her plans for the rest of this year.
I’m going to Iceland next week. This has been on my wish list for a very long time and I can’t wait to photograph there. Also, I am very happy after a long break to have finally found the time and energy to create images again. I needed a creative break to sort myself out a bit, but I always knew that I would find my way back to photography.
I’m also planning a bigger project that I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while. I feel like now is finally the time to do it. I would like to finish the preparations for it this year. If everything goes well, I will be able to realize the series at the beginning of next year.
We wish you the best of luck with your new project, Sina, and we are looking forward to learning more about it!
Discover Sina’s work on her website: https://www.sinadomke.com/
