BL8K Talks: Vika Petlakh “Sense Appeal, Not Sex Appeal”
I gasped a soft “wow” underneath my breath as Vika uttered those words. We were talking about what it was like working with women and creating a safe space for them. A space where they can unveil their uttermost selves. And that is exactly what LA based photographer, Vika Petlakh, does and captures: the immeasurable power of the divine feminine.
Photo: Vika Petlakh
Born in Belarus and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Vika developed a fixation for the beauty that creativity and photography hold. And no, we are not talking about beauty in its patriarchal and traditional form but rather about the beauty that lies deep inside ourselves. I would say that that is her superpower; her undeniable ability of capturing that exact beauty.
When Vika photographs someone she is not an observer but rather an active participant who is connecting with whoever steps in front of her camera.
“Helping people see themselves for who they are, that is why I mainly shoot people. I love showing people who they are. Oftentimes people don't realize how they really project to the world. I want people to feel the most themselves, not the most beautiful, or the most intelligent but who they are at the core. That is my challenge.”
As a woman I understand perfectly how our bodies, more often than not, feel like they are not ours. And being naked is definitely one of the most vulnerable acts. Which is why I was completely intrigued in hearing Vika’s take on this. As her impactful photographs resonate to a contemporary narrative of what a woman's essence can evoke.
Vika is guided by her intuition and allows moments to be captured as they unfold. The result? A magnified representation of women’s power.
An absolute honor to have had the chance to speak to such a creative force and reflect on all things beauty, woman and following your dreams. “In a world often focused on the darkness I like to shed light and share my idea of beauty, hopefully inspiring a positive feeling.”
Tell us a little bit about your creative journey. How did you find this passion that ignited your photography career?
Vika: I grew up in Chicago and traveled with my family for the first time to Los Angeles when I was about 13 years old. During that trip my dad had this little camera and he turned and said to me; “You know what? You are artistic, you take the photos.” He meant I was artistic as I was into painting at the time. So he handed me the camera and I just started taking pictures of everything. It was until I came across this staircase in Pasadena and I told my brother to go and sit up the stairs. I directed him and told him how to pose. I really don’t know where that came from but that became the exact moment I fell in love with photography. I said “this is what I want to do.”
Having a creative passion and wanting to do that for the rest of your life is sometimes scary as it can be discouraged. It can be perceived as not a real career. Was it scary for you?
Vika: Even though I loved photography to the core of my soul, from a very young age my parents engraved into my brother and I that art is just a hobby and if you want a successful life you have to be a doctor or lawyer and the like. When I got accepted into pharmaceutical school, I felt resistance, I cried after orientation feeling like I just did not belong there. I told my parents I planned to take a year off instead. That's when I booked my first big campaign in Chicago. With that money, I ran off to LA. Never looked back.
How did you book your first campaign?
Vika: This was back in 2014, a friend of mine connected me to this brand and presented me as a talented up-and-coming photographer. They paid me $5,000 for a 5 day campaign, a job that I now realize should be worth more, but priceless to me as it was my biggest.
It all sounds like a movie; a girl moves to a big city and makes her dreams come true. Did your family see it this way too?
It was definitely difficult, my father is very old school and traditional and it was difficult for him to understand. My parents moved from Belarus to the USA in the 90s. There weren't many life prospects in Belarus, so having uprooted his entire life to give us a better one in America, he didn't understand me, and why I was -in his mind- throwing it all away. My mom was supportive.
Photo: Vika Petlakh
I understand how your family might have been concerned, as we said before, sometimes creative careers are not easy to understand but I am sure your dad is very proud of everything you’ve created and built (a round of applause to you).
You have to be proud as well as you’ve created a dialogue about what being a woman can look like. The first thing that popped to my head when I saw your work was this ongoing rhetoric about nude vs. nudity. So when you work with women how do you get them to feel comfortable, sexy, beautiful, vulnerable, strong?
Vika: My mantra when shooting nudity is always sense appeal and not sex appeal. Capturing the essence of the women and the divine feminine. It is easier to get there when naked and it is not about anything sexual. I don’t view women in a sexual way. I feel women are absolutely beautiful and complete works of art, which we are. We are incredible. We can create life. Automatically women have a power within them, and I like to bring that out and the easiest way to do that is when they are in the raw form; in the nude.
It is important to me to make people feel comfortable and create a safe space for us to collaborate. I go off on body language and even if someone says; “oh yes this is fine” I can tell if it’s true. It’s a delicate dance of working with peoples silent ques and seeing if the subject feels comfortable.
And you know we all came to this world naked so who cares, it’s about what we can create in that moment.
Photo: Vika Petlakh
I assume part of the challenge is to capture each person's unique essence. How do you do that? Do you have conversations beforehand?
Vika: It’s a mix, I either talk to them or already have a relationship or get to know them on set. As we shoot we start talking and I can get a glimpse into their stories. If we have a nude shoot I usually talk to them beforehand. I like to dig in as deep as possible to find that place of comfortability.
I might be wrong but I feel like there is an intention behind your photographs. Am I correct?
Vika: Yes, there has to be an intention, or there will be a weaker result. The intentions vary based on the project, but ultimately, who are you at the core? What story are we trying to tell? I try to find the answers to these in collaboration with my subjects and clients.
Photo: Vika Petlakh
Does your experience of being a woman reflect on the way you empathize with the women portrayed in your work?
Vika: I’ll say it plays a big role in the way that I work as I am very connected to my femininity which is also complimented by a strong masculine side. I am femenine but also like being in charge and I know how I want things to turn out. I tap into my femininity to bring life to my artwork. The power of women is so beautiful and it is therapeutic as I create what I also want to become; an elegant woman in shape and form.
I love that! There is nothing more pure than being in touch with the different forces that make up who we are. In that note, do you agree that when it comes to art there is no such thing as making mistakes?
Vika: Absolutely, there are only lessons and blessings.
You must have a lot of stories to tell but could you tell us about one of your best experiences so far?
Vika: My best experience is definitely my butterflies photoshoot. The one where the models neck and chest are covered with butterflies, a work I did back in 2019. So I needed 10 pieces for my exhibition but only had 9. I knew that for the last piece I wanted to do something with butterflies and I came up with this concept with a model posing and as she posed I would open a box from underneath and butterflies would just come out flying. So I was like “okay cool, I’ve seen doves being released in weddings so I can do that too.”
I ordered about $500 dollars worth of butterflies and I shipped them to my place. I got them from a farm from San Francisco and they tell you that you can actually release them to the wild so it is sustainable. I also ordered some that were preserved just in case the living ones didn’t work out. I brought them all to the studio and the model was ready with the perfect pose and as I opened the box there were about 200 butterflies just sitting there! I was expecting this big moment and nothing happened. So I had to act quickly and I glued onto the model's body the preserved ones.
That shot went from an incredible idea to it's not going to work to becoming one of my favorite photos ever. Also all my film from that shot got lost, my heart dropped. So I would say it was also one of the most challenging experiences. The hard drive failed, so I lost all photos except one I had saved on another device. Everything else was lost. But I was left with this one perfect image.
Photo: Vika Petlakh
What an experience! It must have been a rollercoaster of emotions. During all this do you have a creative team that helps you or is it just you behind the scenes?
Vika: I have stylists, makeup artists and creatives I love to work with! Different projects require varying degrees of collaboration. Typically in my artwork I come up with the concepts I am executing.
How do you come up with concepts?
Vika: Everything inspires me. Life, travels, the people I connect with and their stories. I’ll see one thing and talk to someone about it and it becomes deeper.
Photo: Vika Petlakh
Any rituals to get your creativity flowing?
Vika: I don’t believe in mood boards because I want to try to create things that haven’t been done before. A mood board, to me, feels like something that ties you down to one specific idea. I want to lead with my intuition and it changes accordingly to the mood and the people around me and the environment. I can’t decide how the energy on set will be until I get there.
Besides following your intuition and wanting to fulfill your creative needs, how did you build your network in terms of getting jobs? Any advice for anyone who wants to start a career in photography but doesn’t know where to start?
Vika: Always reach out, social media is such a gift as you can find people you want to work with. I send so many emails and dms and you know many don’t answer and some do. And that’s how you create connections, putting yourself out there. Nothing will fall into your lap. I've even had brands reach out months or years later, saying they didn’t need a photographer back then but because they liked my work they saved my portfolio and now they want to work together.
Photo: Vika Petlakh
I agree, hard work pays off. Does it apply to women in the industry as well?
Vika: I have been in the industry since I was 17 years old and I’ve seen it change a lot. A few years ago I could say “oh, yes I am losing jobs to men.” Or that people didn’t take me as seriously, but now I see a huge shift. The work field is more leveled.
A shift brought upon as women are not standing down, there are all these revolutions happening and women are so powerful, the most powerful.
I can’t say I feel excluded because I am a woman and that is such a beautiful thing to say and feel.
Lastly, what do you want people to take away when seeing your work?
Vika: I want people to see the power that comes off from my pictures, not the power of the message but the power it ignites individually on everyone. I go back to what I say about making people feel the most of them. I hope people can see exactly who that person wants to be and is.
Be you.