ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: Can you tell us your full name and your photography name? How did you come about the name?
EANDORA’S LENS: My full name is Norène Hartmann. As a photographer I use Eandora’s Lens. The name Eandora is the name of my first character I played in a game and its stuck with me. I still use it till today, for me it represents being who you are and embracing all of the things you like, even though others might not agree it is ‘normal’.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: How long have you been shooting for and what inspired you to go into photography?
EANDORA’S LENS: As a child I used to spend all my allowance on disposable cameras and would experiment a lot photographing my sisters and pets. Even though I love taking pictures of everyday life, I tend to dream of fantasy worlds and like to think out concepts that reflect that. Also, I have to say I love the beauty and emotion you can portray in those concepts. I haven’t been photographing all that long though, I have had my own camera since the summer of 2019 so it has only been a little more then two years! Before that I was on the model side of the camera.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: Apart from being a photographer, what other occupation do you do? How are you able to balance it with photography?
EANDORA’S LENS: I am a primary school teacher and I currently teach seven year old’s. During the school weeks I tend to be very busy, but in the holidays I have more time then most people which helps with the balance. My biggest flaw is forgetting that agenda’s can fill up, sometimes if friends want to meet up, I don’t have time for up to a month. They do support me greatly though, we make it work!
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: We noticed that you do a lot of outdoor shoots, especially in lakes. Can you describe the procedures involved in pulling off such photoshoots?
EANDORA’S LENS: Shooting outdoors (especially with water) is something I find very inspiring. It is a challenge to find good locations, mostly because the Netherlands doesn’t have the most inspiring lakes or beaches. The most important part of choosing a location is finding water that isn’t too deep, because models have to be able to be pose in a relaxed way. Imagine trying to float and pose at the same time. Next to that it is taking the time for your model to relax in the water, even though it is sometimes quite cold. Keep talking to them, keeping the sets short and listening to their needs make for a relaxed shoot.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: The costumes you have in your photoshoots and sets are very professionally done. How do you source for them?
EANDORA’S LENS: Last year I worked a lot with Jonna, known as @royalty__costumes . I got to know her during one of my first shoots and she is such an inspiration!
She makes great dresses and I am always honored she wants to work together. We spend a great time together and I am already looking forward to 2022. As for the mermaid tails those are usually my own and I sometimes borrow more tops and accessories to make the sets complete. In the future I plan to use more of my own costumes or to collaborate in making them. For example, I can make armor but I am terrible at making dresses.
As for all the flowers, I have a local flower shop where I go to with a mood board and we spend some time picking out loads of flowers together.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: Your photography style seems to be fantasy/fairytale. What inspires your style of photography?
EANDORA’S LENS: For me, three words come to mind: beauty, serenity and a little bit of magic.
To this day I love fairytales and in my mind their worlds are full of flowers, beautiful dresses and also magical creatures such as mermaids. As I plan shoots, I aim for a setting in which I would love to be myself such as those worlds.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: As a female photographer, how do you balance your family life with work?
EANDORA’S LENS: For now it has been quite easy to balance family life with work as my partner supports me and understands (sometimes with a sigh) that my weekends are way too full. We are expecting a baby in December so I will have to learn a completely new balance. I will start shooting again in march and have a few events planned. In the weekends I will always keep one day free of shoots, so I hope to shoot more during the week.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: How do you get clients that are willing to pay for your unique style of photography?
EANDORA’S LENS: I usually plan out an event I would love to shoot myself and my enthusiasm takes it away! At least, that is how it has been happening now. I don’t shoot fulltime and my events have limited spots which means the events are usually full within 24 hours. It still surprises me every time but it also inspires me to come up with new events.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: Talking about your gear, can you walk us through your equipment that you use for photoshoots and the ones you can’t do without?
EANDORA’S LENS: This is kind of an embarrassing question, as professional photographers might be surprised with what I work. I have one camera at the moment, a Sony 6300 which I love. I work with natural lighting and only use a reflector when needed.
For lenses, I have a mix of prime and zoom lenses. The one I couldn’t do without is my Tamrom 17-70 mm F/2.8, because it makes it possible to get an entire mermaid tail in the frame. Because those tails can get quite large!
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: What would you say are the advantages of a photographer based and shooting in Netherlands?
EANDORA’S LENS: I think what I appreciate the most about shooting in the Netherlands is the heather fields in the summer. The beautiful hills full of purple flowers are beautiful and especially with golden hour on a sunny day they are just magical!
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE: What are your future plans for your photography and what should we expect from you?
EANDORA’S LENS: In the long run I hope to organize more events in the future and to collaborate with more amazing artists on beautiful locations. Hopefully this will also include travel! I have had plans to go to France and Germany for way too long, but before all this will happen, I will combine more of my own photography style with my own costuming ideas! I am making some beautiful armor as we speak to use for the events in 2022. So watch out for Valkyries and armored mermaids!
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