All photography by Aleksandar Antonijevic

Born in Pozarevac, formerly Yugoslavia, Aleksandar Antonijevic began his career as a young ballet dancer. With these skills in hand, he travelled the world and joined various dance companies and institutions such as the National Ballet School in Novi Sad and The National Ballet of Canada, and performed with the English National Ballet, Inoue Ballet Japan, and Ballet Santiago of Chile, just to name a few.

When he retired, he continued his love of art–this time, through photography, implementing principles of form and space that found a common thread from the stage to the lens. His aesthetic focuses primarily on the form of the human body and portraiture, but he’s found commercial work with Canada’s Drag Race too. Antonijevic has previously exhibited his other work at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, the David H. Koch Theatre in New York City, as well in various cities in Serbia. Currently, a retrospective of his work is showing at Berenson Fine Art in Toronto, Canada until May 30, 2024.

Here, Antonijevic discusses his main inspiration, the importance of knowing yourself as an artist before you turn your work into a business, and his advice for new photographers.

Where do you find inspiration for your work? What is your creative process like?

I find inspiration in people. I need a human being across from me in order to tap into something magical and to create an image. Sometimes it is people around me that I already know and sometimes it is a complete stranger that I hope I can make a connection with.

I always prepare myself and the set in order to be able to allow for something to transpire in the actual shoot. It is a fine line between complete control and at the same time letting go. Once the session begins, I become an observer and a student of the subject in order to catch that special moment. It forces me to be completely present.

What methods do you use to find new clients? What do you find is most effective?

Finding new clients is a very tricky process. Most people these days will not hire you no matter how fantastic your portfolio or website are if they don’t see the exact image they are after in your previous work. As photographers and entrepreneurs we constantly have to make clients trust our aesthetic, and that we will be able to create the image while respecting their needs.

In my business, most of my clients have hired me because of referrals and previous work, but I still do approach new ones. I have noticed that when I speak from the heart and show my passion for image making that potential clients respond to that favorably.

We often hear about struggles that artists face to price their services. Is this something you’ve experienced, and how do you handle that?

The struggle for artists is real and at times overwhelming! I have learned the hard way, that no matter how much one needs that job, if the client can’t seem to understand what you as an accomplished photographer bring to the table, that client is not right for you. There will always be another photographer that is willing and able to do the job for less. My job is to hone how I relay the value of my sophistication in producing an image, and even more importantly, what my eye and experience can do for the final product. I need to be able to convey that, and if I am successful, more often than not, it results in being hired.

What advice would you have for new photographers hoping to make a career out of their craft?

The first thing I would say is that you have to know who you are as human being in order to know who you are as an artist, and therefore, really own your uniqueness. No one else can do it exactly as you, so that should really be your calling card. You can not doubt yourself, especially in front of a client. And that, you can only do once you’ve mastered your work flow, your visual voice, and art.