EXCLUSIVE: Meet The 24 Year Old Photographer Behind The Night King’s Latest Photoshoot
By: Surabhi Verma
Tags: Game of Thrones, Life, Artist, Freelance, Photography

Picture by www.sablauren.com

In a recent conversation with our editor-in-chief Surabhi Verma, Czech based photographer Sabina Laurenčíková shared details on her work, life, and struggles of being a photographer.

Our audience love to read stories of artists creating a difference in the world. Tell us about yourself and your area of work.

My name is Sabina Laurenčíková, my artistic name is Sab Lauren. I am 24 years old and I come from the Czech Republic, I live in a small town Frýdek-Místek. Being a photographer is very difficult today, especially being a recognized photographer. There are a lot of us, the level of competition is very high. So I try to put my own style into my photos and I do not do commercial photography.

Picture by www.sablauren.com

How did you discover your passion for photography? When did it turn into a full-time profession?

I have been an artist since I was young. I enjoyed painting, learning to play various musical instruments, writing songs, until it was time to shoot. When I was a kid I had a film camera, taking pictures of landscapes, sunsets, animals, people around me. In the end, thanks to my friend Vojtěch, I got my first reflex camera Canon 1000D in high school, It was a big boom for me, a blurred background, that’s what anyone who takes photos wants. I took pictures of my friends, family, but just for fun. My photoshoots were not permanent, I didn’t take a picture for a year or two, I didn’t have ideas, or I just got tired of it. But since 2017, I started to take it more seriously, I changed my camera Canon 1000D for Canon Mark III, suddenly there were some orders, I took pictures of a family, calendar, but mainly my friends and my ideas. In 2018, I met Adam, a photographer who is still a very good friend of mine. He inspired me and gave me the energy to grab the camera and take more and more pictures, and I am extremely grateful to him. Changing the camera again, but for the last time. Now I have Fujifilm xt20 and Fujifilm x100T. Immense relief and immense love for these machines, and I look forward to seeing my family grow at any moment. Now it is 2020, and I try to go full, even though there are occasions when inspiration runs out, it always comes out of the blue, mostly in places where no one ever expects it. It is not a full-time profession yet, so far it is like my second job, my hobby. Otherwise, I am a kindergarten teacher.

Tell us about your recent collaboration with Game of Thrones actor Vladimir Furdik. How did you conceptualize the shoot?

Working with Vladimir Furdik was great. I will not deny, I was a big fan of Game of Thrones. I came across the actor who plays Night King, I found out that he was a Slovak and that he lives in the Czech Republic.

Picture by www.sablauren.com

I wrote him that I’d like to take a picture with him and he said yes. Vladimir is a great person, he doesn’t pretend to be anything he is not, he is so natural that you wouldn’t even say it’s someone world-famous. I checked on Vladimir’s photo beforehand and it was obvious what to shot as I couldn’t find any strong portrait where one would look at him and remember him in his collection. That was my goal and I think we succeeded. I have to admit, I was very nervous, but I am very happy to know this person. I can tell you that it was not the last photoshoot with Vladimir, we are already planning something together again, so you have something to look forward to.

What are some of the challenges you face as a photographer? How do you overcome them?

I face two challenges, the first is editing photos, I don’t like it and my editing is really minimal. The second challenge for me is the choice of photos, whether it is good if I like them or I do not. From time to time I let them lie down for a few days, then I go back and it’s better. But quite often, I wonder, if people would like it or not. In the end, I stopped asking myself that question. My style is not the same as that of most photographers, and that’s good. I have a group of people who are my fans and a group of people who will never understand my photos. You can’t please everybody.

Picture by www.sablauren.com

Any upcoming projects you are working on? What can we see coming next from your creative genius?

I have a lot of projects and ideas in my mind, but unfortunately, I cannot reach the “big” projects on my own. It would need a team to accomplish all that. I hope I will be able to establish cooperation with VOGUE this or next year. It is nothing small and it takes a lot of time and effort, especially not to give up and go on all the time. Sometimes it’s exhausting because, I don’t see any results, but I believe it’ll work out soon.

Where can our audience find your work?

You can find my work on the Instagram page “SabLauren_Photo” and on the website www.sablauren.com.