Challenging and Creative Portraits by Rizky Sabriansyah

Welcome to Hero of the Week, an ongoing series sharing stories from some of the best photographers in the Pexels community.

Based in Malang, East Java, Indonesian photographer Rizky Sabriansyah is a freelance photographer who draws inspiration from boundary-pushing photographers like Ren Hang and Petra Collins.

Rizky focuses on editorial portraits, always bringing a creative touch to each shoot. We talked about gear, finding ideas from other photographers, and sharing stories through photography.

How did you get started with photography?

I started photography in 2016, and I'm not bored with it.

What camera gear do you use?

In 2017 I used a Canon kiss X7 DSLR camera, then changed to a Sony a7II camera with a 50mm lens and a 7Artisans 25mm lens for now.

What's your favorite type of photo to shoot, and why?

Editorial portraits. Why? Because I really like communicating with other people and I always want to share stories or experiences with them for my photos.

What inspires your photography?

Initially I was inspired by the film War Photographer by my favorite photographer James Nachtwey. And street photography became my reference to train my sensitivity to my surroundings to practice taking pictures.

Ren Hang is one of my favorite photographers to add reference poses and make me want to really work.

Tell us about a favorite photo on your Pexels profile.

This is one of my favorite photos, because very rarely do I think of a pose like this and this is the beginning of The Next Level of Photo for me.

What other photographers inspire you?

For now the photographers who inspire me are Cho Gi-Seok, Zhong Lin, Petra Collins, Daria Kobayashi Ritch, and many more.

What is one goal you have for your photography?

My photography goal is to make solo photo exhibitions and photo books—that's all.

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