by Cristina Stoian

Your natural self

I wanted to capture what it feels to go back into your natural way of being. Lorena was an actress and a dancer before she became a mother. She renounced her career to move to Holland and build a family. Her own power stepping into her natural self, who she really is as a person was astounding to see. She became the dancer again. The actress never left, it was always latent into her personality and eventually it was screaming to come out.

Portrait Photography: Cristina Stoian
Photography Assistant: Taylor Zopie
Hair & Makeup: Lorena Ciubotaru
Filmed and Edited: Taylor Zopie

in Feminine Energy 0 comments
 by Cristina Stoian

That Chick in Amsterdam

That Chick in Amsterdam is a new community for international girls that just want to have fun, meet other girls that want to go out and hangout. It grew to 1500 people over night and it’s very active online. Me and my colleague photographer Teresa Hulst, hosted a photo shoot for this group. We wanted to meet-up with some of the cool chicks we have been chatting with online. It was super fun!

Teresa did the behind the scenes photography and styling and I did the portrait shooting. Check more of the behind the scenes photos on her website, Californiagirl.


Behind the scenes photography: Teresa Hulst

 

Portrait Photography: Cristina Stoian

Portrait Photography: Cristina Stoian

Portrait Photography: Cristina Stoian

Portrait Photography: Cristina Stoian

Portrait Photography: Cristina Stoian

Have a girls day out with a photo shoot and makeover.

Photoshoot Party

Let's chat

 

 

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Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you. Misty Copeland

 by Cristina Stoian

I believe

Not long after I made my mood board I found my studio! Literally, after I saved the collage to Evernote, within the hour I found this place online and within the week I had the keys of the studio.

It is an amazing space. It has big windows, wooden floor, it’s white and it’s facing SW. Most importantly it’s 10 minutes away from my house. I felt so blessed to find this place. I really think it was Godsent. I am busy now cleaning it up and refreshing it for you. I will be able to welcome you in my new space as early as February!

So now that I have this new big space, let the games begin! I can finally welcome more of you at once to have fun.

 

This space will allow me to do more of this:

1 Couples portraits session

2 Mother Daughter session, Mother Son Portrait Session

3 Family Portraits, 3 Generations

4 Dancer, ballerinas

5 Girls Day Out session

 

 

Time to be seen

Have a makeover and shoot

Contact me

 

 

in Events 0 comments
 by Cristina Stoian

Inspiration for the New Year

For these entire 2 years since I started with my new photography business, I have followed this extraordinary woman online: she’s a fantastic photographer and a talented educator. Her name is Sue Bryce and she really created a portrait revolution across the globe. She is very motivational but also so very skilled. I really enjoy attending her classes online and learning the craft from her.

She’s my new mentor in photography. (see my previous mentor one here).
After following her online for 3 years now, she came to Europe, to London to teach a workshop within the Portrait Society Convention in London. I could not skip this opportunity and so I have boarded a plane and – off I went to see her.

I thought it would bring me some inspiration and motivation for the beginning of the year and also, I wanted to give her a hug and thank her for all that she does for photography and for us, portrait photographers. She is really changing the industry and we will see a big portrait comeback in the near future thanks to her.

 

Here she is! So wonderful to finally meet my educator ❤ and she’s lovelyIKJY9221 copy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Couple of take-aways from her 6 hours workshop:

  • We are breaking new ground every day with our craft – we are certainly not the first to create portraits, but we are the ones to bring this beautiful craft back into our communitySue Bryce Portrait Photographer
  • It is our duty to Educate, Entertain, Engage, Entice, Elevate
    Sue Bryce
  • The rule of 33:34:33 in business, 33 for taxes, 34 for back into the business, and 33 for ourselves.
  • What we do for people is creating a legacy which timeless and the value of it is priceless
     DSCF1063
    DSCF1067
    “I have a deep fascination for portraits.
    Everything you experience I want to photograph.

    I have a deep desire to photograph every woman for every year of her life, until she is an old woman and every year she’s gonna see herself age and mature and grow up and she’s gonna fall in love with herself every year with the changes when you get older, when you get curvier, as you get wrinklier, as you age and build a family, as you build a career, as you build a life, I want to document that and show it back to you. ”

    Sue Bryce

What are your questions about it?

Have a makeover and shoot

Contact me
in Events / Inspiration 0 comments
 by Cristina Stoian

Mentors

paul-butterfield

Paul Butterfield is a photographer from Seattle I met while he was visiting Amsterdam, in 2009. Him and his wife Melody Biringer are owners of the CRAVE Company, empowering women in business.

Following them and their passion for Amsterdam, little by little I got to experience their lush lifestyle and get to crave it.

There was no surprise that at the end of their holidays, I accepted their bold invitation to start a version of their company in Amsterdam as a project manager and photographer and ultimately partner.

This is how I started my Portrait Photography career, connecting with women entrepreneurs, featuring them in a book, having fun getting to know many great women and pursuing my dream as a photographer.

He is the second one (after my husband) that recognised my talent in photography and pushed me to do it as a profession.

 

In 2010, Paul, gave me a present. He printed and matted 20 of my iPhone photos. Right then I realised that a photo is so much more than an image on a screen.

And now I do these Portraits for People and they treasure them and they will stay in their family forever. I am so proud to do that!

 

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“What we vividly imagine, most ardently desire, enthusiastically act upon, must inevitably come to pass” ~ Collin P. Sisson
 by Cristina Stoian

Studio Space

It’s been fun welcoming you into my home and creating portraits in my living room. I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing my space with you. But sometimes it feels a bit small and photographing families is a bit more difficult in the space.

This is why, this year, one of my goals is to find a studio for my portrait photography.
I have created a moodboard to visualise my dream space and what sort of atmosphere I want to create in it. So, tag me, or let me know, if you see anything like this popping up in your way/timeline.

 

cris-mood-board_web

in Amsterdam / Studio 0 comments
 by Cristina Stoian

Resolutions 2017

 Here are some of my intentions for 2017 for myself and my photography.
  1. Put more meaning and emotion into my photographs.
  2. Take less photographs to achieve the right one.
  3. Make photographs more like paintings.
  4. Move to new studio.
  5. Remember the purpose of my photographs every day.
  6. Define my style as a photographer.
  7. Set new professional goals.
  8. Create a 24 photo story once a week on my new camera.
  9. Blog twice a month.
  10. Photograph a ballerina.
  11. Shoot more flowers, flower crown, flower wall.
  12. Shoot a red dress portrait, experiment with the black sash, white sheet.
  13. Paint my own backdrop.
  14. Shoot outside the studio.
  15. Laugh more.
  16. Save money for vacations.
  17. Do more portfolio work.
  18. Create Cinemagraphs and Videos for my work.
  19. Do more physical activity.
  20. Add romanticism in my work.
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