Melina Lautenschläger

Photographer

Jan 4

“I always say that I want to give something to people instead of taking something away when I photograph them.”

Intercru: Where are you from? Where do you live/work now?

Melina: I’m from a small town around Bonn/Cologne in Germany and moved to London like a year ago. I came to London to study photography and besides that I freelance in London and Germany.

How did you first get into photography?

My interest started very early when I was like 14 years old and got my first digital camera, but I only really got into photography when I was about 18 years old. My granddad left me a bunch of cameras and one day I just decided to see if his Minolta was still working. Digital never gave me a satisfied feeling so the second I put my first roll of film in my camera I knew I found what I was looking for. Even though my first roll came out pretty much underexposed I loved it.

What is the feeling you like to express with your creative work?

I always try to give my work some sort of realness or naturalness and I also like to capture the vulnerability and soft sides of people. I always say that I want to give something to people instead of taking something away when I photograph them. It’s super important for me that people feel comfortable and I want them to be like, “This is ME” in the picture.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

My inspiration comes from being surrounded by people that I love. Most of my friends are creatives as well so it’s very inspiring to see what they are creating constantly. I love to observe people and the simplest things such as hand gestures can inspire me. But I’d also say that cinema and music play an important part in my creative process.

What’s your favorite part about photography and going on photoshoots?

I think my favorite and at the same time least favorite is the

challenging part. It’s a great feeling when you know you challenged yourself with a project and it came out the way you wanted or even better, but when I’m having a creative block, for example, it can be so frustrating too.

What I love about photography is that there is literally so much you can do, there is always something new you can try out and learn. I found it very hard over the first lockdown to stay motivated because I mainly take portraits and meeting people just couldn’t happen, so I just decided to try out still life because I always struggled with it and I used to hate it. Now I love it.

What is the best advice about photography you’ve ever received?

As cheesy as it sounds: be yourself and stand behind your work and the time you’ve put in it, never underestimate your own work.

Melina Lautenschläger is a London-based portrait and still life photographer. To see more of her photography, you can visit her website melinalautenschlaeger.com or follow her work on Instagram @melinalsr.