Sharaf Naghiyeva is a portrait photographer based in Baku, Azerbaijan. The main theme of her photography is the Individual, self-expressed through portrait, fashion or nude photography. With Emin Mathers, she has founded f3.7—a photographers' union—to share exciting reviews, online exhibitions and other photography-related news.
Want to get to know someone well? Take their photograph. Sharaf says her creative energy flows in two directions. It runs towards the model in the viewfinder just to make a u-turn and hit back with the dreams, fears, and aspirations of her subjects. In the same vein, this creative process becomes a confessional of sorts for the photographer as well, bringing forth unintended or unrealised thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. It is a dialogue of an extremely private nature that removes all boundaries. But for Sharaf, it is the best form of communication and discovery.
For Sharaf, portraiture is a dialogue with life. A detail, a gesture, a glimpse is enough to bring about the rest of the vision. There seems to be hardly any breath of life in carefully premeditated and executed shots. Which is why Sharaf chooses to trust providence and her gut feeling in order to capture the right depth and angle in the viewfinder. After all, photography is a way of story-telling; tales of the important, of the forgotten, and of the dreamt.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

photography

Teach, Learn, Share

photography

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, Georgia

Countries I’ve Lived In

Azerbaijan