Through a Painter’s Lens: Portraits by Andrey Yakovlev & Lili Aleeva

We’ve featured the work of photographer Andrey Yakovlev and art director Lili Aleeva a few times before, and one of the duo’s greatest strengths is their ability to make photography feel remarkably close to painting. Drawing heavily from fine art, their elaborate portraits combine carefully controlled lighting, styling, sets and post-production to create images that could easily be mistaken for works on canvas.

Classical still lifes, Art Deco portraits and richly ornamented compositions all find their way into Andrey and Lili’s visual world. The pair have also produced a fashion series directly inspired by the paintings of Tamara de Lempicka.

That painterly quality is rooted in a long-standing interest in fine art. In an interview, Andrey explained that early in his career in the Soviet Union, limited access to international advertising imagery led photographers like him to look toward classical painting for inspiration. Today, he handles the photography and technical retouching, while Lili develops concepts, styling, sets and much of the artistic beauty editing.

For more of their stunning images, take a look at their portfolio.

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