NADEEMY BETROS
Chic, minimalist, sweetly odd juxtapositions with an air of eccentricity: Nadeemy Betros' photography captures an often unseen side of fashion, blending design and composition with art and mundanity. Drawing inspiration from the prosaic - a lone orange in a fruit bowl, the shine of a black tiled wall - Betros pulls together the unlikely combination of glamour, and commonplace. Catching Betros post flight from Sydney to her hometown in Melbourne, she explains “I like to be very inspired by the mundane; you'll find that in a lot of my simpler diary shots. I would like to think that I’m a minimalist at heart. I’ve always been drawn towards clean interestingly composed imagery. Not true of all my work. But there’s something so elegant in simplicity. I’ve also, through my work, tried to merge art and fashion.”
The twenty-one year old RMIT graduate, and classmate of fellow photographer and PITCH interviewee Charlie Brophy, first picked up a camera in primary school, but it wasn't until high school that her interest really started to take off. “My first high school had the most amazing, elaborate dark room and I was so drawn to the ritual of black and white film. But it was my teacher at my second high school that made me realise the potential of a career (in photography), and really introduced me into art,” explains Betros. Despite always harbouring a strong pull towards photography, Betros originally had other career plans. “I actually wanted to be a designer for years,” says Betros. “I was convinced that was what I would be! I guess that's why I now shoot fashion a lot. But it became more obvious to me that photography was my real medium and outlet... Mostly when I got into every photography course I applied for and no fashion courses,” muses Betros. “But photography is like a compulsion of sorts, a way I can capture one thing as it is in that instance, and know that it will never happen again.”
With a unique talent for mixing the demure with the bold, and injecting her work with a hint of the capricious, Betros explains her spontaneous shooting techniques. “I always plan a vibe and a rough location, but I like to keep it pretty loose. I always think of what I will miss if I restrict myself. I think someone described me on a shoot the other week as the haphazard photographer! Life excites me, like a small puppy or child... I'm also blissfully naïve.” When asked what she believes makes a photograph truly great, Betros replies “I think the ability to say something without it being blatantly obvious in a photograph is high on my list. It’s one thing people take for granted, too. Even if that something is saying nothing.”
Betros explains her style influences and sites growing up in Melbourne as the major influencing factor. “You’re completely surrounded by culture, music, fashion, etc. Also the emerging fashion scene and small design houses in Melbourne… There are so many amazingly talented people. My sister is also an artist, trained in photography, so although her work doesn’t influence mine, her taste in fine art and being surrounded by that growing up has definitely shaped my own practice,” says Betros. “I try not to draw too much inspiration from other photographic artists when possible, though in saying that, there are a lot of photographic artists who have influenced my work. I'm a big walking contradiction,” laughs Betros. “Henri Cartier-Bresson made me fall in love with photography when I was young. Then there’s Viviane Sassen, Hedi Slimane, Juergen Teller...”
On her future plans, Betros concludes: “I'd love to move overseas. I've lived and studied in Melbourne my whole life! Ideally, I'd love to be shooting around the world... Hopefully New York or London. I'm totally haphazard though, and a terrible saver! But there will always be photography.”
Images courtesy of Nadeemy Betros
Published in PITCH Zine Issue# 23, November 2013