Light Me Up: Check Out the Black-light Photography of Reka Nyari

We first profiled Reka Nyari in our "Beautiful Photographers" feature. Her work with black and UV lighting is great, take a look.

January 28, 2011

Image via Complex Original

Have you ever been under a black-light in a white shirt and thought, “This would make for a rad photo!” But your blurry cell phone photo shot in the dark was a letdown and didn’t quite do it justice? Reka Nyari was drawn to the effects of black-lights too, but unlike our feeble attempts, she figured it out by getting a crew together to produce some spectacular photos. We first profiled Reka in our Beautiful Ladies Who Photograph Beautiful Ladies feature, today we catch up with Reka to tell us about the process behind this specific body of work.

What is the background of this project and how did it come about?
I had wanted to shoot a blacklight fashion or beauty story ever since I started attending Burning Man parties a few years back. I was inspired by the creative costumes that moved to the beats and rhythms in the UV light, and I started experimenting with fluorescent paints myself. The images here are the result of our first attempt at playing with the blacklight concept. The series won 1st place in the International Photography Awards in the Beauty: Pro Category. They're traveling in an exhibition across Lithuania right now, and were featured in several European magazines this spring. Since then I've been shooting quite bit with UV lighting, and loving it. I cannot show anything yet, but more creative stories will be out this Spring/Summer.

Who worked on the project with you?
My wonderful team worked with me on the project. Each one of these people is amazingly talented, creative, and pleasurable to work with. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate their work and input:

Make Up: Georgi Sandev
Hair: Mesh Subra
Fashion Stylist: Gino Tavernaro
Model: Lovely Heather Koenitzer @ Muse

Special Thank You for Kevin Foong and the Bayard Studios

New Lead Reka

Have you ever been under a black-light in a white shirt and though, “This would make for a rad photo!” But your blurry cell phone photo shot in the dark was a letdown and didn’t quite do it justice? Reka Nyari was drawn to the effects of black-lights too, but unlike our feeble attempts, she figured it out by getting a crew together to produce some spectacular photos. We first profiled Reka in our Beautiful Ladies Who Photograph Beautiful Ladies feature, today we catch up with Reka to tell us about the process behind this specific body of work. Click on the thumbnails above to see Reka's full blacklight project.

What is the background of this project and how did it come about?
I had wanted to shoot a blacklight fashion or beauty story ever since I started attending Burning Man parties a few years back. I was inspired by the creative costumes that moved to the beats and rhythms in the UV light, and I started experimenting with fluorescent paints myself. The images here are the result of our first attempt at playing with the blacklight concept. The series won 1st place in the International Photography Awards in the Beauty: Pro Category. They're traveling in an exhibition across Lithuania right now, and were featured in several European magazines this spring. Since then I've been shooting quite bit with UV lighting, and loving it. I cannot show anything yet, but more creative stories will be out this Spring/Summer.

Who worked on the project with you?
My wonderful team worked with me on the project. Each one of these people is amazingly talented, creative, and pleasurable to work with. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate their work and input:

Make Up: Georgi Sandev
Hair: Mesh Subra
Fashion Stylist: Gino Tavernaro
Model: Lovely Heather Koenitzer @ Muse

Special Thank You for Kevin Foong and the Bayard Studios