February 6, 2017

Meet Sergey Stupkin of Illuminous Image Photography in North Hollywood and Orange County

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sergey Stupkin.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Sergey. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It seems like it’s been a long journey for me and I still have a long way to go. It takes a lot of time, dedication, and patience to be a photographer. As long as I remember myself I was always creative and artistic. I see things differently than a lot of other people and because of that, I started doing photography as a hobby that later turned into my career. Looking back at how everything started it is difficult to describe in words what forced me to do this, it was more like a forefeeling and intuition. I like to share my vision with other people. I feel that it is part of who I am and that’s what makes me happy.

Has it been a smooth road?
Yes and no. When I moved to the United States I didn’t have friends or family here. I didn’t know anyone and didn’t speak English. I was starting my life over in this new country where everything seemed different and foreign to me. At first, I juggled multiple jobs until I was able to create my own company and concentrate fully on photography. Now, after doing only photography full time I can say that little by little it is starting to pay off. It is definitely a process and I continue to learn along the way of how to improve and become better. Being an artist most of the time means taking a risk no matter where you live. I continue to work hard, stay positive and believe in myself.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Illuminous Image Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
My company offers a wide range of services including model and fashion photography, as well as engagement, wedding/event, family photography and much more. I am proud of my work and what I have accomplished in short period of time. In the last two years, my photos have been published twice by a magazine that focuses on beauty/fashion within the entertainment industry. It is definitely a very rewarding achievement for me that I am extremely proud of. Some of my landscape photos have also won small recognition awards on different photography blog sites. It may not be much to some people and we always strive for more but I am extremely happy and thankful for the opportunities that have been given to me. It’s hard to tell what sets me apart from other photographers since there are so many great photographers that may be even better and more experienced than me. I do my best try to provide my client’s with unique and personalized photo experience. I think photography is art and you find client’s that like your style. You learn from each other and share different techniques. I think a lot of times, it’s not just the work that is important but your personality as well and I try to do my best to succeed in both.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
One of the goals that I have is to open my own photo studio where I would offer a variety of services. It would nice if the studio also had a separate photo gallery with my own work. I would like to build a team with talented professionals that will support my vision and will be able to assist me and work with me to build the studio I dreamed of. I don’t want to make a traditional photo studio and would like to do something different. There is a lot of thought needs to be put into this including writing a business plan and it’s all part of the plan and on my to do list. I would also like to have more of my work published in magazines. Some day I would like to teach and offer workshops around the world. Maybe even open a studio overseas.

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