Alina Negoita's powerful photography focuses on her subjects' movements

Alina Negoita has been commissioned by AnOther, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and i-D, and one scroll through her website makes it clear why. Powerful black and white images of faces, movements and exchanges work together to create a captivating blend of fashion photography and documentary photography. “Although my background is in fashion photography – my goal is to subtly use a fashion approach in my work but with a much stronger sociopolitical impact drawn from human rights and subjects I am passionate about,” Alina explains.

Having finished an apprenticeship at Ryan McGinley Studios last year, Alina’s website is the “first step towards my self-portrait as an artist” and the energy and personality of Alina’s images is impressive. “The confrontational, straightforward way of shooting chaotic scenes […] tends to represent the experiences I am living,” she says. But it’s her ability to hone in on the smaller, more personal details that I really love and it’s something she’s keen to celebrate. “In my photographic world there are no boundaries or barriers of race, culture, religion, fashion, nor location. It is easier for the viewer to identify now with a figure, an atmosphere, a gaze, or a quirky smile.” There’s a looseness and freedom throughout Alina’s work, whether depicting teenagers playing in the street or in a simple portrait of a woman against a blank background.

Born in Romania Alina feels the country is “chaotic, vulnerable, authentic and intense with huge discrepancies” but she’s carried the rawness and contradictions with her, letting them filter down into her work beautifully. “My artistic interpretation always [focuses on] the atmosphere of it all, the light, the movements, the frictions, the connections and loyalty I have built with my subjects,” she explains. Alina continually pushes the idea of beauty beyond the aesthetic, finding grace through gestures, relationships and experiences instead. “I want my work to challenge our views of conventional beauty, exploration, understanding and acceptance,” she says.