Natalie Aniela Dybisz (born 1986), known professionally as Miss Aniela, is a British fine-art fashion and surrealist photographer.[1][2][3][4] Selvedge describes her work as a "fus[ion of] traditional photography with digitally enhanced motifs and surrealism."[5]

Natalie Dybisz
Born1986 (age 37–38)
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
EducationUniversity of Sussex
Known forFine-art fashion photography
Notable workSurreal Fashion
StyleSurrealism, baroque
SpouseMatthew Lennard
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

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Dybisz was born in 1986 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.[4] A self-taught photographer,[1][6] she began taking self-portraits at 15 but began focusing on it at 21 while studying English and Media at the University of Sussex.[2][4][7][8][9]

Dybisz started posting her self-portraits on Flickr in April 2006 and quickly garnered online popularity.[7] After leaving university, she assumed she wouldn't be able to commit fully or professionally to photography for another year or two at least.[10] Five months later, however, she was contacted by Microsoft and asked to speak at their Pro Photo Summit in Seattle about digital photography.[7][8] At this point, she decided to quit her job to pursue photography full-time.[10]

Photography

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Dybisz utilizes models and practical effects in the first part of her process, then does digital post-production using Photoshop.[5][6] She is inspired by her environment, dreams, experiences, literature, and fine art, particularly 16th-century chiaroscuro artists, such as Caravaggio.[3][2][5][11][12] She has shot in mansion, castles, and stately homes in France and England, such as Château de Champlâtreux, and in other locations such as abandoned buildings.[13][11][3][12] Normal Magazine described her work as "combin[ing] baroque aesthetics and the directives of commercial work."[11]

Dybisz and her husband Matthew host the Fashion Shoot Experience, a workshop held in interesting shooting locations in London, Los Angeles, New York, Iceland, and other countries in Europe.[9][8][14] In 2010 and 2017, Dybisz was named "One to Watch" by the Saatchi Gallery in London.[15][16][17] She also teaches courses on photography and photoshop.[18][19] She has been featured in El País, NY Arts, Plastik Magazine, TechMag, American Photo, Playboy Spain, ALARM Magazine, and Vogue Italia.[9][7][12] Exhibition locations include Saatchi Gallery, Houses of Parliament, Waldemarsudde, and Vouge Italia's space in Milan.[12][5][9] Kai Mayfair and Hôtel de Crillon have also displayed her work.[20][15]

Dybisz's first professional exhibition was "locally in Brighton" while her Self-Gazing series of self-portraits were the first to be invited internationally.[8][12] The Ecology series was one of her earlier collections and showed the "relationship between humans and nature through visual references to pollution, deforestation and climate engineering."[17][8] In 2011, she started Surreal Fashion, which icanbecreative.com described as "where fashion meets fine art, beauty meets absurdity, and couture meets chaos."[17][21] In 2014, she did a fantasy photoshoot for Nikon[14] and released her Faces collection, which "merg[es] large-scale faces with hundreds of paintings from art history."[12] In 2017, she worked both on Barocco, a collection inspired by the Baroque and Rococo eras,[22] and Birth Undisturbed, a series about childbirth as an empowering experience for women worldwide.[23][17]

She has published two books:

  • 2011: Self-portrait Photography: The Ultimate in Personal Expression[9][24] - Ilex Press, Ltd., ISBN 9781907579165
  • 2012: Creative Portrait Photography[9] - Octopus Books, ISBN 9781781570142

Personal life

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Dybisz's husband Matthew Lennard works with her under the Miss Aniela name.[8][5] The stillborn birth of their son Evan in 2013 inspired and informed her Birth Undisturbed series. They also have a daughter, born 2014/2015.[17][23]

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References

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  1. ^ a b Yoo, Alice (3 January 2013). "Gorgeously Surreal Scenes Shot in a French Chateau". My Modern Met. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Noorata, Pinar (4 November 2011). "Gorgeously Surreal Fashion Photography". My Modern Met. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Miss Aniela: impeccable fashion and composition with a surrealist touch". Faena Aleph. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Miss Aniela: Surreal Fashion". Fashion DN Mag. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e Edney, Jessica (1 September 2019). "Surreal Glamour". Selvedge. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b Young, Meghan (9 April 2011). "Miss Aniela Captures Stunning Dreamlike Scenes". Trend Hunter. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Fanuko, Katie (21 January 2011). "Miss Aniela: Whimsical Portraits Find Fame on Flickr". ALARM Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Smithson, Aline (4 May 2012). "Looking at success: Natalie Dybisz aka Miss Aniela". Lens Scratch. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Van, Frederick (1 August 2014). "Creating High Art Self Portraits – with Natalie Dybisz". This Week in Photo. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  10. ^ a b Goldstein, Mark (26 January 2010). "An Interview with Portrait Photographer Natalie Dybisz". Photography Blog. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Miss Aniela". Normal Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Fashion 1st place winner, Professional category: Natalie Dybisz". Fine Art Photo Awards. 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Edgy Fashion Portraits By Miss Aniela". Photo News. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  14. ^ a b Piper, Dave Kai (27 June 2014). "Nikon D810: Miss Aniela Talks To Us About Her Fantasy Fashion Shoot With The New Camera". SLR Lounge. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Miss Aniela". A Modern Grand Tour. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  16. ^ "One to Watch: Miss Aniela". Saatchi Art. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Miss Aniela". Artistics. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Adobe Master Class: Photoshop Inspiring artwork and tutorials by established and emerging artists". Graphic-Design Publishing Center. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Commercial Fashion Photography". Creative Live. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  20. ^ Showker, Fred (18 March 2013). "Miss Aniela : A Surrealistic view". DT&G Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Extraordinary Surreal Photography - Artist Spotlight: Miss Aniela". I Can Be Creative. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  22. ^ "Miss Aniela "Barocco"". Capture One. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  23. ^ a b York, Nicole (21 November 2017). "Miss Aniela Creates Fine Art Images Celebrating the Power of Birth Undisturbed [NSFW]". Fstoppers. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Red River Pros: Natalie Dybisz aka Miss Aniela". Red River Paper. Retrieved 12 January 2024.