Elena Volotova

Portrait | Last Updated: October 23, 2026

A Canon EOS R6 Mark II camera body with an attached lens, three additional lenses, and a speedlite flash arranged on a marble surface.

Black and white portrait of a woman with shoulder-length hair wearing a collared coat.

Close-up portrait of a woman with dark hair and blue eyes looking directly at the camera.

A woman in an off-the-shoulder white dress sitting on a window ledge.

A woman wearing a lace bralette and opaque tights lying on her back on a plain background.

A young woman with blonde hair looking away from the camera, with her hands resting near her chin.

A smiling woman with wavy hair wearing a black dress with a side slit stands in a stone corridor.

A woman posing in a strapless ball gown that transitions from white at the bodice to a ruffled, ombré pink train.

Close-up portrait of a woman resting her chin on her hand and looking at the camera.

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Hi, I’m Elena Volotova, a portrait photographer based in Milan. I photograph women, in a cinematic style and without posing.

My father gave me my first camera when I was seventeen, in Moscow. Later I studied engineering, which turned out to be useful mainly for reading histograms.

In Moscow I worked with model agencies, fashion designers and many women who run their own businesses.

My favourite review came from a fiancé: he saw the portraits of his girlfriend and proposed to her right after our session.

Now I live and work in Milan. I shoot editorials, but most of my clients are women who want a portrait of themselves. Some of them are beautiful, but for years they have been told to lift the chin, smile, stand still, and in front of a camera they simply freeze.

That’s why I don’t pose people. I try to create a space where the person feels nobody is judging her, so she can relax and appear in the photograph as she is, instead of posing for it.

When I started, the choice was mostly between Canon and Nikon. I chose Canon simply because I liked the way it renders skin colour more, and I have stayed with it since.

My bag is small. Most of my lenses are EF lenses I have collected over the years. They work on my mirrorless body through an adapter, a bit like me in Italy: perfectly functional, with a slight accent.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II – My only camera body. The eye autofocus is the best assistant I have ever had. It takes care of focus, so I can pay attention to the person. The silent shutter helps a lot when someone finally relaxes and I don’t want to break the moment.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM – The classic portrait lens, the closest to how our eyes see. Wide open it makes the skin look soft, almost as if it radiates light. It stays on my camera most of the time.

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM – My lens for full-length portraits, and for portraits where the place matters too: a hotel room, a big window, a stone arcade in the afternoon.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM – For beauty close-ups: eyelashes, lips, earrings, the texture of real skin. I can work from a comfortable distance, so nobody feels a lens in their face.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM – For fashion week, events and behind-the-scenes days, when I can’t predict what will happen next.

Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R – The small ring that lets my EF lenses work on the R6.

Natural light is my default. It is softer, and it shows the elegance and softness of my clients.

Canon Speedlite 580EX II – I use it mostly on the street, to create a “paparazzi effect”: direct flash, hard light, a moment that looks caught rather than planned. It is the opposite of my usual soft light, and it gives some portraits a bit of glamour and drama.

Apple MacBook Pro with an ASUS ProArt PA279CRV monitor. It comes calibrated from the factory, so I can trust the skin tones I see on screen.

Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop – For retouching I use high frequency separation. It lets me even out the skin without erasing its texture, so the skin still looks like skin.

My advice to a younger photographer: look at a lot of pictures, and try to understand why you like the ones you like. Analyse them and go deeper, until you really understand them. This is how you find your own way of seeing.

When I’m not shooting, I read tarot cards, dig into Jungian psychology, try slightly ridiculous gym classes, or travel with my husband and our daughter, who already directs me better than I direct my clients.

Thank you, Shotkit, for having me!

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