Pure Exposure — flowers through white paper
We shot Pure Exposure on 27 August 2026 at @moments_studiobg in Burgas. The series was presented in Sofia on 3 September. Fourteen frames total, eight made the final selection.
The setup: a white background, a sheet of watercolour paper, and flowers. No full-body models, no clothing, no props. In frame — a single hand, a single flower, and torn paper.
Where the idea came from
The idea started with a simple gesture — the way you rip through wrapping paper when opening a gift. That moment before the bouquet reveals itself has always interested me vi- sually, and I wanted to build the frame around it.
The paper tears by hand on set — no post-production on the rips. Each sheet is single-use: after the first shot, it doesn’t work anymore. We shot around 60 takes to get the 14 usable frames.
Technical setup:
Camera: Sony A7III, 50 mm f/1.4 Sigma lens
Lighting: natural window light only
Background: 300 g/m2 watercolour paper, A2 format
Post: minimal — contrast, white balance; the tears are untouched
The flowers
We picked flowers with strong graphic shapes — ones that read well against a plain background:
— white Ecuadorian roses (Playa Blanca and Mondial varieties) — blue hydrangeas
— peach anthurium
— white Zembla chrysanthemums
— Baby Blue eucalyptus for texture
The florist selection was made together with Valeriia Zhdanova from Mireya. We spent al- most a full day matching colour and form — flowers here can’t be visually striking on their own, they have to work as part of the composition.
FLORAL PARTNER
All flowers for Pure Exposure were provided by Mireya Fleur Boutique — a premium floral boutique based in Sofia, also operating in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Paris.
I want to mention Mireya separately. It’s rare in this industry to find a brand that invests in artistic projects without a direct commercial angle. They gave me full creative freedom — no briefs, no “it has to look like this”.
If you’re looking for a luxury bouquet in Sofia or delivery across Bulgaria — mireya.bg.
How we shot the tear
Each frame starts with a pre-shaped tear in the sheet — we control the form and direction by hand, before the shoot itself. Then the hand with the flower comes through the opening, we find the right angle of light, and I fire a burst of 3–5 frames.
Out of those 3–5, usually one works — the tear has to face the camera at the right angle, the hand has to be in a graceful pose, the flower has to be in focus. If anything’s off, we swap the sheet and start over.
Why everything is white
When you photograph a person holding a bouquet, the eye wanders — over the clothes, the hair, the background. The flowers become secondary. In Pure Exposure I wanted the oppo- site: no person, and the flower as the sole subject.
Hence: white background, a hand with clean neutral nails by @_nail_grimerka_bg, zero decoration. Just form, texture, and colour.
What’s next
We’re working on series 2 — same concept, with added levitation. Flowers appearing with- out a hand. Shoot planned for late September 2026, again with Mireya as the floral partner.
All images from Pure Exposure are used on Mireya’s blog and in my portfolio. Print-quality originals available on request.
Pure Exposure · Shot: 27 August 2026, Burgas · Presented: 3 September 2026, Sofia
Photographer: Ekaterina Zubkova— @katrin_bulgaria
Hand model / makeup: Victoria Medinskaya — @victoria.medinskaya21
Nails: @_nail_grimerka_bg
Studio: @moments_studiobg (Бургас)
Flowers & floristry: Mireya Fleur Boutique — mireya.bg
