“The creative process for Stellar was not unlike my approach to other photography based projects” Nik explains, on his work for a game-changing product made to increase elite athletes’ performance. “By exploring themes that included space, orbiting planets, asteroid impacts and evolution, I compiled a series of sketches and ideas that would help tell a story about Stellar Skingrips. The imagery needed to reflect the product’s story.”

Piece by piece

Coming from a studio-based, still photography background, Nik Mirus builds his pictures from the ground up. “The majority of my work is studio based. It is a space where I am in control of the environment and where I can plan out the details of an image well before I take out a camera. It allows me to build my pictures piece by piece.

Making preliminary sketches, brainstorming with collaborators, mocking up and building sets, working through technically challenging ideas, and experimenting with new techniques and equipment are all a big part of the experience.”

Storytelling

“As a photographer, one of the stimulating aspects of working on motion based projects is piecing together a collection of images. At times it can feel like a puzzle where movement and compositional elements within a frame can be used to link individual images together.”

Carte blanche

“Having carte blanche on a project gave us the freedom to explore ideas that we might not have otherwise pursued. Although there are scenes that exist for a split second in the final edit and some that didn’t make the cut at all, we were excited to experiment. We tested mechanical rigs, materials and slow motion techniques, creating a bank of ideas that would make interesting images.”

I love how well crafted photographs can hold people’s attention and I wanted the scenes for Stellar to be impactful: holding their own as still photographs.