Aljoša Rebolj

In a previous life, Aljoša Rebolj was much more comfortable in front of the camera than behind it. Born in Kranj, Slovenia, he started acting at just 12 years old, and was privileged to work with some of the most prominent and renowned theatre directors in the country. Though he didn't know it at the time, this theatrical life would prove to be the perfect education for the career that would follow – as a successful commercial, advertising and editorial photographer.

"I started early in theatre," he says. "I grew up with amazing people, and I still find it inspiring to be around people who are above the average, who are really talented. I think that can be important and useful for a photographer – whatever field of photography you're working in. Theatre is a place that unifies all the arts – choreography, set design, drama, singing."

Aljoša's fascination with photography began around 1986, on a trip with friends to China. "I'll never forget getting off the Trans Siberian train – we just sat for an hour in Beijing watching millions of people," he recalls. "Everyone was on bicycles. We couldn't even cross the street because there were so many bicycles. When you find yourself somewhere and you want to share your experience, that's when photography comes in. A friend of mine had brought a camera and that's where it started."

Aljoša started honing his craft in the darkroom, but his break came when he photographed a popular band in what was then Yugoslavia. "I was slightly in love with the singer!" he remembers, and was so pleased with the results that he summoned up the courage to send them to French magazine Photo. "They were published immediately," he says. "That was my first photography publication and it gave me more self-confidence, so I began to meet with the editors, and started working as a fashion photographer for magazines."

Aljoša has since worked in editorial and advertising photography for an enormous range of clients. He prides himself on his ability to turn around a shot quickly, especially when he's working on a busy set where video is also being produced, as is commonplace these days.

"The digital era changed the business so much," he says. "You need to understand the brief, understand the client's needs, understand the hero product. And if you've got two minutes, you need to earn your day's fee in those two minutes."

You came to photography through acting, which is not a usual route. How did that experience help you on the road to where you are today?

"On the film sets, everything was really beautiful. I learned about lighting, about staging, about directing. As a photographer, you need to have your aesthetic standards, but communication skills are also very important. Being an actor, I grew up with personalities who were not so easy to handle. That can make you frustrated at the time, but you learn to develop your communication skills."

What other skills do you think are important for a photographer, beyond being able to operate a camera?

"Your interests should be in the manner of the Renaissance man – you should learn many different things, from all different fields, to inspire your photography. There is music to inspire you, there is art, there is whatever you read. All this is how you build your photography story."

As well as photography, you also produce video content. How did that evolution come about?

"The Canon EOS 5D was so approachable, it could do pretty much anything. I think that was one of the triggers that led to more hybrid shooters producing video, and it was also how I started to direct more. I was engaged by Canon Europe to work with one of the early Ambassadors on a story about Paralympic athletes. They had really beautiful stories, and it became a beautiful documentary."

It's been some time since you first shot those images in Beijing in 1986. What is it that still inspires you about photography – why do you keep taking pictures?

"Once you've seen the most beautiful things in the world, you want to share them, and photography offers a way to do that. For instance, theatre, the world that I know, is an art that's disappearing. When a show is gone, if there's no good photography, it's really gone. A photograph can keep it forever, for history."

"A photographer should always prepare themselves, and imagine how they're going to get the shot. But things can always change – the atmosphere, the opportunities. So while you need to visualise what you're going to do and how you're going to get it done quickly – what gear you're going to use, how you're going to set up your lighting – it never goes how you expect it to. Maybe something goes down, maybe you run out of time to set up your lighting. You need to have backup scenarios, and you need to be prepared to make immediate decisions."

Instagram: @aljosarebolj_photographer

Website: aljosarebolj.com