A Late Night Photoshoot of World Class Alekseevskaya Ends Up as Cover Photo for Interior Design Mag

by Lexi Taciak July 16, 2021July 7, 2021 0 Project of the Week

Today’s featured project takes us to Moscow, Russia where we’ll be checking out VOX Architects‘ World Class Alekseevskaya. World Class has some…ahem…world class photographs by architectural photographer Sergey Ananiev.

Sergey’s images all sport an ultra-clean and tidy look while still maintaining a sense of realism as mood. Let’s check them out!

Showing off the functional spaces like children’s group classroom and the locker rooms, Sergey harnesses the large overhead lights which create nice soft light pouring down from overhead. The bright and clean color palette of the walls and playful murals contrasts nicely with the dark ceilings and shadows.

Moving on to the main event, Sergey has crafted an incredible series of images of World Class’ pool. The pool’s design is inspired by the concept of dynamic movement and power. Sergey’s one-point perspective here emanates a sense of boldness itself, with the repetitive leading lines of the lanes and tiles driving our eyes right to the logo on the back wall.

I love the way Sergey has managed the strong colors and dynamic lighting. He isn’t afraid to let things go bright — or dark — which creates a spirited-looking set of photographs that portray this health club perfectly.

Looking back across the pool, Sergey creates an incredibly geometric composition complete with strong lines, bold shapes, and masterfully showcases the way the lighting design carves out the form of the white volumes.

World Class Alekseevskaya’s pool area has such a complex design and myriad of shapes, which Sergey uses playfully in his compositions. By using a model, he is able to add in a nice contrasting organic shape and give scale to the massive design elements.

Here is my personal favorite from this series. Note the feeling of balance despite the scene being a-symmetrical. I love the reflections and the gradients of color — it’s just an overall gorgeous image.

I asked Sergey what it was like photographing this project. He shared that VOX projects are easy to shoot because they are “always interesting and photogenic.” Sergey has had a sense for finding compositions instilled in him since childhood thanks to his studies at school. Sergey travels light and just brings his camera, tripod, and tilt-shift lens, shooting ambient light only. He mentioned that while on some projects he may run into issues with white balance, this particular shoot was done at night. Its tidy appearance comes from the careful lighting design and lack of color contamination that would have been present if he had to balance sunlight, incandescent lamps, and other practical lighting.

I think you’ll agree that the late call time produced amazing results. Sergey’s image below was the cover photo for the April 2021 issue of Interior Design Magazine!