As mentioned before, Helga was born and raised in the Netherlands. She moved to The Hague, a city known for its clean, Dutch design, to study Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Arts. Today, she still lives in The Hague with her husband, two sons and three cats.
Seems like there are not many quiet moments around her, but the hustle and bustle of her everyday life inspire her and she always manages to grasp an organised and peaceful feeling in her work.
When she founded her web & design studio jt design, clients started to ask her for help with their photography, and slowly but surely, that's how she rolled into being a photographer as well. Combined with starting her own blog about interior and green living, plus of course her Instagram account, she discovered her own style of photography.
“I am still growing as a photographer,” Helga told us, “and now I am experimenting with fine art photography, which I enjoy a lot!”
Her Instagram feed mostly features beautiful and elegant flower-compositions on several pieces of old antiques, with the occasional cat around. “I always had a big passion for vintage and interior styling.”,she explains. When she and her family had to move to a smaller house, moving furniture around like she was used to became more difficult. Hence, as a way to be creative with the space available, she started to make small still life setups with plants and flowers in all the little corners of her home. A style that now characterises most of her work.
“I began to notice the details and beauty of the flowers and plants and tried to get a composition where the plants and flowers create a story. They really do have their own personalities! As for the cats, well, they are always curious about what I am doing and once in a while they enjoy to pose for the camera.”
Instagram is an important part of her work, and getting good feedback from her community is as well! Most of her followers are interior, plant & flower lovers and designers, but also many artists follow her and use her images as an inspiration to draw or paint. She really loves her community and they seem to love her just as much. “I am really touched that some of my followers tell me my photos make them feel better when they had a bad day. That makes me so happy!”
We also asked her about her 3 favourite IG-ers, which seemed to be a difficult question to answer! “Oh, only three!? There are so many that I like! I love @shnordic, she has such a great style. @eluchs photos have a beautiful atmosphere and her travel pictures are amazing, and @ohhoneycz because her food photos look absolutely delicious.”
She is very grateful for the existence of Instagram itself, as it gives her an opportunity to meet new people, share her work and grow her network. According to Helga, it's one of the best ways to start new collaborations! Sometimes small companies will send her products to share with her followers. But she is also asked to do photography for company websites and their social media. “Some beautiful lifestyle magazines have already shared my photos. And of course, there is my favorite collaboration, the one with Pickmotion!”
The last thing we wanted to know is where she gets all her beautiful flowers from.
“I usually buy them in a little flower shop around the corner or on the local market. However, I also pick them straight from the garden or get them from a friend who has a big, beautiful garden. Lately, I have been experimenting with ordering flowers from the internet, a whole new experience!”
