About Niva Collective
How it started...
The story of Niva Collective starts with an unexpected meeting of two creative souls over a shared cup of coffee, a Fuji XT4 camera and a pretty cool car (Lada Niva). These two creative souls, Anouk Wijgergangs and Gokhan Goktepe, soon discovered during this meeting that they shared a passion for photography & visual art (amongst many other things). In the months that followed, their friendship & shared love for creating captivating images, naturally led them to the decision to join creative forces and start a business:
Niva Collective.
How it continued...
Armed with nothing else but a camera, car, and a decent amount of good coffee and good energy, they set out on a journey that took them to many new places and adventures, providing them with the opportunity to build their photography dream and portfolio.
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From hotels, to bars and restaurants, from magazines, to commercial brands and fashion, their projects became a varied and colorful catalogue of visual art that covers a large field of interests and objects.
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Their strength lies undeniably in being able to capture and visually communicate the story and energy of the brand and object in front of their lens, and to creatively co-create this with the client in a fun and joyful way!
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With clients spread across Turkey, Europe and the US, travel is a big part of their lifestyle and work, and something they are both as passionate about as they are about their creative work.
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This is us...
Anouk Wijgergangs
Born and raised in Amsterdam, Anouk grew up in a melting pot of urban culture, color & creative artists. Her resume includes a number of successful small & medium business set ups in catering, creative arts, design and jewelry (amongst others), and covering a number of countries.
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Having extensive knowledge and experience in the ins and outs of setting up and growing a business venture and brand, her background proves to be a powerful tool in projects involving photography/videography for commercial clients and brands.
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For more info on Anouk's personal story and work, you can follow her on instagram, facebook and LinkedIn.
This is us...
Gökhan Göktepe
Gokhan knew from a young age that photography and visual arts were his passion and calling.
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His journey led him to develop his skills in a number of different areas in the photography and film industry, and master as many different techniques required to create visual art.
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This journey included traveling to South Africa and Australia to film commercial projects, during which his passion for travel and adventure were ignited.
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His broad skill resume includes color grading & retouching, editing, scenario, and film production/post production, and he formed his own commercial production company with creative partners at the early age of 24, which they ran successfully for a number of years, before he decided to head in a different creative direction and form Niva Collective in 2021.
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For more info on Gokhan's personal story and work, you can follow him on instagram, facebook and LinkedIn.
This is us...
Hera
Undoubtedly the real star of Niva Collective, Hera is the official Niva Collective mascot that accompanies us on most of our shoots.
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Hera came into our lives as a tiny rescue pup in 2019 and has definitely added a lot of color and joy to our daily lives and shoots!
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As she's been raised in an environment of sets, models and cameras, she's no stranger to the lens and is frequently asked to model for clients and pet friendly products and places. She even has a rider that includes crunchy dog biscuits and regular breaks for cuddles!
