If you are reading this and you loved Erik Johansson's surreal photo manipulations when we last featured his work on our blog, then you're in for a treat.

Erik Johansson is a full-time photographer and retouch artist based in Berlin. He does both personal and commissioned projects and his illusions are amazing, more than one look types.

Erik was born in 1985, outside a small town called Götene in the middle of Sweden. As a kid he loved both drawing and playing computer games. He got his first digital camera at the age of 15 and that has made the difference.

Erik never like the end results of capturing a photo through a camera, as it was no creation. Because of his interest in computers he soon started manipulating the photos, he captured and after that he never looked back. Everything that Erik does, he has learnt it himself.

It was in 2005, when Erik moved to Gothenburg to study Computer engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, he started retouching again. He started realizing the ideas he had, he post some of his work online and soon he was getting requests for commissioned work.

He started freelancing and after that there was no turning back, he started getting more and more work. He has been working with some big brands like Google and Microsoft. According to his website, "I don’t capture moments, I capture ideas. To me photography is just a way to collect material to realize the ideas in my mind. I get inspired by things around me in my daily life and all kinds of things I see. Although one photo can consist hundreds of layers I always want it to look like it could have been captured. Every new project is a new challenge and my goal is to realize them as realistic as possible." 

Read on to know more about Erik in our exclusive interview with him.

1. Hi Erik, please introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Erik Johansson, I'm a photographer and retouch artist from Sweden now living in Berlin, Germany. A lot of the environments in my photos are captured near places I know, around my parents’ home with wide open landscapes and small red houses. Inspiration is everywhere and this is just the beginning.

Common Sense Crossing

I’ve always had a big interest for both drawing and computers. I think that is one if the reasons why it was a natural step for me to modify the photos in the computer. Photography and retouch always felt more like a hobby so I choose the engineering path instead. As I finished my studies in 2010, I already worked part time as a freelance doing work for some advertisement agencies in Sweden. Although I still find interaction design a very interesting subject, photography and retouch is my passion and what I love. That made me become photographer/retoucher on full-time when I graduated.


3. What is your state of mind when you are retouching an image? What software and techniques to you use for this purpose?

It's not really that complicated, the retouch part is just to put the puzzle together. The material is very important, with good source photos, which I always shoot myself, it's quite easy to put all the parts together. I stack all the photos on top of each other and mask out the parts I want to be visible. I then use curve or other adjustments to make the different parts of the photos blend together to create a seamless result.

Work at Sea

It's been an amazing journey so far, and I feel like I just getting started. When Google HQ called me last year to ask me if I wanted to come and work on a project in Mountain View that was really exciting. Being asked to speak at the TED conference in London last year was another big compliment.


5. What do you love working on the most - commissioned work or personal work and how do you manage time for the both?

My work is both a hobby and work, when I have an idea I want to realize I work on it day and night until I'm finished. The commissioned work pays the bill, but it is also a lot of fun although if I could choose I would spend even more time on the Personal projects. Most of the time I work on personal projects between the commissioned, that is why the gap between new photos can sometimes be quite long.

Stay in Bed Day

I am actually working on a personal web shop, this will hopefully be up before the end of the year. The prints are amazing, you see so much more details compared to the small versions in my portfolio. When you see the prints you really see how much work I put into all the small parts.


7. If you could peek inside the studio/toolbox of any designer/artist/photographer, whose would it be and why?

I would love to get a deeper insight in M.C. Escher's work/thought process. I believe he is one of the most amazing artists of modern time, the way he visualize mathematics and symmetry. To me that is true art.

Face vs. Fist

I practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu a few times a week, that is the perfect way to disconnected from a stressful day and it's a lot of fun! :)


9. What are your future plans as a photographer? Name one historical artwork you would love to retouch?

I plan to start working experimenting with film, I would also like to learn some 3D. At this stage I only know the basics but I think that could enable me to realize even crazier ideas. I can't really think of a historical artwork I would love to retouch, maybe Mona Lisa, but it feels like it's already been done a thousand times.


10. What advice would you like to give to a budding and aspiring photographers?

Trying is the best way of learning, build a strong personal portfolio and try to find a personal style that suits you.


Want to know about Erik's work, then watch the video below. It's from the TED conference, where Erik spoke about his images.