Untitled Portraits — Sefa Yamak, fine-art portrait & fashion photographer, Istanbul
Portrait and fashion photographer from Istanbul. Twenty-five years, dozens of countries, one question: what does a face look like when it stops deciding how to be seen.
[ Start here ]
When I started I didn't know what a portrait was. Now I do. It's not something you take. It's something given.
[SERIES]
SELECTED WORKS
An archive of over twenty years — from the ghats of Varanasi to the snow of eastern Anatolia, from the dust of Rajasthan to the morning light of the Ganges.
[COLLECTIONS]
THE COLLECTIONS
One body of portrait work, arranged by place — India, Anatolia, Nepal, Istanbul, and Kars. Plus the signed limited-edition prints. Step into one.
PORTRAIT & FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER
Istanbul-based, working since 2000. The personal work — Sadhus, villages in Rajasthan, the winters of eastern Anatolia — and the fashion and commercial work through PAM Istanbul come from the same eye: what does a face look like when it stops deciding how to be seen.
[ What this is ]
Sefa Yamak photographs people. Faces, close, usually on foot with one camera and one lens.
The work here is made slowly. Three mornings on the same step above Assi Ghat in Varanasi before the man lifted his head. A winter in Kars, where the church behind the subject has been standing for a thousand years. Villages in eastern Anatolia in February, Kathmandu, the streets of Istanbul. He talks to people before he photographs them, and waits until they stop performing for the camera.
Every photograph is sold as a signed, hand-numbered archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm, in an edition of 25. When an edition sells out, that image is not printed again at that size. Prints are bought directly from the artist, with pricing and delivery settled by reply.
What a fine art print is →[ Buying a print ]
What is a fine art print?
A fine art print is a photograph printed on archival paper with pigment inks, produced in a stated edition and signed and numbered by the photographer. That is what separates it from an open, unlimited reproduction.
How large are the editions?
Each photograph is released in a signed, numbered edition of 25. Each print is signed by the artist, numbered by hand, and issued with a certificate of authenticity.
What paper and process are used?
Prints are archival pigment prints on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm, a cotton-based fine art paper chosen for tonal depth and longevity.
What sizes are available?
Prints are offered in 30×40 cm, 50×60 cm, 60×80 cm and 80×100 cm. Every print is made to order.
How do I buy a print?
Prints are sold directly by the artist. Write to sefa@pamistanbul.com with the photograph and size you are interested in; pricing, framing and shipping are confirmed by reply. Studio visits in Istanbul can be arranged.
[ Latest writing ]
All →Fashion, commercial and portrait photography: common mistakes and how to avoid them
The mistakes that actually sink a shoot rarely show up on camera. They happen before the shutter, in the brief, the casting, the first five minutes with a nervous subject. Here's what I've watched go wrong, including my own.
2026-09-16 · 8 min readFashion, commercial and portrait photography: what actually matters
Not the camera, not the lighting diagram, not the mood board. After enough years across all three, the thing that decides the picture is almost always the same thing, and it's rarely on anyone's checklist.
2026-07-24 · 7 min readModel agency casting or real people: what works better for a brand shoot?
Some campaigns need polish. Some need lived-in truth. Choosing the wrong face can make a good production feel false, even when everything else is right.
[ Instagram · @sefayamak ]
800K+ FOLLOWERS.
Portraits, fashion, and behind the scenes from Istanbul — new work every week. Part of why brands work with Sefa Yamak is this audience: the work gets shot and it gets seen.
[CONTACT]