Tetiana – who prefers to go by Tati – and her husband Aleksei are often asked how they manage not to quarrel when they live and work together. The couple moved from Ukraine to Lithuania eight years ago, setting up their Vilnius-based studio “TatiFrank”. They say that when you spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week with someone, they inevitably become your mirror.
“I make him more positive,” says Tati with a smile. Aleksei laughs in agreement. Throughout the conversation, the pair are quick to joke, sharing stories about their roots, life in Lithuania, learning the language, their dog Kvitka, and a photography style built on natural beauty and minimal retouching.
Childhood memories
Tati: “I recently told Aleksei about a childhood memory. I must have been very small – I went with my grandmother to a bread factory. We bought fresh, still warm bread. On the way home, I nibbled on the crusts and corners. It felt so cosy.”
Aleksei: “Tati was born in Pavlograd, Ukraine, and I was born in Luhansk. But when I was only a year old, my family left Ukraine. I grew up in Israel and later Canada, and only returned to Ukraine at about twenty. I visited Lviv, an incredibly beautiful, historic city. That’s where we fell in love – and it remains my warmest memory.”
Dreams and journeys to photography
Tati: “As a teenager, I never thought photography could be a career – it seemed like such a job simply didn’t exist. I planned to go into marketing. But then I met Aleksei, who owned a Japanese sweets shop, and needed product photos. I offered to help, and that’s when I fell in love with photography. I knew I had found my calling.”
Aleksei: “I once wanted to be a dentist, then I moved into programming. I knew photography could be a profession, but for me it was always just a hobby. I painted, played guitar – I wanted creativity to play a bigger role, but I didn’t believe it could impact others. That changed when Tati started taking photographs. Seeing how people reacted, I thought: I want to do this too. It was far more meaningful than programming – it could change people, bring joy.”
First impressions of Lithuania?
Tati: “We arrived in Vilnius by train and both remember the same thing: stepping onto the platform and breathing in the fresh, forest-scented air – at the station! It was incredible. Later, we walked through a park near Užupis and tried yoghurt for the first time. It was delicious – the best we’d ever tasted. These small moments are what stay with you.”
Aleksei: “Yes, the air was so fresh, almost sweet. And the food was wonderful. Those were our first impressions.”
What about Lithuanians?
Tati: “We found Lithuanians to be warm and welcoming, very much like Ukrainians. We never felt we were in a country with a completely different mentality.”
Aleksei: “Exactly. Lithuanians seemed open and friendly, though a little shy – which we found charming. They never turn up late to our photoshoots, often arriving early.”
Learning Lithuanian
Tati: “The language is difficult but very sweet. From the start, we knew a few words like ‘thank you’ and ‘have a nice day’. Locals praised us, which encouraged us to keep learning. Even just a few words make people so happy.”
Aleksei: “Lithuanian sounds soft and melodic, though some words are hard for me to pronounce.”
Tati: “It reminds me of speaking to a baby – words like agurkai (‘cucumbers’) or sveiki (‘hello’) sound so gentle. Once, at a shop, I said: ‘I’m sorry, I don’t speak Lithuanian, can we speak English?’ And the woman replied, surprised: ‘But you are speaking Lithuanian now, how can you not know it?’ (laughs). People’s reactions are always positive. Lithuanians love it when you try their language.”
A sense of home
Aleksei: “From the very first day, we felt Lithuania was home. It was like returning somewhere familiar. Once you feel that way, you naturally want to learn the language. Life here is comfortable, better organised than in many places we’ve lived.”
Tati: “We wanted to integrate – and language is part of that. We’ve made Lithuanian friends, including our neighbours. Even though we speak English with them, we want to learn the language to feel closer.”
Holding on to Ukrainian roots
Tati: “Food keeps us connected to our roots – like Ukrainian dumplings with cherries and sour cream.”
Aleksei: “And don’t forget the pickles!”
Tati: “Yes, my grandmother recently gave us her recipe for lightly salted cucumbers. We’ll try making them ourselves. But food is also central to Lithuanian culture, so in that sense, we don’t feel such a difference. Ukrainians are very hospitable – we still invite guests over and make sure they leave with full plates.”
A dog called Kvitka
Tati: “I always wanted a dog. Eventually Aleksei agreed, but our landlord wouldn’t allow pets. So we decided to buy our own flat – just so we could have a dog (laughs). We visited shelters in Vilnius, but most dogs were already grown. In Kaunas, we found puppies at ‘Penkta Koja’. Choosing was hard, but one puppy curled up in our laps and we knew – this was our dog.”
Aleksei: “She was exactly what we wanted – a dog to cuddle with.
Tati: We named her Kvitka, which means ‘flower’ in Ukrainian.”
Balancing marriage and work
Tati: “People often ask how we manage to work together without arguing. But we each have our own camera, so there’s no conflict. We’re together 24/7, and we like it that way. Spending so much time together, you learn a lot about yourself through the other person – it’s fascinating.”
Aleksei: “At one point, our flat had two rooms. We even knocked down the wall so there’d be nowhere to hide (laughs).”
Celebrating natural beauty
Their studio work focuses on women’s portraits, highlighting natural beauty with minimal editing.
Can photography help people love themselves and feel more confident?
Aleksei: “Of course it can – we see this all the time. We tend to look at ourselves from unflattering angles, in poor light. In truth, everyone is beautiful, but when we look at ourselves from perspectives that don’t highlight our beauty, we start to think we’re not attractive or photogenic. Our photoshoots are very natural; we hardly retouch the images. If a woman is a little shy or lacks confidence, we show her the photos and say: “Look, we haven’t done anything – this is simply you.” And often she replies that she can’t believe it.”
Tati: “Women don’t buy new clothes for the shoots – they wear what they like. Many don’t wear make-up. The studio itself is plain, with white walls. It’s about capturing what’s inside, not the surface.”
Why celebrate natural beauty?
Aleksei: “We want women to see themselves – to recognise themselves in the photographs. Our aim is to capture that very moment.”
Tati: “We want them to look back at these pictures twenty or thirty years from now, they see who they truly were in everyday life. If they can appreciate that and say, 'I am beautiful just as I am day to day,' then that is the greatest reward for us. We are simple people who love minimalism – those are our values, and that is what we show in our photography. Above all, what matters to us is authenticity.”
Love, self-acceptance and positivity
Tati: “For me, self-love is about acceptance – embracing every part of yourself, even the bits you like less.”
Aleksei: “It’s about living in a way that feels true, without worrying about what others think.”
Talking with the women behind the photos
Aleksei: “Every person is different. Women bring with them so many interesting stories – where they are in life, what they’re striving for, what they want. The conversations are always friendly. We never ask anything someone wouldn’t want to share. Most often, we talk about everyday things – films, favourite activities.”
Tati: “I think it creates a friendly atmosphere. Once we photographed a woman who left the session feeling radiant and full of confidence. Afterwards, she went to a café, where she happened to run into her former boyfriend. They rekindled their relationship, got married, and a year later she was pregnant – and came back to us for a maternity shoot. She told us how much that first photo session had changed her, joking that in a way it was our baby too (laughs).”
Aleksei: “My favourite story is about a woman who came to us for photos to use on a dating app. She uploaded them and within thirty minutes her account was blocked – the app decided she didn’t look real because she seemed too beautiful. But someone had taken a screenshot, tracked down her LinkedIn profile, and reached out to her. They are now married and living in India.”
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