Playboy
Bird of Paradise
There’s a good chance you’ve heard of Julia Yaroshenko. This well-known nude model with fiery red hair, freckled golden skin and alluring green eyes has won admirers the world over. The petite Ukrainian-born beauty packs a definite punch, proving that good things sometimes come in small packages.
On location on the tropical island paradise of Bali, Indonesia, Julia’s free spirit takes in all her natural surroundings in this set from photographer Ana Dias for Playboy Netherlands. “Shooting nude is a very intimate process, you need to trust and surrender to the photographer. And when I see sincere admiration in the eyes of a photographer, I am ready to open up and give more. That’s exactly what I felt with Ana. I felt her experience and deep appreciation for the female figure. She and I were delighted and rejoiced to be creating beautiful art together and we couldn’t stop shooting. We shot for many hours non-stop. It was an amazingly harmonious dance between the model and the photographer,” she shared. The beautiful redhead feels that her work is very meaningful and that beauty is at the heart of it. “I like to think that by modeling nude I’m serving the world, I’m inspiring men and women with beauty,” she shares. We could not agree more.
When she’s not in front of the camera, Julia loves to meditate, travel or check items off her bucket list. “I would love to experience the tea ceremony in Japan,” she says. But that’s only one of Julia’s many goals to nourish her mind and soul. “I am also planning to skydive over Hawaii, make a pilgrimage in Nepal, live for a while practicing yoga in the Indian city of Rishikesh, take a Vipassana course at the New Zealand Goenka Center and live in a temple soaking up the wisdom of mystic gurus.”
It’s time to indulge in a transcendental fantasy with Playboy Playmate and cover girl Julia Yaroshenko, right here.
Published in Playboy Netherlands June 2023 Issue
Also published in Playboy Czech Republic August 2023 Issue; Playboy Germany January 2024 Issue
Buy the issue here
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Model: Julia Yaroshenko; Photographer: Ana Dias; Producer: Gonçalo Jorge; Video: Filipe Figueiredo
COVERS
BEHIND THE SCENES
TAGS
Baby Blue
I met Amelie Lou on social media, and I’d been eager to photograph her for quite some time. She has this adorable baby face that I’m a huge fan of. So, when she told me she was coming to Portugal, I hit her up right away for a shoot I had planned for Playboy Netherlands.
But here’s the twist: the day before the shoot, Amelie—the star of the show—had a scooter accident! When I got the news, I freaked out. She was covered in bruises, and her knees had some pretty nasty wounds. For a moment, I thought, “Should I even go through with this?” But then I figured, “Opportunities like this don’t come around every day”. I’ve handled tougher challenges, so I decided to roll with it.
The next day, it was road trip time. Me, Amelie, and the crew headed south, chasing the sun. The morning was gorgeous, and I had a good feeling about how the day would turn out.
We shot on May 26, 2022, along the Alentejo coast in Portugal—one of my favorite spots for that endless ocean vibe. The beach was stunning, with deep blue water and miles of golden sand.
Now, here’s where things got tricky. I’d never shot there in the spring, and I was in for a surprise—and not a good one. During the shoot, a swarm of pesky insects decided to crash our party. They were everywhere! On Amelie’s skin, on our clothes, on the props, even in our snacks. It was chaos—a full-blown bug invasion. Managing that situation felt like a circus act, but the whole team pitched in to keep the bugs at bay between shots.
Thankfully, as we made our way down the cliffs toward the water, the bugs finally gave up. That’s when we caught a break and got to enjoy a peaceful, bug-free atmosphere, soaking in the beauty of the sea and the Alentejo coastline.
– Ana Dias
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Model: Amelie Lou; Photographer: Ana Dias; Producer: Gonçalo Jorge; Makeup & Hair: Olga Galkina – Team Raquel Batalha; Photography Assistants: Francisco Figueiredo, Duarte Gomes; Video: Filipe Figueiredo
TAGS
Match Point
Usually, when I take photos, I like to create contrast between the model’s skin and the background to make the model stand out. Well, this time, I decided to switch things up.
It was part of a series of photoshoots I did for Playboy USA during the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, and one of the featured models was Svenja van den Bogaart from the Netherlands.
When I saw her portfolio, I was fascinated by her lovely look, and I immediately thought of a tennis theme for our shoot. She has a delicate appearance, but her freckles and her fiery red hair give her a hint of daring.
I scouted tennis courts in Lisbon and had two options: a smooth blue hard court and a red clay court. At first, I thought the blue court would be a good match for Svenja’s red hair, but I quickly changed my mind and chose the red one.
I pictured a more harmonious, real-deal vibe shooting on that red clay with its dust – It reminded me of scenes from Roland Garros, where top professionals play. I thought it would be interesting to blend the different shades of red from Svenja’s skin and hair with that red clay ground.
The photoshoot took place on September 13. We all arrived at the location early in the morning – me, the model, and my team – all set to begin with makeup and hair. I told Raquel to work her magic and bring out Svenja’s freckles and natural beauty. She never disappoint.
We began the shoot around 10:30 am to make the most of the sunlight. I quickly realized that Svenja was a fantastic model, so I decided to let her creativity and natural charm shine through. She looked even more beautiful in her simple poses.
For props, I had a classic tennis racket, fresh outfits, visors, and gear provided by the tennis club. As a cool touch, a few days before the shoot, I painted the Playboy bunny logo on the racket to give it some extra personality.
Photographing Svenja was a breeze. She was a total pro, up for all my wild ideas, like lying on the dusty ground for drone shots. We thought that would be the last shot, but when I saw her stand up, covered in that red soil, I couldn’t resist saying, “Let’s keep on going!” I just couldn’t stop taking pictures of her!
The real fun began when it was time to clean up Svenja after all that mud. Gonçalo, our savior armed with a hose, came to the rescue, and together, we turned the soil into a dirty memory!
– Ana Dias
BTS photos by Gonçalo Jorge and Pedro Barradas
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Model: Svenja van den Bogaart; Photographer: Ana Dias; Producer: Gonçalo Jorge; Makeup & Hair: Raquel Batalha; Video: Filipe Figueiredo; Aerial Images: Pedro Barradas
