Irakly Shanidze is an advertising creative and photography educator with a quarter-century of experience in commercial and fine art photography. As an advertising photographer, he has worked for Japan Tobacco International, Lexar Microsystems, Inc., RusAvia, EASTEX Group, and others. In 2004, Irakly founded an online photo school, ArtPhotoAcademy.com. He also teaches seminars and workshops across the United States and Europe. Irakly has exhibited his work in dozens of personal and group shows in the USA, Canada, Kazakhstan, Portugal, and Russia. Currently, he is responsible for the creative direction of Ballet Detroit, a dance company and school at the Detroit Opera House. For his work, Irakly has exclusively used Leica lenses and digital cameras since 2007.