I’m pretty sure it happened to almost all the beginners: you wander around with your camera taking a snap of basically everything.
I believe this is an essential step in the growth of a photographer because it’s the start of a process that helps you find your way and define which is the kind of photography you like the most.
Of course I’m no exception and I remember myself bothering my cats at home, having a sudden passion for walks in the surroundings, and making absurd trips at night on the mountains to find a place with no light pollution to shoot at the stars.
Then I discovered portraits. And it was love at first shot.
In the beginning I was asking my friends to pose for me and this was a really good practice because it gave me the possibility to try, to make mistakes and, most important, to start developing a more structured way of producing images, from the shot to the post production.
The big change happened in 2015. I was asked by a friend to enter a team of photographers, models, hair stylists and make-up artists who were willing to meet altogether just to create amazing images. No pressure to deliver, because all the people involved gave their talent and their time for free.
Only because we all loved what we were doing.
After nearly 10 years, I still have contacts with some of those artists. And I think this is amazing.
From a photographic point of view, the experience I built until now enforced my love for portraits.
There are two main reasons for this.
The first is that I simply love the uniqueness of each face. And the uniqueness of the moment, made of emotion, expression, vibe and attitude you can not capture twice in the same way.
The second reason that pushed me towards portrait photography is the awareness of how creative you can go if you are supported by talented make-up artists. This came exactly from the beautiful adventure I told you above.
Making a set is working together to make everyone’s creativity explode into the final image. I’ve learnt a lot from the people I’ve worked with until now.
It happened to me, also recently, to give landscapes, still life, and other kinds of photography a chance to impress me. All the times, I realised nothing can give me the same thrill and positive vibe I feel when I meet a model and we start talking about creating a new set.
In conclusion, what I can say to people who approach photography, is to spend time taking pictures of everything. To try all the genres with an open mind until the real love will blow up in all its strength.
Take care and talk soon!