Gina had asked me to take her a series of head shots that she could add onto her resumé, so the results are below. I remember that, even though she tried real hard to keep a straight face, she was laughing. I miss her smile, her big heart and the sound of her laugh!
My landlady Gina was also passionate about photography. Early on a Sunday morning, at the end of August, we went to Speen forestry area and took each others impromptu portraits. Here are mine, edited by myself. Gosh, I loved that blue navy ceremony dress so much!
Maria was a friend and Juan’s wife. In her I saw in herself not only beauty but also strength and endurance. These street shots are dated August 2014 and were taken in Reading, in a gorgeous late afternoon light. Enjoy these memories!
Istvan had Hungarian roots and was the best friend of Juan, a friend of mine. In August 2014, I took some shots of him in an alley in an industrial area of Reading. I was positively impressed by his easiness in front of the lens and by the depth of his gaze. In some pictures he even looks like an actor to me!
Sarah was a niece of Gina, who was my landlady in England. In the summer 2014, this young lady was determined to take a career in modeling, therefore I had a couple of shootings with her, the 1st one below was at the Speen Moors Walk, when she came to visit her aunt in Newbury. Sarah had a graceful and elegant bearing, an all-around personality and was self-confident and natural in front of the camera. I really hope that she has made it!!
“My desire is to preserve the sense of people’s lives, to endow them with the strength and beauty I see in them. I want the people in my pictures to stare back” – Nan Goldin
I don’t want to brag by referring to this quote but it seems to me a good fit for this shooting. Let’s take a small detour to summer 2014: at that time I was focusing on adults portraiture. Silvia and I were members of the same parish (years before, I had been one of her youth leaders during a summer camp!). I asked her to pose for me and she accepted. And now, back to Nan Goldin’s quote, Silvia was not only beautiful but also brave, yes, she climbed a tree with no hesitation! I hope that now, looking back at her portraits (dated July 2014), she will smile remembering that warm summer afternoon and she still will be as proud of her great personality!
I met Andreia the year I lived in Newbury. She was originally from Portugal, reserved but warm. It was easy for us to talk about our Expat experience in the UK and she gladly accepted to pose for me. I took these portraits of her in May 2014, the first part (corporate style) in a small park in the city, whilst the second part was in the wild Speen forestry area, close to the Kennet and Avon canal. The weather was not the greatest (euphemism!) but at least an overcast sky allows the shooter to work under a uniform light and I admit that the green of the forest was at its best, in that context. I like Andreia’s proud, brave look and her noble bearing, not to mention her big, thick hair! Enjoy these photo memories!
This post is for those who believe that happiness comes in a small, fluffy format! You may ignore though that Gizmo was extremely vocal and loud…To be a companion dog, he worked pretty well as a watchdog too 😆 This gorgeous Papillon belonged to our neighbors, whilst I lived in Newbury. I have watched him grow from a puppy to an adult dog and he was always sweet to me. Rose, enjoy these memories, dated May 2014!
Super fluffy ears!
Getting extra cuddles from his favorite photographer!
I took these portraits of Raffaella in April 2014. As location we chose a green area along via Budellungo. During that afternoon the weather was chilly and quite gray. However, this did not prevent us from taking some portraits, neither this stopped me from playing with some leaves around in order to create a blurry effect 🙂 Raffaella, you are so pretty and spunky too!!
In her gaze I could find courage, pride and strength. Thank you for this playful session, Adelina!
When I was young 😁 and started taking pictures, my core beliefs were: natural light and prime lenses. “Growing up”, throughout the years, taking tons of pictures of several subjects but also posing as a model, I started to see things differently. I discovered that I love working in studio 😙 I realised consequently how essential it is to know how to use lighting indoors, the importance of leading the subject(s) (gaining the subject’s trust) and of having developed a posing system.
I have gained so much from watching other professionals work, such as in this case Luciano and Michele Galloni, well known photographers based in Parma. Their experience level and use and of lighting was masterful, as well as their posing system. The first part of the shoot (dated February 2014) was corporate whilst the second part was pure portraiture. I had this blue jumpsuit (which I still have) that is one of my favorite clothes and I hoped to get some nice portraits. Result achieved: they came out real classy!
It was with great pleasure that I took some headshots of Ana Maria, whilst I was in England. Her vibrant, active and caring personality pops out easily from these images!
These are my last shots of 2013, but the first ones I took with my Nikon equipment. When I started getting involved in photography in 2009, I used a tiny compact Lumix. In spring 2010 my parents (thanks to their Esselunga Fidaty points 🎉) offered me a Canon Eos 510 which was a real big hit for me. I was a Canon shooter until fall 2013 when I skipped to Nikon, then in December 2023, guess what?! I came back to Canon!
But now let’s return to Myriam and to our shooting! We met in 2005 at Uni Rabelais during an Italian translation course (it was my Erasmus year) and we stayed in touch since then. She is a happy and good fun. She is a warm leader whose smile is contagious and brings joy arounds her. She is an intuitive entertainer with a natural, magnetic charm. I am always thrilled to be filled with her positivity, initiatives and curiosity! Whilst I was working in Newbury, she came to visit me and we organised an escapade to London. Along the banks of the Thames we found a good spot and I took some headshots, as she needed them for her cv. It was a late December morning and the winter light combined to the water reflection allowed us to get the best out of this session!
I believe that photography is so important not only to allow us to have beautiful pictures and to receive a rewarding image of ourselves but it also functions as a collective memory, documenting the different stages of our life. December 2013, I had been in England for 5 months and was recovering from a difficult time. I wanted to shine and prove to myself that I was making it, that I was taking care of myself and that my efforts were fulfilling a valuable purpose. However, when I look at these pictures I still think: “Gosh, how skinny was I!”. I had worked with Matthew Bishop, who to this day he remains one of my favorite photographers, a few months earlier and I asked him to take some winter portraits of me. We met up in London on a cold December morning, we had a coffe and he led me through the shooting. I cherish these photographs: I see myself as elegant and also with a somewhat French style!
Photographers, how often have you worked under a challenging light or in a tiny and gloomy environment? Models, have you ever posed inside a ship? I had never done it before and I clearly had no idea how pitch dark it could be inside there! While visiting friends in Hamburg, an acquaintance asked me to pose for him on the gorgeous Rickmer Rickmers and it was all a revelation to me. I found out that I like soft lighting, not only of B&W photos but also of photos where dark, sombre tones and black predominate. The outcome was a photo shoot that tasted of an early 20th century Atlantic atmosphere. Thank you, Mohammad, for these lovely memories!
Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer 