“Quiet break” (portrait of Lola, below, dated May 2021) and “Never the same” (with Chiara & Margherita, dated July 2011) were selected yesterday by PhotoVogue. Thank you, editors, for choosing my work!
Some people can do it easily, whilst others have to strive continuously. My journey through photography has been a long search and research, and I have stumbled a lot. In my case, what has been most difficult, has been the most rewarding. I was obsessed with it and once I got it, I felt a deep joy. A portrait session is both an individual and a team effort. I am proud and thankful for that!
I have known Lisa and her family since she was 7 or 8 years old. I’ve always liked her personality and, even though we didn’t hang out that much over the years, we’ve never lost sight of each other. I was pleased to discover that she was expecting a baby and, when she asked me to take her maternity photo shoot, as she “felt comfortable with me”, I had one of those happy moments! One piece of information you might need to know about Lisa is that she has clear idea and she comes straight to the point: she is aware of her expectations and says it to your face. I had ideas on how to organise the shoot, she had some too, but apart from an initial disagreement about removing her glasses (I said to her: “You have beautiful eyes, show them!”), everything went smoothly. Lisa, you are blessed: your family is so loving and tight, Mirko adores you and thank God, we had beautiful summer weather that night! I can’t wait to meet your little prince Edoardo!!
If you talk about one-offs, Simon comes to my mind. He is an inspiring young man, intuitive, intelligent, pro-active and…self-confident! We share a love for photography and it makes good to have a chat with him. As we had planned to meet, I seized the opportunity to try my newest Ebay impulsive purchase 🙈: a Canon Eos 5d Mark II (a real cool camera dated 2008!) as he was my guinea pig model, and I am grateful to him for that! We had a walk in one of my favourites Edinburgh spots, The Hermitage of Braid, the weather was not promising and I took a very few shots but I am pleased with the outcome!
Krithi graduated on time and with honours in Interior Design. She took her duty as a student seriously, kudos to her! It was a pleasure to take her graduation portraits and to see the satisfaction of her family. Besides being brilliant in completing her studies, Krithi is also beautiful: she was stunning in her robe and don’t you think that she could be a model or one of the Bridgerton’s actresses? Would you say that she did the make-up by herself?! Congratulations, young lady, and thank you for trusting me as a photographer (it wasn’t easy to work for you!!). Blessing for both your professional and personal plans!
In a summer that is hardly ending, a pillar of our family left us last month, my aunt Angela. She was a woman full of integrity, gifted by an upright and trustworthy personality. Her long, quite often challenging, existence was not about her: she devoted it to her family and her work. She was one of the most self-sacrificing persons I have ever met. She was genuine to her core, a silent giver, resilient and courageous. The fond memories I will keep of her are her vital energy, her laboriousness, her warm hospitality, her culinary skills, her gusto for telling facts and describing people. She played a key role in our family and was respected in her community. She was unwavering in leading a generous life, and her love has strengthened us in ways that are more powerful than we can imagine. We all have learnt something from her.
“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” – John 16:22
Federico is my second cousin and, although we don’t see each other often, when we do, it’s a real pleasure! He and his beautiful wife Elisa share a deep passion for rock music and are profound and interesting people, and the same goes for their two kids who, besides being extremely polite, are clever, sensitive and artsy: I can tell that a vein of genius runs in this family! Also, they are both fond and proud of their parents.
We met in Marore on a Sunday morning and the spring weather was acting crazy: from bad to good and back again in the space of a short time. I placed them in the shade and focused on the composition. I am pleased with these results and I find that the white sheet was not bad idea at all, especially on the edited in black and white! Last point, their dog Perla turned out to be a rebel super star: not only did she not obey anyone’s commands but she was also extremely photogenic!
I have taken photos of this family since their wedding day (even though I wasn’t their official photographer!) and portraits of Arianna since she was in Diletta’s belly 🥰 I have known Diletta since we were kids (we went to the same church and were in class together in the high school) so when she started dating Davide, he too officially became part of our long-time-friends group. Said that, I find that shooting with friends is even more difficult as you are personally connected with them and don’t want to disappoint them, you want to be fun! The bright side is that they trust you and are comfortable with you and, based on my experience, people look GREAT when they feel GOOD in front of the camera! On this occasion my goal was to focus on the composition during the shooting and on the layout in the editing phase. We got a nice spot in an urban area, the good light and we even managed to have a few shots in front of the white sheet that was hanging from the tree 😆
When I think my life is busy these days, I forget to imagine what it would be like if I had a child! Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking some shots of Ludovica’s kiddo, who is a bright, cheeky and wonderful, little “earthquake”. He definitively had a blast in his natural environment, the garden, under the protective eyes of his momma! It seemed to me that he would never run out of his energy 🙂 The time flew by in a pleasant way: it was great to see the strong bond between the little one and his super momma and it was almost sad for me, at the end of the afternoon, to carry back to my car the photo equipment! Enjoy these shots!
I would define film photography as grainy and raw. Some of Yasaman and Giacomo’s photos taste old and new at the same time. Anyway, the golden hour light of that day was breath-taking! I am overall pleased with these results, considering that it was my 1st experiment with the eos 850. Enjoy!
A couple of weekends ago, I had the real pleasure to take some portraits of this gorgeous newlywed couple. Yasaman is Iranian whilst Giacomo is from Parma: granted to say, they are both beautiful! Working with them, at one point, I had the feeling that I was photographing two professional models😚 Their love is genuine and well-grounded. I wish them both that their bound can grow more and more and strengthen them! Enjoy their JOY!
We met 1 hour and a half before sunset in a urban area in Parma and took advantage of a stunning golden hour light. I am now becoming increasingly confident with my R6 Mark II, even though I did not renounce to try a new acquisition, a Canon EOS 850 film camera, hence 2 different photographic moments within the same shooting session.
During the last week-end I took some portraits of my dear friend Laura and her beautiful toddler Ludovica in a field in Marore. As the light was intense, we shot in the shade. Having worked with the new Canon R6 Mark II a very few times (this was actually the 1st time I used it outdoors), I was not super confident and this was actually a test session for me. Anyway, I am impressed by the capabilities and potential of this mirrorless camera! I like these shots because they are candid, spontaneous and neat. A tenderness, a tranquillity and a sense of ‘discovery’ emerge from them. Ludovica is an independent, silent and keen observer and is very attached to her great momma!
I don’t celebrate many anniversaries but I decided that this one was worth not ending up under the door! Yes, I entered the world of photography 15 years ago! I also wanted to share some photos of my first real camera, a Lumix…I still have its battery!
f I had to describe myself with positive adjectives, I would pick: artistic, dreamer, idealist, open minded, communicative, relational, socially aware, cooperative, genuine, reserved. Now I can confirm that “artistic, communicative and relational” have been substantially enforced thanks to my photographic adventure.
Quite often big things start small, in a quiet, unplanned way and this was my case…Photography was and is a journey. When I started in early May 2009, I was taking architecture and street photography snapshots during my spare time. I was unstructured and NAIVE but I still believe that being naive to high possibility of failure is what pushed me forward. Honestly, I feel more nervous and fearful before portrait sessions now than I was years ago! I did not stick with a plan nor did I had a vision. I did not hope for success and I never imagined that I might be THAT successful one day. However, I was dreaming of producing pictures that gave me goosebumps. Photography was a pastime that became an increasingly valuable hobby. It made me feel less lonely and more fulfilled. It pulled out of me an acting capacity. It contributed to reinforce my self-confidence and it allowed me to open up more and to discover a RADIANT side I was unaware of. It is a platform that still CONNECTS me with other people.
It took me TIME to realise that what fired me up most are people, especially family dynamics. Even though it has never been a profession for me and I doubt that it will ever become one day as, from my character point of view, I have always felt the need of financial certainty and economic cornerstones that a freelance activity would not give me, this activity takes a big part of my heart and makes me thrive as I feel myself fully into it.
Photography taught me:
1. To overcome the fear of making mistakes and to learn by experience. I took a photography course in 2010 and, since then, I have exchanged with many photographers, but I don’t hold a photography degree. I learnt more and way faster “on the field” trying and making mistakes, especially by shooting manually. Photographers are the ones who do the work and shoot manually…. not the camera.
2. Quality wins. It is priceless to give someone beautiful images that they will cherish for a lifetime.
3. As photographers, we will use our personality to SERVE clients. I have received a lot of appreciation, affection, good marketing 🤗 from people I have been working with in the past 15 years, but I have also GIVEN them a lot in terms of time, commitment, vision, adaptability, understanding their needs, putting them as 1st during the shoot, willingness to improve.
4. THRIVING in what you do is a game changer. Hey, there must be joy and a funny factor! It is not only a question of delivering good pictures, it is the whole experience that matters and the positive impact and connection you can establish with people!
5. Last but not least, DEDICATION is prized…always!
At around 4:30 pm of the 13th of April 2022 you left us, Dad. Friends and people who knew you, when they were informed about your death, were in shock. I clearly remember the dates related to the last vortex of your earthly journey. 30th of January, we got the diagnosis which left us no hope and our world shuttered. 15th of February, the results of the gastroscopy confirmed the gravity of the cancer. 11th of March, you caught Covid and this did not allow you to start the medical treatment. 30th of March, you were taken into the hospital. I flew from Edinburgh on the 8th of April and I saw you on the 10th and the 12th (at that time, the Covid’s protocol in Italy allowed only one member of the family at a time, one hour per day). I remember your expression when I popped into your room, you repeatedly said : “What a lovely surprise!”
I don’t have any regrets but it was SO overwhelming to see your pain and to accept that there was nothing we could do to help, apart from being there and praying. April 13th to me is a day to open up to life, to celebrate your life and to remember all the good things and moments you have experienced. You have lived, dad, and I know that you are alive even now. You are in our hearts and thoughts. You loved us, you were loved and now you are love.
The feeling of belonging and acceptance, in my original home, came from my father. From him, I felt accepted and loved in an unconditional way, without limits and, above all, without judgment. he gave me his presence and granted me a huge amount of his free time. He was a great playmate and a friendly presence throughout my childhood. Growing up, he always would be reachable to me, he would listen to me. I was always able to talk to him: we understood each other because we were tuned in to one another. Our relationship wasn’t all roses and flowers. I judged him, I saw his weaknesses, the difficulty he had in accepting himself with his problems, I criticized these. But, in the end, he was a genuine person and, I would say, intellectually honest. He always protected me. He was proud of me. And I hope that now he is praying over me. Dad, may you be content and finally free and at peace. I love you!
PS I cherish so much this drawing (isn’t it a vintage one?) dated 19/03/1993. You can bet from what side of the family my artistic vein comes from…
When I asked Olivia if she wanted me to take portraits of her using the old analog camera Nikon F801s or the fresh new digital one, she giggled and whispered: “The film camera”! This reminds me of my mum, when she would take photos of me and my brothers on film during our childhood”. Well well, Olivia is the 2nd young model (she is a Gen Z!) to prefer film images, as I had the same response by Anagha a few weeks earlier (and she is the same age of Olivia). They must be both fun of soft images and of the film grain 🙂
We found some spots in the back garden and, under a grayish sky with a chilly air, we managed to work together and to laugh! Olivia is a pleasure to work with and her “joie de vivre” is bouncing out from some of the pictures, I find. We also got the help of an unsuspected photo assistant (my landlord Ian!). What more could we possibly need?!
Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer 