friends – Page 2 – Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer

Laura & Filippo [Parma, 2014]

7 May 202425 June 2024Posted in CouplesTagged 2014, Couples, digital photography, friends, love, nikon, parmaLeave a comment

In the past, I used to ask myself: “What do I do if it rains?!” (yikes, this was a moment of brief panic!). Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like rain and, even now, on rare occasions I will be shooting under a grim weather. However, the take-away from this post is that…rain doesn’t mean you cannot capture beautiful portraits! Sometimes an overcast sky will allow bright colors and tones to emerge, in the subjects and in their surrounding environment…You just have to push the creativity button!

Shooting Laura and Filippo is always a pleasure, they are high school sweethearts who are still in love one with an other. They have different personalities that blend well and manage to have fun together! Communication works perfectly between them, on all levels, and you can see this from their photos 🙂

Family shoot [Casalbaroncolo, 2014]

1 May 202425 June 2024Posted in Kids & familiesTagged 2014, casalbaroncolo, children, family, friends, grandparents, nikonLeave a comment

My first shoot of 2014 shows a family that I love! Even though we are not blood related, I consider them as part of my family. Chiara and Pietro, I have “known” them since they were in the belly of their mum, yes, they are our neighbors! Throughout the years I have also met more times Lisa and Margherita, their first cousins who live just out of Parma. We met at their grandparents house and they posed for me.

In case you wonder whether they are twins, they are not: they were born 3 months apart!

Don’t ask my why this happened…

Elena seen by Mohammad Sadat Larijany [Hamburg, 2013]

26 April 20243 August 2025Posted in portraitureTagged 2013, digital photography, friends, hamburgLeave a comment

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!

Week-end in Hamburg [2013]

25 April 202425 June 2024Posted in Travels and landscapesTagged 2013, digital photography, friends, germany, hamburg, travelsLeave a comment

Hamburg is…echt toll! Unfortunately, my German knowledge did not evolve far enough to enable me to write the rest of this article fluently auf Deutsch 😚 This city is so elegant, open to the world, rich, sophisticated and full of art. Heading back, even for just a week-end, is always a pleasure for me, especially after I was an Au Pair there in 2009. Enjoy these snapshots dated late September 2013.

Alessandra e Lorenzo [Sabbioneta, 2013]

4 April 202425 June 2024Posted in CouplesTagged 2013, friends, italy, weddingLeave a comment

Alessandra and Lorenzo tied the knot in June 2013. I was not the official photographer and this allowed me to combine the useful with the enjoyable, stress-free! I have known Alessandra since she was a toddler, as our parents were friends and we took several holidays together. On their big day all worked well: it was sunny but not too hot, Alessandra was simply breathtaking in her gown (future brides, she chose it at the Atelier Emé in Mantua!), the flowers and the decorations plus, there was an extra surprise at the church entrance (with an unexpected bride)! The choir in the church, the venue with its fancy restaurant.…It was indeed a day of love and friendship. Alessandra & Lorenzo, re-enjoy your photo memories!

25/04/2013

27 March 2024Posted in Personal & othersTagged 25 aprile 2013, canon, friends, torrechiaraLeave a comment

It was a 25 April spent in companionship: we went to Thule and Dario’s house, in a hamlet in the hills above Torrechiara. A walk in the midst of nature and to finish, some music (with pictures)!

Portraits serie in the living room [Hamburg, 2012]

28 January 202426 June 2024Posted in Personal & others, portraitureTagged 2012, friends, hamburg, personal, photography portraitureLeave a comment

In October 2012 I flew to Hamburg to catch up with friends. This was also an occasion to spend some time with the family I had been Au Pair girl. The father of the little one shares a passion for photography and he created his own little studio in the living room (a principle which I cherish and is one of my plans in a near future). He offered to take some portraits of me. Find below the results, yes, it went a bit crazy with the very wide angle lens!

Family shots [Torrechiara, 2012]

26 January 202426 June 2024Posted in Kids & familiesTagged digital photography, family love, friends, germany, italy, september 2012Leave a comment

I took care of this little girl in 2009 when she was not even 2 years old. She was tiny but proudly independent and such an inquisitive observer. She is now a tall, beautiful teenager. This was my first and only experience as Au Pair girl in Germany and definitely it was a positive one. I had never taken care before of babies or toddlers and, of course, it was engaging but also extremely rewarding by being allowed to admire her day to day progress. We shared a compulsive passion for drawing and I havr to thank her for bearing with me through my basic German language! We stayed in touch and they came to visit me in Parma in 2012, when I took the following shots of them.

Guess who rules the roost!

Ferragosto 2012 [Liguria]

29 December 202324 November 2025Posted in Personal & othersTagged august 2012, daily, friends, getaway, liguria, sea, tripLeave a comment

I didn’t keep the RAW negatives of these photos (silly me!) with the result that I cannot bring back the color. And it was a beautiful August day, a sunny bank holidays! I enjoyed the company of a group of friends, for a daily trip to the Liguria’s coast. Happy memories!

What is the piggy for?😅

The girls!

Back to Casalbaroncolo [2012]

21 December 20236 July 2024Posted in Personal & othersTagged august 2012, casalbaroncolo, digital, friends, kids, photographic blogLeave a comment

I love Casalbaroncolo, as I love summer. I often pair these two elements in my head. That afternoon of the 3rd of August 2012 was definitely busy, in the sense that “the whole world” seemed to be in Casalbaroncolo! There was me, the twins Cristina & Mara, their 4 kids (of them, Pietro [son of Cristina] and Margherita [daughter of Mara] also looked like twins!), there was Chiara, Lisa with 3 friends, 2 cousins of Lisa & Margherita, the dogs, and…there were the horses! Enjoy these mixed memories 🙂

Angela & Mikaël [Paris, 2012]

16 December 20236 July 2024Posted in CouplesTagged 2012, angela, beauty, couple shoot, france, friends, june, love, Mikaël, paris, passion for life, summerLeave a comment

I don’t really have a lot to say about this shoot, as I can sum it up in one sentence: I loved EVERY SINGLE THING OF IT! I loved them, their love, their passion for life, artistic side, the details at their flat, I loved Paris, the weather of that day, that summer season…There’s just one question I don’t have an answer to, when I look at their shots, will I also experience such passion? Enjoy this loving and lovely memory!

Katell [Paris, 2012]

9 December 20236 July 2024Posted in portraitureTagged 2012, adults portraiture, canon, digital photography, friends, katell, parisLeave a comment

I met Katell in 2010, whilst doing an internship in Paris. We kept in touch since then, even although we haven’t met for several years now. I took these portraits of her in the spring of 2012. We were in a park in Paris (but I don’t remember which one!). Katell is a warm and welcoming person, open to others, with a hint of shyness so I really appreciated her willingness to pose for me as a model and a muse! What did these images reveal? Herself! : her unveiled spontaneity, her sweetness, a radiant, artistic side of her personality and… also a sensual one!

And now folks, the crazy part of the shoot…the lake with the swim fins!! She didn’t dive into it, though.

I love this one!

Berck + Étaples Military Cemetery [2012]

3 December 20236 July 2024Posted in Travels and landscapesTagged 2012, berck, canon, daily trip, digital photography, etaples, france, friends, military cemetery, pas de calaisLeave a comment

In April, on a Saturday morning, my friend Caroline drove me to Berck-sur-Mer and then to Étaples military cemetery. I left a piece of my heart on that insanely vast, light beige sanded beach. Berck is famous for its kites competition and, as there was one, I took some shots of these flying sheet 🙂 Many children had fun that day. In the afternoon, we headed to Étaples Military Cemetery. I love those commemorative places for their very simple and squared architecture. Also, I have always enjoyed history and remembering and honoring the past, and the people who fought and died for our own freedom, it is righteous.

A close-up of Caro!

Étaples cemetery

Margot & friends [Parma, 2011]

22 October 202329 September 2024Posted in Kids & familiesTagged 2011, canon, children, digital photography, friends, margot, memories, october, parmaLeave a comment

Sometimes things start one way and then the lead goes in another direction. This was the case! It had to be a “solo” portrait session that turned up into a group shooting! My idea was to take some shots of Margot (daughter of my friend Claudia), a sprint 8-year-old, sports enthusiast, in her after school, but unexpectedly a small, compact group of kids (who were on the playground) joined us! One point that fascinates me about working with kids, is that they are natural. Even when they are not laughing or playing, they usually have a catching, spontaneous expression. These images are dated 4/10/2011, it was a warmish late afternoon and the light was gorgeous. Enjoy these memories!

Bats-position, hanging upside down!

I have NO clue about how & why we skipped to this “shoes-off-show” part of the shooting! Whose idea was that?!

And to finish end, a out of focus photographer!

Laura & Filippo [Marore, 2011]

5 October 202329 September 2024Posted in Senza categoriaTagged 2011, couple shoot, digital photography, field, filippo, friends, fun, laura, love, marore, summerLeave a comment

Simple gadgets can offer satisfying results without much of an effort. In fact, it can be difficult to think of anything simpler than balloons and soap bubbles! I am very proud of these photos, taken of my friends Laura & Filippo in August 2011!! Yet the simplicity that shines through is quite disarming! A field in Marore, one summer evening, soap bubbles, balloons, a poster with LOVE cut out (one I made earlier :-). You’ll think that I am crazy…Well this was fun and I take full responsibility for them!