october – Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer

I took some shots of Matilde in October 2011. At that time she was 15 years old (not far from turning 16). When you are at that age, your life is busy: there’s school, there are friends (of all types!), sport activities, your mobile is always in your hands and you can be grumpy, especially with your parents and siblings.

I was a teenager a long time ago but I still remember feeling neither one thing nor the other. Everything seemed complicated. Adolescence is a strange, delicate turning point. Childhood is behind you but the future is ahead of you and you don’t know where you belong. Dualism is extremely accentuated and is a typical trait of this phase of life: on one hand, you are carefree but, on the other, you need to be serious. You are too young to be involved in certain things but too grown up for others.

Matilde has always looked more grown up that she actually was. She has always been responsible, sharp and with clarity in mind. I was very happy to spend an hour with her and her auntie!

Below, my favourite!

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!