It was a very warm day in late September, and the shadows created by the trees in Cittadella almost became the protagonists of this shoot. I have known Laura for many years and have worked with her on several occasions in the context of photography, always with a great deal of satisfaction. However, the results of this shoot are unique, perhaps that was due to the atmosphere or to the autumn light and colours, or maybe just because of her elegant and discreet beauty, that brought everything together and made the whole thing harmonious!
Maria Buttafoco, classe 1988, di Parma. Ci siamo incontrate tramite amiche comuni una decina d’anni fa. E’ una persona che stimo e per cui nutro un sincero affetto. Il conoscerla ha avuto un impatto sulla mia vita, in parte perché le nostre esperienze e i nostri caratteri, sotto certi punti di vista, presentano delle similitudini, in parte perché ci accomuna la passione per la fotografia intesa come strumento di scoperta e conoscenza, di noi stesse e del prossimo. E’ modesta, timida e talentuosa. Partendo dalla natura e dalla street photography si è concentrata negli ultimi anni sulla ritrattistica. I suoi scatti, delicati e raffinati, parlano di poesia e di ricerca, emanano vita e malinconia.
Mi sono permessa di porle un paio di domande sul suo approccio al mondo dell’arte e della fotografia e lei ha risposto, in modo semplice e chiaro. A noi il piacere di ascoltarla!
Come e quando ti sei avvicinata alla fotografia?
Idealmente mi sono avvicinata alla fotografia da bambina, praticamente, attraverso la macchina fotografica, poco più di dieci anni fa; regalai una compatta a mio fratello che però portavo sempre con me, fotografando di tutto fino a renderla una mia estensione
– Cosa ti trasmette la fotografia? Perché ti piace fotografare?
Il mio lessico non è abbastanza vasto e profondo per potere rispondere a questa domanda. Un sentore di pienezza e di nostalgia.
– Quali soggetti preferisci?
Preferisco soggetti come le giovani donne, con un’estetica particolare e straordinaria, al contempo mi piacciono le persone anziane, moltissimo; mi interessa l’idea di poter raccontare una storia attraverso la fotografia e loro ne hanno molte da raccontare, subisco il fascino della loro cultura intesa come tradizione e tempo.
– Come fai per approcciarti ai soggetti che fotografi?
Approcciare il soggetto per me non è semplice, sia per carattere che per logistica, è qualcosa a cui sto lavorando tanto.
– Colori oppure Bianco & Nero: quale preferisci? O dipende dai soggetti e dalle circostanze?
Colori e bianco e nero. Per me dipende dall’ideale che porto con me quando scatto e dal taglio che vorrei dare all’immagine.
– Quanto tempo passi in post-produzione? E’ una parte molto importante per te del lavoro?
Passo molto tempo in post-produzione, non per una questione di sviluppo tecnico, ma, soprattutto quando si tratta di una foto a colori, per riprodurre i miei sentimenti attraverso tonalità che la rendano più vicina al mio immaginario.
– Guardando il tuo portfolio, mi colpiscono la delicatezza e il gusto che hai nel cogliere la natura e le persone…Chi o cosa ti ispira? Ti prepari prima di uno shoot?
Ti ringrazio di cuore per le tue parole.Sono felice che tu abbia colto una delicatezza che desidero tanto rappresentare quanto provare; delicatezza, gentilezza, verità e quotidiano sono alla radice della mia ispirazione. Solitamente mi preparo prima di scattare, ma l’emotività, i desideri e la sintonia che può nascere (o no) con il soggetto sono alla base del processo creativo.
– In base alla tua esperienza e al tuo percorso, avresti un qualche consiglio da dare a chi sta iniziando a fare foto?
Il mio percorso è ancora in divenire, per cui se posso consigliare qualcosa, è qualcosa che deriva dai miei errori: non auto-sabotatevi, abbiate fiducia in voi stessi e nei vostri desideri, accogliete le critiche dosandole con giudizio. Non arretrate, guardate avanti.
Photo-shooting even when your subjects keep on smiling, but what is making them laugh?
Following the example of an artsy and caring super-Momma, these beauties are growing fast and well. They are now two sparkling teenagers: both charming and strong-minded, artistic wise, they are showing off to be talented! They are happy and Yes, they love each other! It is a pleasure for me to document their life through the different stages
I have known these little ones for a while. I met Tomomi (their lovely mum) in 2015 and took pictures to Ami. Then Emi joined the family’s crew one year later: the first time I saw her, she was only 6 days old! Tomomi and I stayed in touch and we currently enjoy meeting up for a photo- shoot 2 or 3 times a year.
On this occasion, my ambitious idea & hope was to take a couple of professional, smart portraits that might eventually bring me some recognition. But Ami and Emi’s view point was slightly different…they wanted to have fun and play around! Actually they were both excited to join us in the studio and to be the shoot’s stars. Ami, the little one, was the leader of the show and is a natural poser!! I quickly realised that, more or less, I was at their mercy.
I believe that at the end of our shoot our expectations matched. I am quite hard on the quality of my work but I really think that some of their pictures are beautiful and these little sisters are themselves and are behaving in a spontaneous way. It was brilliant to watch them playing around and being so lively.
This is the story. There is a corner of my room that receives a beautiful contrasted light during bright mornings. Interesting shadows are created here and I can admire them for hours till the sun moves away.I already wanted to take a few photos here by myself.
Then I spoke with Maria and she mentioned having recently taken pictures remotely using her mobile. So I asked her if she wished to take my portrait and we gave life to a Parma / Edinburgh FaceTime photo session! It was not meant to be a highly professional or a “serious” experience but she had clear ideas on what she wanted and directed me well. At the end we were quite impressed by some good shots that were taken. It was weird to work together at a distance but was worth it!
These pictures look like regular shots to me. I had known Francesca for a while so we met in the afternoon at the park to get some shots of her daughter Irene, who was now 18 months old and has grown up a lot in the last 6 months. She was currently deep into the “discovering” fase, running everywhere and is also starting to interact with people and to communicate in her own ways. She was intelligent, quick, and could be reasonably a bit stubborn! But her smile just melted our hearts! It was quite late when we started shooting so not so many photos taken. But from these I think you can see how expressive she was, with her enthusiasm and her lively nature. Enjoy these memories of early 2020!
This time it was my turn to be in front of the camera…Having had my hair drastically restyled (great job Immagine Hair Creative Lab!), I asked an old friend, Maria to take my photograph. IIt was important to me to mark this occasion with relaxed, natural shots which I will be able to look back on later in life and reminisce. As Maria and I have known one other for over a decade, I felt at ease standing in front of her and her camera. It felt great to be able to leave the worries of the outside world behind and just be myself. And I believe this reflects in the quality of her images.
Prior to a shoot, there is a tension dwelling inside me. I ask myself : “Will it be a good one? Will I be able to get a winning shot?”. I always have high expectations when I take the camera in my hands and start to work with somebody, even when I don’t want to admit it to myself. I feel thrilled but at the same time I am under pressure of what I call the “achievement factor”. I am really committed to be successful, to reach a satisfactory quality level and am always looking for some stunning shots from each session.
I guess this is normal, it stimulates and motivates me, pushes me to be pro-active and to develop my strenghts. However I realise that it is important to keep this winning tendency under control : all the elements have to be balanced (expectations & fears, reality vs ideas, projects vs eventual unexpected events) and I need to make the scales stable. What I find helpful, is to understand what project I am working on, who are the people I am working with and then let this process slide in the smoothest way.
I remember having a good feeling before meeting Ross & Lynsey’s family. I did not know them but wanted to give them a good impression and I really hoped they would like and trust me. The shoot had been planned a few months earlier. Heading back from a week-end trip with a friend on the west coast, we stopped in Lochgilphead and met Lynsey, Ross and their three beautiful girls : Milly, Ella and Pippa. We only had a couple of hours to spare and I wanted to make the most of it. I knew that they had a garden and it was a beautiful spring May day, sunny and warm, with a blue sky. I thought we could take the pictures outside, since the girls would have been freer and be at their ease. Once I got to know them, after a chat and a drink of coffee, my hopes and expectations came to reality. They were welcoming, uncomplicated and genuine people. The two older girls (the little one was 7 months old at that time) were well behaved, respectful, lively and spontaneous in their enthusiasm. They were excited about the idea that somebody would “officially” take their portraits. I felt like a truly “important” person, having the role of being their photographer. I asked the girls to pose for a couple of shots but most of the time I was following them, the camera in my hands, while they were having fun and playing with each other.
After editing the photos throughout the following days, I saw my work through different eyes. Instinctively there were some photos that captured my attention, they looked really alive, natural and unplanned and I saw the girls characters shine through. Two photos were accepted for publication on PhotoVogue’s website and when this happens, to me it feels like winning the lottery! I recently asked Lynsey which picture from the shoot she cherished most and she chose the one below I have attached, including her message.
At the start I felt hopeful of successful images, together with some tension. At the end, and this happens to me all the time, I experienced a beautiful and peaceful sense of accomplishment. And then I can tell myself : “It’s done, chapter closed. The people you have worked with and for, are happy. You handled it pretty well. Hopefully there will be an other shoot coming soon”.
One of the things I find pretty hard to compose…well, it is a group portrait. The ideal shoot for me is with one or two subjects. Working with three or more people, this is a real challenge!
Based on my personal experience, creating a balanced, harmonic composition is not easy for the photographer for the following reasons :
– you need to be patient and focused and have an idea of what you want from the subjects ;
– you need to be pro-active and explain what you want them to do (even if it is so much easier to leave the subjects free) ;
– you need to give a structure to the photo by creating a line of attention where the viewers will easily focus on the group, avoiding the sensation of chaos or emptiness ;
– always double check the colors of the clothes (you do not want a clash, if you are looking for something classic) ;
– when working with children, it may be appropriate to have a recurrent theme or a repetitive element ;
– when working with professional models, they may have a different opinion on the format from the photographer so mediation may be necessary ;
Just to make a few comments on my picture (it was taken in Parma, in the studio, in 2017) : the girls were super pretty and also quite cooperative during the session and the black background was a great choice to emphatise the faces and the white dresses BUT…
– there is a strong contrast between the vertical and horizontal line ;
– the youngest one is not looking straight into the camera.
On hindsight I would have tried to avoid these two criticisms but…if I don’t make mistakes, I will never learn.
When I started taking portraits of adults, often I would offer two options. I would ask if they wanted to appear partially hidden such as being surrounded by leaves (if we were outdoors) or by a sheet or a curtain (if we were in a studio), or if they would prefer a close up in front of the camera.
This was rather amusing since “covering” people can be like a game and I was even more surprised that my subjects enjoyed it. This game works for both of us. People are less nervous, much more relaxed and it is much easier to get a spontaneous smile or a funny face.
This helped me better understand that the photographer must have a clear idea of the type of portrait he or she wants but not to forget to play and keep the person comfortable. Every interaction is unique and every subject deserves to have a relaxed session.
I wonder from where other people take their inspiration. For me inspiration comes from a reaction in my mind and is something more visual. Such a reaction is created from studying other people’s work.
I am inspired by :
– listening to photographer’s tips and interviews ;
– focusing on certain kind of colors ;
– looking at images ;
– walking in the nature or when lying in bed ;
– the solitude through the night.
The following photographers have had a huge impact on my hobby: Robert Doisneau, Martine Franck, William Eugene Smith; Jacques Lowe, William Klein, Eudora Welty, Walker Evans, Letizia Battaglia, Jane Brown, Horst P. Horst, Arthur Tress, Francesca Woodman, Oliviero Toscani, Ferdinando Scianna, Vaughn Sills, Hans-Peter Feldmann
I remember clearly the morning when I met Elisa for a coffee at Cappelli and she told me that she was expecting for the second time. There was also Mattia with us, her eldest son. On this occasion I saw a beautiful sparkle in Elisa’s eyes, she was radiant! Little Leonardo (Leo!) was in a hurry so he was born a month early, but this did not create a flaw, as he was just perfect and very much loved by his parents and a proud big brother!
I was delighted to have Elisa and the kids in the studio for a quick Welcome session to little Leo, who was, more or less, cooperative! Enjoy these beautiful memories!
“If we wandered around this world with the typical carelessness of a child who falls asleep in the middle of a crowd, this society would not even be able to worry us: no more than it would be able to affect the long and deep breathing of the child who is sleeping”- Christian Bobin
It is always great to have clients return for yet another shoot. I photographed several times Caterina & her beautiful duo over the years. This time they came to the studio where we used indoor lighting and a white backdrop to capture the beauty of her family. Not everyone was too keen on the shoot initially, but as we continued, they were won over and the fun started! Thank you lovely Olivieri fam for your continual support. May we keep on doing this for many years to come. I am looking forward to our next time together!
In April 2019, I posed in front of the camera of a my friend and talented photographer, Michele Galloni in his studio. Back then, the most challenging and tumultuous time of my life had begun. Looking at these images now, these shots make me smile, as I relive my unawareness and somewhat naivety. Thank you, Michele, for these memories and long live to photography as a medium that won’t let us forget what we have been going though and achieved!
What a privilege it was to spend a beautiful Spring afternoon with Tomomi’s family. Purity, love and bundles of joy! We gathered in Parco Ferrari, a true institution of our neighborhood! The girls looked so happy playing together in their kimonos, and I could see that they all were going to have lots of fun together! Enjoy these photo-memories. Blessings!
The photo below is one of my all-times favorites, I really cherish it! I asked Ami, the elder, to hug her sister and the resulting portrait was quite natural. In the eyes I can see the naïveté of childhood, a sense of tranquillity and trust in her sister. This picture captures a sweet moment and freezes one fragment of time:
Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer 