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Photographer: Matteo Sgaravato
Can you tell us a little about you? I am 57 years old and I live in Verona (Italy). I s tarted with photography when I still was rather young , following in the footstep s of my parents who were both industrial photograph ers; in 1985, when I was twenty, I opened my first company dealing with photography and corporate identity. Thereafter, I continued to be involved in the world of photography while also expanding my business in to the communication and marketing world. Today, I am main ly involved with marketing , neuroscience and commun i-cation with several companies active in these field s, supported by a team of people. Photography is th e com-mon denominator of all my activities, although toda y I have delegated it to some of my staff. Nevertheless, over all these years, I have never ce ased researching and experimenting , dedicating reso urces and time to create photographic projects that narrate m y vision of the female universe.
How and when did you get into photography? I took up photography when I was 14 to help my par ents in their business and I never let it go. I grew up in this f ield and took photographs of ever y thing , including reportage, industrial, architecture and advertising photograph y; I have held exhibitions and published books, and my pho-tos have been published in dozens of international and Italian magazines.
What does it mean to you? It is the tool I use to cr ystallize an emotion, a moment. It is technique combined with instinct and this allows me to narrate and sha re details that other wise would often not be captur ed.
Please briefly describe your photography style for our readers. My style focuses on what is essential - a routine subject set in a contex t as aseptic as possible. Fo r this reason, I prefer black backgrounds, ver y ang led direct light and ver y little post-production because I hav e learnt that photos first are taken and not proces sed later. There is space to tell the stor y of emotions, space for the most intimate part of ever yone who decides to stand in front of my camera and immerse themselves in my way of taking photographs.
Where do you get inspiration? Inspiration comes from my experience, from the peo ple I meet, the stimuli I collect ever y day, and the desire to discover, through the camera, the most hidden part of ever y subject I enc ounter.
Do you think in advance what you want in the pictur e? I do make plans, yet I also let the instinct of th e moment guide me - because this is the only way I have the freedom to grasp what the people in front of the ca mera are able to convey and want to share.
Studio, on location or both? As I said, I study and think about what I want to achieve but the fundamental part is knowing how to grasp what comes to you suddenly - a particular light, a smile, a color, a gesture...
Would you consider yourself a hobbyist or a paid pr ofessional? Photography is currently not my main activity but is unquestionably a great source of creativity. My shots have no commercial objective and hence the so le purpose of creating and arousing emotions... I don't know i f this makes me a professional.
What was your most memorable session and why? Actually it was not so much a session but meeting a person whose amazing sensitivity managed to grasp what I h ad inside me, absorbed it and then gave it back to me with the emotions in the photos I took of him.
Nikon or Canon? Favorite lens? I started with Nikon. Today, I only use Canon and my favorite lenses are an 85mm / 1.4 and a 100 mm macro.
What is one piece of advice you would like to offer a new photographer looking to start their own busi ness? Times have undoubtedly changed a great deal today c ompared to when I started taking photographs myself - but I think that dedication, imagination, curiosity and t he right passion are still vital aspects if we are to create images that have both commercial value and the right creat ive content. w w w.advenam.com