Interview: Photographer Giovanni Perfetti (Italy)

Modellenland

21 mei 2023

Can you tell us a little about you?

I was born in Cosenza, in the deep south of Italy.

At the age of twenty I moved to the city of Bologna start my studies in Medicine and Surgery at the University.

In Bologna I also started my job as a professional photographer in the fashion field, and then I extended it to the advertising one.

How and when did you get into photography?

Since I was a child, I think around nine or ten years old, I used to stole my mother’s little Bencini Comet S to take a picture on anything I saw.

Since then, I never moved away from photography, first analog then digital, wherever I went, my shooting camera was always with me.

What does photography mean to you?

Photography allow you to stop time. Although today it is a instantaneous and ephemeral form of expression, especially after the advent of social networks, I think the greatest emotion is always that of finding an old picture in a drawer.

That brings us back to reliving a memory and savoring our distant emotions.

Of course, in my job it becomes an element of expression, a language in which we address the observer.

Please briefly describe your photography style for our readers.

My style is very classic. Surely my photographs were initially inspired by the great Master Helmut Newton.

However, sometimes I experiment and encroach in Pop Art or conceptual photography. I like mixing different forms of expression and canalize them into fashion photography.

Would you consider yourself a hobbyist or a paid professional?

As I was saying before, I am a professional photographer. I collaborate with various advertising agencies and mainly work for companies.

Where do you get inspiration from?

Well, I get it from everything and nothing.

It could be a dream that i had at night, o a movie, or a walk on the seaside.

I never know when inspiration comes.

We are all subject to external influences, our unconscious processes them and sometimes a kind of magic happens, and the great idea arrives.

I think we need to be good observers of the reality that surrounds us in order to take a photo that arouses emotions.

Do you think in advance what you want in the picture?

In my job absolutely I do. It could even take some months of work to realize some ideas.

Sometimes I happened to having to paint objects for photo sets, or spend hours at the PC to find something that was absolutely necessary for the photo. The fashion photo must be perfect, with some exceptions. Nothing can be left to chance. Of course this is just my opinion.

Studio, on location or both?

Both of them! They are very different approaches. In the studio the photo is more reflective, the times are more dilated.

In location, there are many variables to take into account, and the role of other professional figures who work alongside the photographer is more invasive. You have to learn to coordinate everyone's work on set.

The photo in location is certainly more chaotic, but also interesting.

What has been your most memorable session and why?

Definitely, it was the work commissioned by the Paolini Archive. Together with many models, curator Elena Paolini photographed jewels made by her father, a famous sculptor.

The locations were set in several Italian museums, including the Macro Museum in Rome, the Fortuny in Venice, the Mart in Rovereto, and others.

That task took six months to be accomplished, but it led to achieve a book/catalogue that was presented by the well-known Sotheby's auction house in Milan.

Nikon or Canon? Favorite lens?

I use many cameras for analog photography such as Hasselblad, Nikon, Olympus, Polaroid, but for my work, which is made up almost exclusively in digital, I never apart from my Nikon Z7.

My favorite lens is a Leica Summicron R 50mm f2, which I have personally adapted for being used on Nikon cameras.

What is one piece of advice you would like to offer a new photographer looking to start their own business?

My advice is to believe in it and move forward trying to be stronger than all problems that may arise.

It is a difficult world of work, where competition is fierce. You have to be brave to carry on your own ideas, especially on an artistic level.

What do you think of our new magazine?

I recently found out about your magazine. It was a pleasant surprise. There are lots of interesting and innovative ideas.

I think giving visibility to all professional figures, who revolve around the world of photography, not just photographers and models, is a gorgeous initiative.

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