Tell us about your story and artistic background
I grew up in a family in which art was everywhere. My great grandpa was a doctor but also a great painter. My grandma started painting very young and was incredibly talented. My grandpa loved to paint and my mom, even though she was a lawyer, loved to sculpt. So I grew up loving these artistic disciplines even though I had so much pressure to work in a legal office.
During my childhood I used to draw and paint every single day while staying at my great grandparents house. Once I turned 14 years old I started film photography at school and I fell in love with it. After a time away from art, I decided to return to my true nature and resume my passion for photography, first as a surf photographer, and later specializing in fashion.
How did you decide to become a photographer?
After trying different jobs in the legal field (as my parents wanted), I decided to quit and re-undertake my true vocation. I enrolled in a photography school and decided to work every day on what I was really passionate about. Now, I work and live from what I am passionate about. Wasn’t the easiest way but was the way I wanted to take.
Was there an event or specific work of yours that made your career turn around?
There wasn’t a specific job which my career turned around. The truth is that I’ve been doing everything step by step, but I can’t be more grateful to my first clients. I worked for an International Fashion Brand who gave me the chance to travel abroad, shoot in other countries and learn a lot in a short period of time. When working with big teams you always learn a lot (also from errors)
Did you have a mentor?
I have had many teachers but no mentors. In each period of my career I have been able to learn something from other professionals who have taught and inspired me, but there is also a part of self-learning.
What are your main artistic and creative inspirations?
At the beginning I was inspired by other photographers; that was frustrating.
I’ve learned that being inspired by other photographers was no good for me nor my work. At the end you want to try to take similar pictures (their style) and you don’t develop your own style.
Actually I always try to get inspired by other artistic disciplines: poetry, movies, music, feelings, etc…and try to start my moodboard from zero and listen to the rest of my team.
Top 3 photographers you would love to collaborate with
Benny Horne, Txema Yeste and Cameron Hammond
What inspires your work? Is there a message behind your creations?
There is always a positive or awareness-raising behind my creations. I want to contribute to change the world a little bit with my work. It may seem somewhat pedantic, but I feel I should do that in every work I do (even with my clients)…to make a better world. I always try to work with slow fashion, eco, fair-trade, sustainable … brands, or work in a way that I can send a positive message to other people.
What would you change in the fashion/artistic scene today?
So many things. The first thing I’d do is to change the fast-fashion industry into a more conscious fashion, connected to nature, to human values and to real life.
I’d like to make big changes in social media also. Social Media has contributed to reach more people from all over the world and to share work from other photographers and artists, but at same time has turned the world into a place of envy, low self-esteem, communication problems and even decline of democracies. This really worries me.
What is the moment you are the most proud of in your career and why?
I have a special connection to all my works because I’ve learned something In each of them but probably I’m proud of what I’ve learned from my errors. Sounds weird, right? LoL.
I was working for a production company during that time.
I had to shoot in few days some covers for big mags like Men’s Health, Shape Magazine, etc…and suddenly, they asked me to shoot an ELLE cover story in just 24 hours because the photographer they had for that job had an accident and they had the model there and some of the production team. They asked me if I could do it as a big favour, that seemed to me a great opportunity.
We had no help from the previous team, no clothes, no brands, no assistants, nothing. I tried my best to search for a new team, to find a location, to manage every single detail from the shooting in just 24 hours. The next day we were shooting the cover at 7am, unfortunately we were not able to get the necessary luxury brands for that shooting, so the pictures weren’t published.
At the beginning I was disappointed, frustrated and felt sad, but after that I thought about that experience and felt empowered because I did my best even though we couldn’t publish them at that time. But the Most important thing I learned that day is to say “NO” to some works, even if they seem like great opportunities (they are not). In photography and in any other disciplines you must remain firm in your values and your way of working.
