Learn From Experience: Marco Gianfranceschi
What are the rules of your photographic work?
My main rule is taking a simple picture but full of meaning.
The subjects are always people who live the city, places where I am. Sometimes my shoots are a manifest of protest against something. I like when I am inspired by music, I really have fun when I find comparisons between songs and pics.
Is there a particular combination of techniques and tools that you think makes the difference?
I’ve been always trying to use strong contrast to highlight the subject in order to help the observer having a better understanding of the image. I put my attention on shadows and I play with them. If I have long exposure, I improvise a tripod with things around.
Tell us about an experience that definitely changed the way you work and made you grow.
The mayor Experience that made me grow has bee. A two day workshop with Eolo Perfido. It gave me the best basics for my personal growth such as focusing on subjects and facing street photography.
Was there ever a difficult situation? How did you react? Tell us.
Once in a tube in Milan a lady wasn’t happy I took her a photograph so she made me to cancel it. I lied her because I convinced her I just have taken a proof.
How do you relate to the environment and the subjects you portray?
I try to be as much as possible neutral in relation to the environment I am in.
I also ask you to share a bonus trick among your secret techniques.
Rule of thirds is alway a good secret!
Tell us about your equipment, what kind of cameras do you shoot with?
My equipment is composed by Fuji XT30, 18mm f2.0, 35mm f1.4 and 18/55 mm f2.4 Fuji lens.
Are there any books you would recommend?
The first is Henri Cartier Bresson, Lo sguardo del secolo by Clément Chéroux. The second one is How I Take Photographs by Daido Moriyama.
What stimulates your creativity, what inspires you?
People, aspects that make them peculiar, geometrics in buildings. Modern cities can be a forge of ideas while ancient towns have always his romantic side.
Marco Gianfranceschi