Valeria Tofanelli profiled for #SheShootsNoir, by Susana Soler
Tell us about yourself, how long have you been photographing, and how did you get started with street photography?
I was born and still live in Rome, which is also the main stage of my photos. I approached street photography about three years ago, more or less when I started my professional experience to become a lawyer. At that time I began to feel the need to escape from daily routine and to have something personal that could allow me to express myself freely. So I started taking photos, and while shooting I discovered a real passion. All the rest continued naturally. Actually, street photography to me represents a way to freely interpret the reality that surrounds me.
You mentioned Rome as the main stage of your photos, can you tell us how your location impacts your photography? Do you find the light there an advantage or a hindrance?
I think my location has an important impact on my photography. The aim of my photographic research is to propose a personal vision of the reality I live in.
I often want my photos to leave some pending points and not completely reveal the scene, allowing the spectator to imagine a possible story. For this reason, I often use light to hide parts of the frame, and to create a narration through interaction between people, shadows, and silhouettes.
Rome offers me the opportunity to develop this kind of approach, being a very bright city. I usually prefer to shoot with the afternoon light to take advantage of the depth of the shadows. At some moments of the day, like in the morning, the intensity of light might seem a hindrance, but I think it is possible to handle it by exploiting its positive aspects, such as the high contrasts of colours and shadows make people stand out—their gestures, their expressions.
Shadows and silhouettes in complex composition show up in a lot of your frames, is this what you are naturally drawn to shoot, or do you pick these afterward when editing?
I am naturally drawn to the light and the strong contrast that it creates. I can use the light to design my photo, and develop an intuition. Sometimes, I look for scenarios with intense cuts of light with alternating shadows. Once found, I ideally preconceive the image, decide what to include and what to exclude from the frame, and then I wait for protagonists to enter the scene. This is for me the most interesting moment, because the unpredictability of this kind of photography often does not allow you to know what will happen. Something unrepeatable might happen, or anything interesting. As you said, I usually look for multiple elements in the frame, trying to relate them to create a narrative also different than the real one. Shadows and silhouettes help me to make this possible—not to completely reveal the scene, giving a more subjective interpretation. During the editing, I pick up the photo that best expresses what I wanted to represent. This approach is not the only one I apply, but it is definitely prevalent when I decide to work with light.
Who are your influences? Is there a photographer that you especially admire?
Ever since I started dedicating myself to street photography, I have appreciated the work of many photographers. At first, I was fascinated by William Klein, in particular by his ability to be inside the scene, and so I started to follow that kind of approach. Later, when I decided to deepen the colour study, I really appreciated Saul Leiter, Harry Gruyaert, and Alex Webb, but I could continue with a long list of names.
I also think that the current international collectives, in particular, In-Public, are an important landmark. I love the works of Narelle Autio in Australia for the peculiarity of the environment and for the poetry I perceive in her shots. I am also deeply fascinated by the incredible insights of Matt Stuart and Tavepong Pratoomwong.
As you can see, I do not feel that there is one photographer in particular that I especially admire. The street photography scene is really full of talented photographers from whom to draw inspiration!
All your work has a strong sense of colour and contrast. Why colour and not black and white?
At first, I chose black and white and still today I admire many monochromatic works, especially of Japanese photographers. However, nowadays I just do not feel black and white as something of mine, but of course, I don’t rule out that I may practice it again in the future.
When I realized I was fascinated by colour, I studied it and I understood that its visual and psychological strength is so strong that the colour itself can be the main subject of a photo, and can fully express the photographer’s vision. I think of a phrase by Franco Fontana, who says that “Colour can make visible what was previously invisible and give it a sense”.
In my case, I decided to use colour to strengthen the sense of my photos, and to convey the feelings and energy I perceive at the moment I shoot. Colours are the measure and the expression of my involvement in the scene and for that, I cannot ignore them. If I see interesting colours, I can abstract them of context, and use them to convey my personal interpretation of reality. Or I can enhance contrasts between multiple colours and emphasize subjects in the scene.
For all these reasons, I can really feel satisfied with a picture when there is the right balance between light, colour, composition, and narrative.
Do you think being a woman affects your photography?
This is a question I have been asked several times, but I still do not know if I’m able to answer.
Probably women have a different sensibility than men, but not for the better. It’s just different. To be honest, I do not know if looking at my photos it is possible to understand that behind is the eye of a woman, but from a practical point of view, I can say that I find it easier to approach people than male peers.
For the rest, I believe that to have good results in this kind of photography it is necessary to have passion, imagination, curiosity, and patience, which can be present in both men and women.
Valeria Tofanelli | Website | Instagram |
Guest interviewer Susana Soler