We are delighted to welcome Coloratti Federico Chiesa to the X-Rite Coloratti community. Federico is an Italian photographer and retoucher. He mainly shoots advertising, but also loves street photography and fashion. Based in Rome, he usually spends a few months each year in the US.
His youth has not kept him from working with big name companies like Mercedes, Universal, TBWA, Saatchi &Saatchi, Vanity Fair, Grazia, and GQ. In addition to his creative abilities, Federico is also a great speaker and knows how to turn complex concepts into easy to understand topics.
If you Google the name Federico Chiesa, most probably you will find images taken from his personal project “Horror Vacui”, which portrays horror icons of all time as they would be at the present today: Darth Vader of Star Wars sitting in front the TV with a blanket; The Shining twins immortalized in a Kubrick movie , now old, in a supermarket corridor doing shopping with a sad trolley. From this personal project to the highest end advertising campaigns, Federico does it all.
Today he shares with us one of his latest projects, conceptualized for the cosmetic company called Bios Line for the Young & Rubicam agency, in the short interview below. Take a few moments to get to know Federico Chiesa.
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Clizia Capecchi: Ciao Federico, so let’s get started. Who are you? It’s hard to find a portrait picture of you on the Internet. Are you too tall to be captured in a photograph?!
Federico Chiesa: This is one of the coolest questions I’ve ever been asked. Actually, I’m a really big guy. I don’t have many pictures of myself around, I don’t know why. I don’t like to do self portrait and no one has ever asked me to pose for photograph (and that’s strange, because I’m also a very handsome boy).
CC: Can you share with us the workflow approach used during the development of an advertising campaign?
FC: It all starts with a layout given to me by an art director. The first step is the production of the image. With my collaborators I start to gather props, scout for location, look for the right model and so on. I also start to develop the image in my mind because I always want to be really prepared when I’m going to shoot with the clients.
For Bios Line campaign I did a lot of location scouting in many Rome parks. The background is made by a compositing of 5 different places. Once I had a rough idea of the environment I photographed the model. I did it in open space using sunlight and 2 flashes to fill the shadows and create some nice highlights.
After that I started compositing all the images into one final image, adding color correction and mixing all the different parts. The last step is wait for the client feedback, make adjustments, and send to printer.
Final Composite Image
CC: How important are the latest color management tools in your workflow?
FC: Since I started as a photographer and retoucher I’m always concerned about color management . Many young photographers don’t pay any attention to this critical part of the workflow. I like to follow my picture from capture to the printing and using the right tool to calibrate your monitor is the first thing you should care about for obtaining a good result.
Many years ago we didn’t have affordable and powerful tools like ColorMunki Photo, and some would skip the calibrating phase, but today you really shouldn’t. When you are in the professional market it’s really important to have a screen to print match. If you don’t calibrate your monitor you’ll never know who did what wrong if it doesn’t match.
CC: What advice would you give young photographers who are entering the world of work?
FC: My advice is to have a clear idea about what you want to do. You should create a consistent portfolio and try to specialize in some kind of photography. Try to work with other professionals as MUAs, stylists, assistants. Have every day a camera with you all the time. Be curious.
CC: I’ll let you tell us what else you would like us to know about you!
FC: I have so many things to say that I don’t know where to start. I could discuss how can I be so smart and good-looking, but the answer could be very very long. So… I’ll ask myself: “Why do you like photography?”
Thanks for the beautiful question.
I love photography because it is about instant emotion. You don’t need to understand or spend a long time with a good picture, it just explains itself.
I think that sometimes a picture is even more powerful and exciting than a movie. I can show you a story in a split second and let you use your imagination to fill the gaps. A good photograph could be a punch in your stomach or a gentle caress. And I love how I can turn my vision into a “real” image with a camera and some software.
Thanks Federico for your time! Have a look at Federico’s portfolio at www.federicochiesa.com. He will be in Canada for some special projects over the next three months, but you can always get in touch with him by email: info@federicochiesa.com. Enjoy this video of Federico at work.
Federico Chiesa uses ColorMunki Display and ColorMunki Photo when traveling and i1Publish Pro 2 in the studio to achieve the accurate colors required in his workflow. Learn how you can stop guessing and start knowing with X-Rite color management solutions from X-Rite at www.xritephoto.com.
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Federico Chiesa uses ColorMunki Display & ColorMunki Photo when traveling and i1 Solutions in studio to achieve the accurate colors that is needed in his workflow.
Visit www.xritephoto.com for more info on all the color management solutions available to photographers and videographers.
