Guest Speaker 5: Pablo Antoli

Pablo Antolí is a freelance photographer specialising in food, documentary and travel photography.

“A portfolio is not a destination, it’s an emotional journey”.

He started studying for a BA in media production, and then started working freelance and assisting. He began to experiment in the studio which was influenced by his assisting job; he got into different lighting and setups.

Pablo explained that he was shooting what he thought other people wanted him to shoot, not what he wanted to shoot, it was more to prove he could do it. Shooting and testing are key, you can’t get to solutions by thinking, alone. When redesigning or rebranding your website, keep copies or screenshots of old versions so you can revisit them in the future. I thought this tip was helpful for designing my own website.

He gave good advice in terms of how clients don’t necessarily mind what work you’ve previously shot, they look for ambition, what you’re interested in and what you shoot for your personal work. You need to be flexible with what work you take on as a freelance photographer; prove you can do what the client wants.

His practice is very research-led with mood boards and thinking about how other people have solved the same problem, test shoots solve and help come to a solution. Test lighting setup, cameras, lenses or an edit. Collaboration is important to consider all the elements of a shoot and helps make your work less complicated to shoot. Getting as much right in camera reduces the amount of post-production you will need to do after. It helps speed up your workflow.

Even though his photography is not the particular style I am interested in, the advice he gave and how he talked about his practice was useful. I have used mood boards before in my work and it was helpful to know how to use them more effectively.

Pablo’s website: https://www.antolistudio.com/

Screenshot of Pablo’s website