Creative Spotlight: Photographer Teresa Freitas
Teresa Freitas is more than just a woman with a camera, she’s a conceptual photographer whose work is an abundance of colors as she thrives on experimentation. Born and based in Lisbon, Freitas uses her vivid imagination, love for travel and architecture, blends it into a dreamstate, storybook vision. She’s been commissioned by a wide scope of brands from American Express, Chanel, Dior and Netflix to name a few. So thrilled to speak with the artist and to have dived a little deeper into her creativity.
Your photographs in all pastel splendor is like walking through a Wes Anderson film still. Obviously color is everything to you, but do you ever see things in black and white?
Thank you! I always feel honoured to be compared to someone like Wes Anderson. Although his color palettes are different from my own (we touch base in The Royal Tenenbaums and Grand Budapest Hotel), I understand the comparison and feel we might share the same attitude and dedication for colorwork — on different levels. Regarding seeing things in black and white, I'm not sure how I could as a photographer/artist. Although I do like to seek simplicity sometimes, and I understand it can be a defense mechanism given how complex and nuanced most things in life are, I don't think I ever had that approach to anything I've come across to, personal or professionally – there's just too much hiding in the greys.
What was your very first camera and do you remember your first favorite photo you shot?
My first camera was a Canon A-1 – a film camera. This was back in college, as our photography class was based on shooting and developing only with film. My first favorite photo came from the first roll I used it in. My grandparents had a beautiful, almost palace-like house. They'd already passed away at the time, but the house was still in my family's hands. I wanted to register it somehow for the class project, so I decided to take portraits of my youngest cousin one day, who happened to have a great face, in that century-old building. I'd lived in that house before, until my teenage years, and she was living at the time, as a child. I remember the memories I had from my own childhood there and wanted to capture them through her. One of my first favorite shots is from that day. The technique was terrible, I had no idea what I was doing and it came out a bit over-exposed and quite grainy, but I feel everything else was there – the story, the location, the pose, the candid feel, emotion and face. Now that the house has moved on to another family, I appreciate it even more because of what it meant at the time and now.
Has the quarantine been difficult for you in terms of photographing places, people and moments?
Definitely. I mostly photograph places, so this was where it hit harder for me. Fortunately, I haven't faced harder and personal challenges as some people have, due to this pandemic. This year's trips were all cancelled, including to India and Japan, which were sure to give me a great opportunity to create a new series for my personal, cinematic work. Unfortunately, that wasn't and still isn't possible. For now, I'm taking more still-life shots and scrolling through the archives to pick up old photos that I might have missed before. I can't wait to travel again.
Work for Issey Miyake (Teresa Freitas, 2020)
Work for Slow Down Studio (Teresa Freitas 2020)
Your dream place to travel and shoot? (One that you've never visited)
Definitely Japan. India is also high up on my list. As I expect (hope!) to visit these two places in 2021, another place I'd love to go would be Havana, Cuba. These three are quite different between each other, but all have a very alluring aesthetics, colors and ambiance that I believe would work beautifully with my own style. Mexico too.
The best advice you can give a photographer just starting out?
Dedicate as much time as you have to experience, learning and improving — even when there's not a specific purpose or motivation. If you want to be good and get better at it, invest all the available time you have into it.
Work for Valeria Vasi (Teresa Freitas, 2020)
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