The Sunday interview: 5 questions for Matteo Franchi

Today I will present Matteo Franchi, the author of Teo’s Talks. Matteo is a portrait photographer.

1. Why photography?

Actually, this is a question I’ve never asked myself. The way I started creating images is weird and it happened when I was already an adult.

It began with the curiosity about the technical tool, to understand how a camera worked because I had bought one for my wife and she found it too complicated to use compared to her point-and-shoot one. So I started taking images to see what a reflex was capable of. 

The more I was getting into it, the more I felt I was falling in love with images, in particular of people.

Every face is different from the other, the same way every day brings different emotions. When I’m on set, I try to feel what the model is feeling. I try to let them be the more authentic and real they can be. And I love to work together so each member of the team can bring their skills into the image.

2. What is your favourite gear?

I’ve changed many cameras and lenses in these 10 years. I admit that sometimes, at the very beginning, it was more because of the desire to have a new toy than a real need. Then I understood I had to focus on what my photography required, and my choices became more weighted.

At present, I’m using a Fuji GFX100S and I find it a monster of a camera. I pair it with the phenomenal 80mm f1.7 and, rarely, with an old Pentax 645 150mm f.2.8.

I also love to shoot film sometimes, and in that case, I use a Mamiya 645 AFD with a 150mm f3.5 and a 80mm f2.8.

3. What are your favourite subjects to photograph?

I mentioned this earlier: I love portraits. People offer endless opportunities for taking great images. Even if I had to shoot with the same model for years, I’m pretty sure I would not end up having the same image twice. As I said, the emotions we feel each day are always changing and this makes each set unique to the other. It happened, at times, I started the set with an idea for the mood, but then, after breaking the ice, I changed it because the feelings of my model did not align with my idea. I think doing photography as a hobby also helps with not being strict and tied to what I have to do.

I love the possibility to change my mind, to let the creativity flow regardless of the original plan.

4. Can you name a few of your favourite photographers?

This is pretty easy: I learnt a lot watching Peter Coulson’s videos. I love his way of approaching photography, lighting and the way he works with his models.

And second one is Karl Taylor. His way of mastering light is absolutely phenomenal.

5. What can Substack community expect from you/your publication in the future?

Well, this publication started as a new way to share my images. I love writing, and combining it with images is something I’ve never tried and that I’m really enjoying. I will keep my Inside the Photo appointment because I think the people who follow me need to be aware of the many fantastic artists they can find around the world. I love to share other artists' work and give them the possibility to talk about their art. I will also continue to privilege my newsletter as a channel to show some unpublished work and I have some other ideas to define.

I will also try to keep up with my fictional stories. I discovered this way of using AI to generate images and fit them into stories and this process is a lot of fun.