Vulnerability and strength with Francesco Visone

Can you tell us a bit about how you came to photography?

I became a photographer by chance. It was more or less 15 years ago, I took pictures of my friends with my first digital camera, before the boom of the internet and social networks. I have always been fascinated by photography, especially fashion photography. In my childhood, my mother had several issues of Vogue magazine at home and I really enjoyed flipping through those pages, watching the models wear the best outfits, exuding confidence and power in front of the camera. Something in me wanted to be able to capture that somehow. I started my studies at the art school at the age of 17 and there I chose photography as an optional subject. It was love at first sight. 

Photo: Francesco Visone

Please share something about your images. What is your special interest? How do you choose the colors, composition, themes etc.? 

People and places inspire me. When ideas come to me, I automatically associate the space with a person and from there I imagine the settings, the mood and the looks. When I portray people, it is very important to me to show them vulnerable and empowered at the same time. I think that vulnerability is the closest thing we have to our essence and that is something very powerful. I feel that when I manage to capture that, the images speak for themselves. As for landscape photography, I like to capture the moment of a place that somehow can make it a place far from what is known. Pure, silent and wild.I let colors and lighting come to me organically. 

Photo: Francesco Visone

Where does this interest come from?

My interest comes mainly from the attraction I feel for nature and our condition as human beings. Apart from then being able to mix those emotions with fashion is what inspires me the most.

How do you get inspired? And what inspires you the most? Films, books, or magazines? Or what surrounds you?

I can be inspired by anything, from fashion magazines to everyday situations. People and their energy above all are what inspires me the most. Photography in the cinema is also something that I always keep in mind when I watch a movie, I pay special attention to lighting and composition, mood and colors. 

Photo: Francesco Visone

What are your plans for the rest of the day? 

My plan for the rest of the day is to isolate myself at home and have some me time, take care of my energy and see something that inspires me. 

What else should we know about you?

My name is Francesco, I am 33 years old and I come from Tenerife, Canary Islands. I come from a Napoletan family on my father's side and a Canarian family on my mother's side. I currently live in Madrid, where I work as a shop assistant and window dresser in a vintage store and as a photographer when the opportunity arises. I love pasta, music, dinosaurs, and I have social anxiety, which is counterintuitive because I love to party and dance.