Paolo Emanuele Barretta, born in 1994, began his photographic journey with analog photography in high school. After furthering his studies in photography, editing, and communication, he participated in Sky Arte's Master of Photography in 2018, engaging with renowned photographers.
Barretta's accolades include winning the 2021 Portrait of Humanity prize and receiving honors from The Independent Photographer and IPA photo awards. His work has been exhibited globally, and he collaborates with prestigious clients like Gucci, Samsung, and Prada. Additionally, he serves as an Adobe Creator Collective member and Domestika teacher.
We asked Paolo to pick out some of his favorite shots and tell us about them, in this PROFOLIO...
As essential part of my photography, self portrait has always been my way to better understand myself and a to create a photograph. This is shot on medium format. 2024.
Finalist at Fashion Award 2023 by The Independent Photographer and judged by Alessia Glaviano from Vogue Italia, this picture is really important to me. Printed on Materica Gesso 120.
This is exactly my kind of visual aesthetic. Since I have memory of it, I have been searching for a “dramatic dark” atmosphere. I don’t know why I choose a specific way to create the scene, most of the times I am just guided by my feelings. Printed on Materica Gesso 120, 2022.
This is from a portrait session with Roogene, a magnetic model I felt in love with. We talked a lot, listening to some music and creating something really special together. 2023.
Fernando Lindez shot by me, cover story for Le Mile magazine. Shot on medium format, 2024.
Catherine Poulain shot by me for the editorial story “Afterlife”. Printed on Materica Gesso 120, re-worked 2023.
This is a piece from MaxMara social ADV I had back in 2021. The original picture was not supposed to look like this, but I just couldn’t stop myself from falling in love with this poetic and dramatic atmosphere. Printed on Materica Gesso 120. Reworked, 2023.
As my last picture I’d like to go on this one, originally created for Dj and music producer Ivory, this has became the perfect combo to understand my photography. 2022.
Paolo Emanuele Barretta