MasterCard campaign

I shot this MasterCard online campaign last year in São Paulo for R/GA SP, and it was an incredible experience. I had the chance to work with old friends, meet new and wonderful people, shoot a fun subject for a great client, all of that in a city that I love!

São Paulo is where I've started my career as a photographer. I lived and worked there for 5 years before moving to New York in 1998. When I got this job, I was excited about working at "home" again. On the other hand, after living abroad for over 12 years, I wasn't sure how it would be like to work with a local team. The experience turned out to be amazing. I re-encountered great people I have worked with in the past, who helped me put together an impressive team: experienced, dedicated, trustful, knowledgeable, hard working, and also friendly and kind. A dream team, really.

Thanks, São Paulo! Hope to be back again soon :)

Portrait of cyclist Flavia Oliveira for R/GA San Francisco

Flavia Oliveira is a talented and determined cyclist based in California. I shot Flavia's portrait first for a personal project early last year, at Mount Diablo. I had the opportunity to shoot her again last year, as per R/GA San Francisco's request. Creative director Ricardo Ladin wanted her portrait to be bold and sharpen. Symmetrical octabanks positioned from above created an even front light, while strip banks on the sides helped defining her sillhouette.

I don't work in studios very often, most of the time I work on locations with studio lighting. I have fun integrating giving space and light conditions and artificial lighting. Also, working on location it's always possible to incorporate casual elements to the shoot, and I really like that characteristic. A studio, on the other hand, is a much more controlled environment. The results are more predictable than working on location. In this case, we knew exactly how the images had to look at the end, so the studio portrait was our best option. And it was so much fun!