Photographer Profile: Piero Paravidino
Welcome Piero as part of our photographer series! The last photo of Kerry King of Slayer – is actually the shot I saw of Piero’s that made me ask him to be a part of the series.
Where are you based out of?
I live and shoot mainly in Milan, Italy, and surroundings.
What first attracted you to photography?
I guess it was the possibility of stopping an instant in time, and so having the chance of remembering it and recalling the feelings of the moment it was taken… I remember the magic of the Polaroid instant pics when I was a kid.
I was always taking a lot of photograph when I was in vacation or during travels and this lead me to try to better understand the technique when I bought my first film reflex; with digital, it was definitely quicker to learn by doing and redoing things.
At one point, I decided to try to unify my passions for photography and music (I also play in a band) and try my hand at concert photography!
When was the first time you felt like a professional photographer?
Although I’m not a pro, I’m always committed to acting as such when I’m on an assignment so the first time I felt like that was probably the first time I had a photo permit for a concert, which happened in 2008. A stronger feeling for it was the first time I sold a pic to a major magazine, which ran it as the main central poster, both for money being involved and for the professionalism I felt on their side.
Favorite style or subject to shoot?
Big production concerts are surely great to shoot for their lighting and stage setups which offer fantastic photo opportunities; as for smaller gigs, metal concerts are often the ones which result in the best visuals, be it for the props on stage or for the sheer performance of the musicians (besides me liking them most musically!)
Favorite piece of equipment?
I find myself liking a lot the photos I took with relatively short focals, when there is the chance of getting close enough, as they tend to engage more, show more of the stage and background and give the feeling of “being there”; for this reason, unless I am too far, I find myself using more my Tamron 17-50/2.8 than the Canon 70-200/2.8; I also use a fisheye (an inexpensive Samyang 8mm) which can give great pics but it has to be used just once in a while or you get tired of the distorted effect!
What is your dream photography gig?
No limits here, so I’d say Iron Maiden or Metallica with their elaborate and magnificent stage designs, obviously as their chosen photographer with free access to the stage and backstage; and while we are dreaming, be it the official world tour photographer!
Any advice for others who are interested in photography?
Try to understand why and what attracts you in photography, build a solid technical base, look at a lot of photos trying to tell the good from the bad, study the great photographers, of course shoot a lot and always strive to tell something with your pics.
Best piece of advice you got starting out?
Always know why you are taking a photo in the first place.
What services do you offer?
Besides concert assignments I can do promo shoots or portrait with studio lighting or on location.
(By the way, here’s another advice, even if you don’t plan to shoot with studio lighting, studying how it works will give you a great understanding of how different light direction, quality, color, intensity influence the result and this is very valuable for concert shooting and also for ambient light photos.)
How can someone contact you?
I have my Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/pieroprv and a Facebook page dedicated to my concert photos at https://www.facebook.com/seemehearme … Hope to meet you there!
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