The Film Photo-shoot

A Photographic Practice In Support Of:

Friendship

Four friends photographed by Luigi Cassinelli in Central Park

Authenticity

Model Marleen Roosna closing her eyes wearing a trench coat photographed by Luigi Cassinelli using Nikon F6

Flair

Allure

Grit

Vision

California Innovation Fund founder Dr. Kurt Beyer with Dr. Anne Greul and Mark Jones in San Francisco January 2022

Practice

Je ne sais quoi

Leslie Masson having morning coffee photographed by Luigi Cassinelli on Ilford HP5+ with Nikon F6

One Frequently Forgotten Question:

What Makes Us Human?

In the section above I listed elements to the human condition. Along with awareness, charm, confidence, courage, doubt, elegance, empathy, fantasy, humor, imagination, love, presence, responsibility, romance, style, volition and the unavoidable hoard of sorrow, those elements nurture us by creating a constellation of question marks.

Opposite to electronic machines designed to flood our attention and manipulate intelligence, the photographic experience demands presence and questioning. I directed hundreds of photo-shoots. Each photo-shoot is a unique, irreducible learning experience. Each photo-shoot is a path to lay questions while engaging a peerless human interaction. Direct interactions, void of filters, are immeasurable opportunities to practice what makes us human. Questions marks, often unanswered, are what light, the photographer and the muse, and a roll of film can still reveal today.

A few points about my method and values might help to figure out if my film photo-shoot could be valuable to you.

I see each shot as a light fossil, the physical document of one moment within an experience. During my photo-shoot I encourage to be IN THE MOMENT, to help each other being present. My priority is neither to create memories nor iconic images; my goal is to fully live the present and document a real interaction. That’s why I have no use for post-production. Practicing awareness is a fundamental condition of mental stability. Practicing it and being yourself while relating to another fellow human is a momentous, demanding task. It is an endeavor that takes more grit than the ones facing the forces of nature. Indeed, I believe the effort is the path to a healthy relationship with reality.

Into my practice, there is no such thing as perfection. There is no such thing as imperfection. Those terms are ideological traps layed to distract and manipulate. As a director, my mission is to create a space where talent can emerge without any concern of external expectations. The search for the authentic is an arduous path. We make it even harder when driven by overwhelming stimuli. We make it impossible when driven by greed for obsessive control, the ancient force pairing now with the rising tide of narcissism. To keep the practice going, what I offer is a grounding opportunity to experience union within the space of freedom.

I shoot only on film because I value the direct interaction among the light you reflect, my eye, and silver. Once developed, I scan my photographic negatives; I deliver the digital scans without using retouching software. The photographic negatives are the actual documented outcome of our work together; they are the reference.

My technique is a tool to help me pursue authenticity. It’s a simple matter of coherence: If I claim I truly pursue it, then I must capture originals and respect them. There is no authenticity without the existence of an original; then, I will use the technology that allows the capture of an original. Mutant by design, digital files cannot bear any original form. This point is my liaison between technology and ethics.

'I'm afraid!' said Zusha. 'Because when I get to heaven, I know God's not going to ask me, 'Why weren't you more like Moses?' or 'Why weren't you more like King David?' But I'm afraid that God will ask, 'Zusha, why weren't you more like Zusha?' And then what will I say?!' [From the Chassidic tradition]