Below you will find some questions I have received in the past. For further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

1. Could you give me a brief description of your education or qualifications? 

I'm a self thought artist. At the age of thirteen I got my first camera, a Polaroid, and I fell in love with photography and art in general, under the influence of parents and, in particular my mother, a painter.
At the age of sixteen I started doing my first experiments in the darkroom and using my first SLR, a Pentax ME Super, “stolen” to my father. At nineteen I moved to Rome to undertake university studies in law.
During this period, while continuing to love photography, I  devoted myself to music, my other great passion.


2. From where do you get your inspiration? What artists inspire you?

I'm interested in cinema. I love Kubrick: like many people, 2001: A Space Odyssey is my favorite movie.
Actually I like a lot of science fiction but it is hard to find movies that can be defined as masterpieces.
I also like Polański, Lars Von Trier, David Lynch, Abel Ferrara.
I also love painting. Symbolism and Surrealism are my favorite movements.
I also love music.

3. How do you plan and develop your ideas?

It depends on what kind of project it is.
There are works created on commission. Most of the time it is a question of reworking an old idea and adapting it to the customer.
There are works created for stock photography. In this case I try to create contemporary works that can please the buyer and sell quickly
Then there are personal projects like the one you mentioned (eg Behind the Canvas, 100 Self portraits). In this case I do a lot of introspection, I try to be influenced by anything that can evoke memories and fantasies in me and, once I have found the idea, I try to understand how I can translate it into an image.

4. Where do you exhibit your work and who do you sell your work to?

My last exhibition was in 2014, I think. I decided to wait until I will be able to create new personal projects. 
I'm also a stock photographer, as I said before. I sell usage rights and prints online.


5. Do you feel your work has its own unique appeal and why?

As I said before, not all works have the same purpose.
Certainly my personal projects are the ones that require more introspection and that, therefore, represent me best.
Once created, I no longer wonder about their characteristics and I prefer to go further.
I am flattered, however, when an observer tells me that one of my work has excited him (good or negative emotions) and I am surprised to see that often the external perception of my work creates feelings opposite to those I experienced doing it.


6. Has your style evolved or changed much over the years?

Being influenced by life, the style changes constantly.
Referring to personal projects, I took a break from that type of work and am currently more focused on stock photography and learning new techniques.
Lately I've been dedicating myself to 3d illustrations.


7. What are your preferred mediums/techniques?

Each technique has its purpose. There is no better technique. It depends on what and how you want to express it.

Same for the medium.

8. If you could sum up your work in a sentence –what would it be?

I think my work, in its entirety, is eclectic since I don't have a favorite technique or medium and I soon get bored of repetition.
Analyzing my personal projects mentioned I would say that they could be summed up in the word: unsettling.

Sorry I have no idea on how to put it in a sentence. 


9. Which kind of cameras do you use and what is your favorite photography accessory?

In the studio I use a Nikon D810. Before that I was using a Canon 5d Mark II.
I also use a lot of Medium Format film cameras: Mamiya RZ67, Pentax 67, Mamiya 7, Polaroid Land Camera 250, Yashica Mat 124 G.
I develop my own film using lford and Tetenal chemicals and I scan them using the Epson V800.
In my studio I also use backdrops, lights, remote controllers, and other accessories.
The entire 100 Self Portraits series is made in studio using only a black backdrop and one light positioned over the head. For that series I also used the Canon 5d Mark II with the Canon EF 50mm 1.4 at 5,6.


10. What has been the best source of information in your education of photography (workshops, online forums, lessons, mentor, etc.)?

In my opinion a good photographer needs to have different skills.
1) Creativity: It's the most important part nowadays. There are too many cell phones, dslr and compact cameras out there. Everyone wants to be a photographer or a filmmaker but many people don't have creativity. So, in my opinion, a good photographer needs to have his own style. My education in this aspect comes from the books that I read, the movies that I watched and the paintings that I admired.
2) Technique: Even if you have good ideas you still need discipline. All humans work in the same way. So you need to know how to catch viewers attention using the right colors, composition, and lighting. I learned those aspects watching other photographers and reading about marketing and commercial techniques. You need to create your own taste and you must be ready to change it if the world close to you changes.
3) Self promotion: Once you have the right idea and the right skills you need exposure. So you have to know how to promote your work on the internet and in the real world. I'm not so good at this. I don't like too much social media and I struggle trying to involve my followers in my daily activity as a photographer.
4) Right knowledge: Because your work is exposed you need to know how to protect your work. So you need to know what is copyright, what right you can license or sell to your customers and how to get paid if someone steals your work! I learned these aspects at the university studying law and everyday I have to learn something new in this field. There are tools that can help you to protect your images. You just have to put a lot of effort in this part in the same way as you put a lot of effort into shooting.


11. The first photographer who comes to your mind and why.

The first photographer who comes to my mind is Henri Cartier-Bresson, of course! I love many other photographers but he is like the Eiffel tower, he is a symbol. I read some years ago a book called L'imaginaire d'après nature and I still remember one sentence:“To photograph: it is to put on the same line of sight the head, the eye and the heart.”

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MORE INTERVIEWS:

https://www.bakmagazine.com/luca-pierro

https://www.stocksy.com/blog/camino-de-santiago-with-luca-pierro/

https://mymodernmet.com/using-the-body-as-a-vehicle/

https://mymodernmet.com/luca-pierro-100-self-portraits/

https://theinspirationgrid.com/100-self-portraits-by-luca-pierro/

https://md-eksperiment.org/post/20150429-luca-pierro#eng

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