Flavio Tecchio is a Street and Travel Photographer based in Milan area (Italy); his photography is proudly black&white and analogical, old-school in the most precious and rarest sense; he shots film because he’s a real film photographer, not because it is trendy, if you know what I mean. And he's damn good at it.
I have had the privilege to work with Flavio since November 2014 when we started a year-long mentoring program; the goals that we fixed back then seemed huge, and the professional challenge he threw on my table looked extreme.
Flavio wanted to re-build his image and the structure of his work completely; from reviewing and editing more than 20 years of pictures, to creating and learning to manage a new website from scratch - from finding a consistent visual brand, to structuring new productions - from postproduction support, to self-promotion - he was keen and ready to start completely anew and learn all that he could. He didn't have any digital files, nor any experience in digitalizing pictures and postproduction.
All that he had, was his huge archive of stunning analogic images, some beautiful self-made prints and of course, hundreds of negatives.
We started with drafting an Action Plan for the year we would be working together which we divided in 4 phases:
Phase 1 – Setting Out
The first phase was related to “The Past”, the complete review of all the material Flavio had produced until then; the goal was that of re-defining his photographic profile with the highest possible standards, both artistically and technically.
This involved:
o A complete Review of his work
o An enlarged Editing of his entire prints and negatives’ archive as a basis for Exhibitions, Books and for the Web
o Interfacing with the Printing Lab for re-scanning his best pictures
Phase 2 – Production
The second phase was focusing on “The Present”, the new personal project on which Flavio was working, with the goal of supporting him in finding a cut that could be at the same time deeply meaningful, contemporary and in line with his previous productions.
This involved:
o An Update Coaching : studying together the work of other contemporary b&w photographers, interesting photography platforms and newsletters
o Production Coaching: envisioning a cut and content for his new project
o Postproduction Coaching: basic tutorials of PhotoShop and Lightroom
Phase 3 – Presentation
The third phase was all about the presentaition of Flavio’s work (old and new) to the public, as a basis for professional credibility, sales and promotion.
This involved:
o Choosing the best template for a brand new website, capable of showcasing the consistency of style through all his Travel and Personal Projects
o The creation of the new website, both under a design and administrative profile
o Editing and Sequencing all projects for the new Website
o Copyediting and Copywriting of all textual content
o Content management and editing of all pages
o CMS Management Coaching
There’s still a last remaining phase which Flavio and I will tackle together after the summer and it will be related to Promotion. For the moment, we are enjoying the results of our hard work which you can see here:
www.flaviotecchio.com
Working with Flavio has been for me a fantastic and extremely rewarding experience at all levels; artistically, it came as a confirmation that digging deep in a photographer’s drawer can often have amazing results, personally, as I have met a special person with a real special, poetic soul.
Flavio has been so kind to share his thoughts on our work together:
“I met Raffaela at one of her workshops in Milan and it immediately struck me how friendly and affable she was with anyone, far from the pretentiousness and arrogance that we so often encounter in our lives.
I had long felt the need to take some serious steps in growing as a photographer, and the easiness of approach that I felt during the workshop made me decide to contact her to find support: she has always had a constructive and determined approach to tackle all the difficulties that I was encountering, especially about new technologies, using her great knowledge to share informations in a simple and sympathetic way, never judging.
Definitely a place of privilege in my affections I reserve it to this talented girl with whom I worked really well; competent, professional, helpful and of great humanity, her empathy of thought is tangible; without being intrusive and preaching, she offered her preparation and knowledge in a way that I could fully appreciate during our long dialogues, a humility that is characteristic only of beings of great intelligence, and that to my eyes appeared disarming.
I would like to continue to build my professional future with her aid, availing myself of her valuable collaboration that I highly recommend to those who want to deal with a professional prepared and sincere.
Thanks Raffaela. “
