Meet Our Unique and Inspiring Photography Team
On August 19, 1839, the French Academy of Sciences announced to the world the photographic technique known as daguerreotype, developed by Louis-Jaques-Mandé Daguerre. On that day the patent was released so that anyone could use it and, thus, this photographic technique was universalized.
Today, 183 years later, we celebrate the World Photography Day and at Freepik Company we believe it is the perfect occasion to introduce you to the in-house production team, who work their magic to provide Freepik with the amazing and countless photos you can find in our website.
Our team
We start with the Photography Manager, Alberto Novoa, who explains that they work with both traditional photography or photocompositions and 3D images. To cover the entire process, from contextualization to final processing, the team is made up of art directors, photographers, producers, props, makeup artists, retouchers and digital artists. Their role, therefore, is to create efficient workflows that coordinate them, ensure the quality of the content and give them the tools to do their work and develop their artistic potential.
One of these areas that can go unnoticed in the process is retouching. Laura Flores has been working for 2 years in this team, which is responsible for selecting the best photographic content of the sessions, made by internal and external productions, and make adjustments of light and color to go with the line of style that follows Freepik.
This line of style is set by art directors such as Alejandro Pereira, whose function is to accompany the photographers throughout the creative process, outlining margins of action, but always encouraging their own criteria to help them improve. For him, there is no point in imposing his own vision, as valuable proposals would be lost, and, at the end of the day, the team learns and surprises each other.
The photographers are the most visible face of this department and Elena Guillén is one of them. In addition to carrying out the sessions requested by the art direction, they previously develop the chosen theme, look for the models and location and, once planned, they set up the set, lighting and props to get to their favorite part, which is to start shooting the session.
Finally, many people don’t think about styling and makeup, but it is an essential element. Natalia de León is in charge of this at Freepik Company and, together with art directors and photographers, she creates and decides the styling, makeup and hairstyle of the models. She is also present on set at all times to assist the model and photographer in the different changes of looks, make-up retouching and to make sure that everything comes out correctly on camera.
Its roots in photography
The origins of each one are different, for Laura there is no clear beginning, since she has had a camera with her since she can remember and thanks to her perseverance and the support of her family she can dedicate herself to it. The family is also very important for Alberto, his father was an amateur and his older brother a professional photographer, and this made him intrigued to know why some images attracted him and others did not, so he began to chain courses that led him to train in film photography direction. Elena’s father also shared this hobby of photography and her Papalolo did aerial photography in the air corps. This family influence, as well as Alberto’s, made her want to train and study image laboratory technician.
On the other hand, Alejandro marks his origins in professional photography in 2009 when he was selected to be one of the 3 photographers to start the ecommerce website of Bershka/Inditex in Barcelona and where he was able to learn about styling, makeup, retail and shape his own style. For Natalia, moving to Madrid meant starting to train professionally in the world of makeup, which has always been her passion. There she was also able to work in a cosmetics firm, but where she says she has developed the most is at Freepik, learning every day from the professionals around her.
Inspiration
In all artistic works, one of the key pieces is inspiration, which each person finds in a different way. In our team, our art director Alejandro finds it by observing professionals he admires such as Lindbergh, Newton, Demarchelier, Mario Sorrenti, Giampaolo Sgura, Leibovitz, Testino or Julio Quesada. Just like Alberto who, between photography and cinema, takes as reference Tarkovsky, Spilberg, Fritz Lang, Robert Capa, Erik Almas, Erwin Olaf or Marco Grob, although he affirms that anything that is visual and narrative attracts and inspires him.
Our makeup artist and stylist, Natalia, looks at new artists on social networks and fashion, both fashion shows where the main trends come out and specialized magazines. While Elena relies on music of all kinds and going on the road with Mara, her motorcycle, since the landscapes, colors, and the air in her face clear her mind and generate thousands of sensations. Our retoucher Laura doesn’t need a motorcycle because for her inspiration comes from living by observing because it is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, she assures that you always have to be attentive because you never know what can surprise you and stir you up inside.
The value of photography
Finally, photography has the ability to bring a different value to each person’s life. For Elena, it brings strength, because even though she is a bit shy, when she has the camera she says she feels strong and confident. And for Natalia, she considers that makeup and styling, like photography, is a sacrificed job, but it is worth the effort to see how it can influence a person and how indescribable it is to be able to express oneself artistically through it.
Alejandro believes that photography contributes to everyone, regardless of whether you are dedicated to it or not, as he assures that we are visual animals and that 90% of all information that reaches our brain is visual. It is based on studies that say that we retain 10% of the information we hear, 20% of what we read and 80% of what we see, so photography is able to take you to another world, to sell you something, to change your tastes, to entertain you, to make you happy or sad. We would be nothing without the images that are part of our daily lives.
For Laura it is a medium that allows her to express herself and create freely, discovering or reliving events but, above all, it teaches her another way of looking at and seeing life. And for Alberto, after his family, photography is his favorite obsession, since he has been with them for almost 30 years. He also says that the more something costs you the more you appreciate its value, and that photography has cost him great sacrifices to finally give him great satisfaction.
Photography, therefore, is not only an essential element for Freepik Company, but also for each of the people in the team who find in it the refuge where they can express themselves freely.
