All images by Giuseppe Milo. Used with permission.
Photographer Giuseppe Milo is an italian street photographer based in Dublin. He started to take street pictures in 2013 and very recently released an artistic photo project called Faceless. This project features street photography in high contrast black and white while emphasizing the use of silhouettes to simplify the images even more.
He talks to us about how shooting RAW changed his life, and the challenges involved in street photography.
Phoblographer: Talk to us about how you got into photography.
Giuseppe: Iâve always loved photography but itâs just in 2011/2012 that I decided I had to learn how to make some pictures like the ones I was admiring on websites and magazines. I bought a new DSLR and started to play with it taking pictures of friends, places and people around me. Then I started to buy books and read tutorials and tips online. The breaking point for me was when I started taking pictures in raw format. That changed the way I was looking at photography. I realized that my pictures could look better after some processing in Lightroom.
Phoblographer:Â What got you into street photography?
Giuseppe: Street photography is the genre that fascinate me the most. When you go out to take landscapes you know where youâre going and what kind of pictures you are going to take. Same is for portraits, food photography, weddings. Street photography is always challenging. You have to guess what could happen, where your perfect scene could be, when the light will shine. I love to go out and walk, explore, observe. Street photography is like life, you never know what is going to happen. Street photography is about life, people, places itâs a whole world of opportunities. It pushes you to the limit, to be creative. Thatâs why I like it.
Phoblographer:Â Your Faceless project involves street photography with lots of silhouettes. What made you want to create something like this with a strict emphasis on black and white?
Giuseppe: Browsing websites like Flickr, 500px and social media, Iâve always been attracted by these kinds of pictures. Iâm not sure why but when I see a scene I always look for light, contrast, composition. Black and white is the genre that emphasizes this kind of photography. Itâs very natural to me to see a scene in black and white. Sometimes though I just choose color. A beautiful sunset can’t be so powerful in black and white: some pictures are stronger in color. Faceless is actually born just looking at my pictures. I realized I was taking this kind of photos without a plan so I just tought to make it a project and organize my passion.
Phoblographer:Â When you were curating the images for the project, what dictated whether or not an image made it into the final set?
Giuseppe: I really donât know how to explain this: I go out, I take pictures and then, at the computer, I just pick the pictures that I feel communicate better what I saw in that specific moment. In general I always pay attention to light and composition; I try to give my pictures a cinematic look, thatâs why I like the 16:9 format. I think a picture must transmit a feeling. When in a picture I have all these elements, I publish it. Faceless itâs actually an endless project so you can check my website for new pictures weekly.
Phoblographer: What are you trying to creatively express with these photos?
Giuseppe: With every picture I picked for this project I try to communicate some strong feeling: sadness, love, mystery, happiness. I like to play with opposite moods thatâs why, I guess, I like black and white. Most of the times I go for the dark, sad mood but sometimes I just go for the opposite: love, happiness. It reflects me, actually: I change mood very easily and my wife can surely confirm it. About the style, I always try to see a scene in a cinematic way. I guess Iâve been affected by all the movies and tv series I watch.
