Experience

Francesca Torracchi: “Be Awake – The Good Moments Are Very Fast”

Francesca Torracchi is from Italy and in love with the circus. Here is what she has to say about what makes photography excellent, how you get your works reviewed by acclaimed photographers and whether you should listen to their reviews.


Francesca Torracchi, 42

Born and lives in Italy. Studied law at the University of Florence. Visits Southern France a lot.


To start shooting you have to be awake. The good moments in which there is an emotion or situation to catch are very fast. If you delay even a little it can be gone!


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_06.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “Gina Kerwich.”}

I began photographing the circus in 2012. I introduced myself to Renata Kerwich of Circus Royal Kerwich. I fell in love with the light and the atmosphere of the circus tent. Sometimes I’m only a spectator looking at the show. Sometimes I can make something backstage, or I can spend a moment with them.


I’ve created different series, one is called “Magic Box” — that is about that moment before the show when the box is opened and you start to see the first glimmering lights.


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_01.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “Gina and Renata Kerwich.”}


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_02.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “”}


Vogue Italy opened a space for encouraging photography. It’s a great opportunity; in 2014 one of my pictures was selected to participate in an exposition for Porsche and Vogue. In 2015 two of my pictures were published in the printed edition of Vogue Italia. It’s helpful to have a retour from important people in the photography world.


What makes a photograph excellent is the ability to capture a moment, an emotion, to communicate a feeling – the ability to make you laugh. I remember the faces of people in the exhibition of Elliot Erwitt in Paris one time, they were amused, happy, it was a real pleasure to look at the exhibitions and to the reactions of people.


I also like the series or even the pictures (even one) that are able to tell a story. You can see a selection of my favorites pictures on Pinterest.


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_03.jpg”, “alt”: “”}


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_04.jpg”, “alt”: “”}


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_05.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “Rodolphe Kerwich.”}


I remember once I heard an interview of Willy Ronis. He talked about a lady who contacted him because she had seen a picture of her when she was a child in a magazine and asked to have a copy of the picture. This is a romantic thing. I’d love to find a picture of me that I didn’t know existed, me playing balloon with my grandfather, for example, made by a good photographer.


I mean it’s necessary to show your work, because if you are in isolation you can think that you are doing a masterpiece but in reality it’s only personal. So we need to ask, but then we are not obliged to listen to every word otherwise we risk everyone having the same vision.


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_07.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “Gina Kerwich.”}


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_08.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “Hadrian Trigance.”}


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_09.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “Jamie Adkins. Circus Incognitus.”}


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_10.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “Aron Pinter and Leonetta Lakatos. Recirquel Company Budapest.”}


{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/francesca-torracchi_11.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “Slava’s Snowshow of Slava Polunin.”}


I began admiring pictures of Doisneau when I was very young, and fell in love with them. And when I started photography I wanted to make pictures capturing moments of life. Now I know that the pictures of Doisneau are not spontaneous but made (in many cases) with actors. When I discovered that I was very upset.


“My Parallels” series is born from my desire to be in the right place at the right moment. It’s mostly my partner and my daughter who appear in this series. This too, is a sort of parallel: a way to say that when I’m with them I feel like I’m in the right place at the right moment. A part of the series is prepared but I hope it looks spontaneous.


I’m not working as a photographer. I work part-time in an Italian company that commercialize petrol products. Sometimes I’d like to transform photography into my profession and spend all my time doing it, but it’s not easy to find a place.


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