Paolo Roversi II

In this film legendary fashion photographer Paolo Roversi talks about his very special relationship to shooting in the studio, his use of lighting, and his freedom of imagination when contemplating his shot ideas, as well as his love of 8x10 Polaroid film, which unfortunately no longer is manufactured.

Roversi sees photography as a black canvas as opposed to the white canvas painters’ start out with before beginning the realization of their ideas. This personal concept is the driving force behind his work. To Roversi, the truth of photography is a combination of reality and dreaming, to him photography is mystical.

Light is very important to every photographer, as Roversi describes, "It is the basis of every photographer's work". Roversi’s signature trademark style he uses that have made him so successful, nudes of women against a white background, first started for a shoot for Vogue Homme, with the famous Chanel model, Ines de la Fressange. After that first shooting, his signature lighting became his muse and one of the most requested and photographed styles for his clients, spanning many years and over many continents.

For Roversi, the studio will always be a place where he can isolate his subject and a timeless space of darkness in which he brings light to create magnificent images. Roversi’s list of credits runs from shoots for Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire to catalogues for Romeo Gigli, Christian Dior and Yohji Yamamoto.