Tag:Event Photography
Dragons and Lanterns: Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year isn’t just a celebration: for a photographer, it’s an uncontrollable visual explosion. Over the weekend of 21 and 22 February 2026, the Giardini Nicola Calipari in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II became the beating heart of Rome’s Chinese community celebrations.
I was there on Sunday 22 February 2026, on the culminating day of the event, immersed among thousands of people who literally flooded the Esquilino neighbourhood to watch the parade. With my camera around my neck, I tried to go beyond the classic souvenir shot, focusing instead on movement, colour contrasts and the stories unfolding behind the smoke of the firecrackers.
The challenge of light and the Year of the Fire Horse
Photographing an event at Piazza Vittorio means dealing with an absolute colour dominance: the bright red and gold of the lanterns, decorations and traditional costumes chosen to celebrate the new lunar year. Balancing these vivid tones under natural light, without losing facial detail or the depth of the shadows between the gazebos, was the first real technical challenge.
I chose to work almost always with a slight underexposure to isolate the subjects and make the shiny fabrics of the costumes stand out against the backdrop of the Roman gardens, creating an almost cinematic atmosphere.
The frantic rhythm of the Dragon Dance
The most eagerly awaited moment of the Sunday was undoubtedly the official 10:00 am parade, with the skillful and striking Dragon and Lion Dance. Here, street photography merges with pure action photography, but with one extra complication: the crowd at Piazza Vittorio was like an ocean, a genuine tide of people pressed right up against the barriers, to the point where it was physically impossible to walk or move to find a better angle.
The performers’ movements were fast and unpredictable, and with the crowd pressing in from every side, there was almost no room to manoeuvre with the camera. To handle this frenzy while stuck in the crush, without risking blurry or wasted shots, I worked with very fast shutter speeds. The goal was to get perfectly sharp images capable of freezing the exact instant: the embroidered details of the costumes suspended mid-air, the tense expressions of the dancers under the weight of the structures, and the sparks of the first firecrackers. Amid all that visual and human chaos, the razor-sharp focus of the shot let me isolate the beauty of the athletic gesture and the tradition, delivering a clean, close and impactful record of those frenzied moments.
See you out on the streets
A reportage like this is a reminder of how essential the synergy is between the culture being celebrated and the eye of the person photographing it: when you immerse yourself respectfully in someone else’s traditions, that energy shows in every single sharp frame.
The files from this incredible day at Piazza Vittorio are ready, and I can’t wait to get back out shooting on the streets of Rome for the next big urban events. For any information about reportage, event or street photography services, you can contact me directly through the form on the site. See you next time!
Behind the Scenes of the Gigi Proietti Award: My Backstage Photo Story
Glances, smiles, and the pure emotion felt just before stepping on stage
There’s an indescribable magic that moves behind the scenes of a great theatrical event. As the hall fills up and the stage lights come on, backstage a parallel show unfolds — made of stolen glances, knowing smiles, and that pure adrenaline that only theatre can give.
On Monday 24 November 2025, on the occasion of the first edition of the Gigi Proietti Award at the Teatro Sala Umberto in Rome, I had the privilege of moving through the shadows with my camera around my neck, devoting myself entirely to backstage reportage. The goal wasn’t to document the official programme, but to capture the truth of stolen moments backstage before stepping into the spotlight.
The challenge of shooting in the shadows
Working in a theatre backstage means dealing with extreme, constantly changing lighting conditions. You go from the near-total darkness of the side corridors to the harsh shafts of light filtering from the stage spotlights, all the way to the warm, soft tones of the dressing rooms. For a photographer, managing these contrasts is a constant technical challenge.
For this visual story I chose to alternate between colour and black and white. Monochrome, in particular, allowed me to strip the scene of the colour cast from the stage lights, concentrating all the attention on facial expressions, the details of gestures, and the psychological depth of the protagonists before they stepped into the spotlight.
Capturing the emotion before the stage
The parade of great artists who paid tribute to Proietti’s memory revealed itself unfiltered in front of the lens. Moving without being noticed, respecting the silence and concentration of the actors and musicians, is the first rule of a good stage photographer.
It’s in this invisibility that the most honest shots are born:
- Absolute concentration: Moments captured in the dark, where the artist withdraws mentally for an instant before reaching the microphone, silently going over lines or notes.
- Stolen smiles: The freeing hug or the shared laugh with colleagues right after leaving the stage, when the tension melts away and gives way to satisfaction.
- Interaction with the stage: Shooting from the side, using the wings as natural frames for the shot, makes it possible to show the unique, deep connection that forms between the performer at the piano and the audience listening in the darkness of the hall.
See you backstage
Work like this is a reminder of how essential the synergy is between those on stage and those behind the lens: when there’s respect for each other’s work and you immerse yourself discreetly in the atmosphere of the theatre, the emotion shows in every single sharp frame.
A special thanks goes to the Proietti family – in particular to Sagitta, Carlotta and Susanna – for allowing me to document up close, with complete creative freedom, the backstage of such an important evening. The files from this incredible event are ready. For any information about theatrical photography services, event reportage, or collaborations on future projects, you can contact me directly through the site. See you next time!
