MPB Meets: Architectural Photographer Rafaela Netto

We speak to architectural photographer Rafaela Netto about her craft, her camera gear and her influences. Read on to find out more.

RN: I started photographing in 2002 when I moved to Toronto, Canada. I was 16 and had a compact camera that didn't work very well, but I took it with me everywhere. I photographed mostly the landscapes—so different from the ones that were familiar to me in Brazil. Everything was so different and fascinating, so I photographed a lot during my walks around the city. I was always alone during these walks and photographing was a way to connect with this new reality and share it with my friends from Brazil. A few months after I arrived there, I enrolled in a photography class where I had my first contact with a reflex camera and black-and-white lab. In 2004, I came back to Brazil and the next year I got into college to study photography. Up until then, I didn't think about photography history and language. I just took pictures. That's when I started to study and fully dedicate my time to photography.

RN: My first job was as an events photographer—birthdays, weddings, baptisms, all kinds of events. I didn't identify with that work because working alone, as much as possible, has always been very important to me. All those people, even though they were the main subject of the job, ended up disturbing me. But, I did it for years because I gained experience from it and the money allowed me to invest in equipment. Meanwhile, I also worked with fine art printing and as an assistant for my friend Ricardo Teles. It was only in 2010 that I came in contact with architectural photography—I started working for Nelson Kon, who is one of the first architectural photographers in Brazil. A couple of years later, I quit event photography for good. In 2013, I did my first architectural photography job for some friends of mine. Even though I had been working with Nelson for three years, until then I hadn't done anything related to this area... but it worked. They liked it, I liked it, and now I'm a full-time architectural photographer.

MPB: What do you shoot with?

RN: I work with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 24-105mm and 70-200mm lenses, as well as 17mm, 24mm and 50mm tilt-shift lenses. Plus, a Manfrotto tripod and bubble level attached to the camera.

MPB: Is there anyone whose work you draw inspiration from?

RN: My biggest inspiration is Nelson. He's the one who taught me everything I know about architectural photography, and he's a very generous guy with his knowledge. I also love the works of Lorena Darquea, Iwan Baan, Julius Shulman, Nick Hufton, Allan Crow and Joana França, and I'm a big, big fan of Hélène Binet.

MPB: As a woman, what's your experience of being an architectural photographer? How accessible is the genre?

RN: I've felt many times that clients doubted my capacity as a photographer for being a young woman. It was nothing openly said—always something subtle, like seeming surprised when meeting me in person or walking around me to see what I'm doing during the photoshoots. I must say that I feel an enormous satisfaction when these clients receive the images and say how happy they are with the results. And there's the most common thing to us women in any field: clients choosing a male photographer who doesn't have as much experience as I do.

Read more interviews with architectural photographers .