Giuseppe Irranca, black and white portrait photographer
I have photographed since I was fourteen, and I still count every shot as the last one.
I started with an analogue camera, when every frame had a cost, and that discipline never left me. I live and work in Alghero, and I photograph all over Sardinia.
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I look for real faces, mostly women, and also men who feel the need to show themselves as they truly are. Black and white leads me to the essential, to contrasts, to shadows, to what a face says when it lets go.
A lens of the heart, and my steps
I shoot with a Leica SL2 and prime lenses. The one I feel most my own is the Summilux-SL 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH, my favourite, almost always wide open, with a single plane in focus to say where to look. Sometimes I choose the 28 mm or the 85 mm, when the place or the story asks for it. I do not use a zoom: if I want to get closer to someone, I take a step. Getting close to a person asks for trust and promises respect. The 50 mm sees more or less as the human eye does, and at that distance people talk looking into each other's eyes.
Teachers and references
Many authors have shaped me. Giovanni Gastel, with his idea of the portrait as a filter of the soul, comes with me every time I raise the camera. I owe a great deal to Sergio Derosas, teacher and friend: I listened to him and then went my own way, but his advice corrected many mistakes and on set I still hear his voice. I do not think I have arrived, and I do not want to: every new face teaches me something.
Among the photographers I feel close to is Steve McCurry. A portrait is often sacrifice and sensitivity, and his career has shown it. This year in Porto Cervo I met him during Longevity Weeks Costa Smeralda 2026, where he received an award, and I keep a photograph of the two of us.
Two projects I follow
Beside my author portraits I follow two projects born from the same gaze, in search of depth. VEDO tells the stories of entrepreneurs, not only their product: a personal and intimate corporate portrait, where vision, future and the roots of the past find their place. VEDO DENTRO speaks about the people of Sardinia, artisans, authors, those who left a mark, and gathers the culture of the island in personal stories of life. You can find them on Instagram: @vedo_lab and @vedo_dentro.
From the screen to paper
Every portrait can become an object to touch: a book, a print, a metal print. Terms and timing are on the Services page. My portfolio grows every day on Instagram, @giuseppeirrancaphoto.
