Q&A: Capturing the Light of People and the Everyday, Adrian Lorenzana Creates Stunning Films Portraits
WITH AN EYE FOR STRIKING VISUALS — Adrian Lorenzana centers his creative vision around meaningful authenticity. As a photographer, graphic designer and creative director, Lorenzana strives to push his limits in the realm of creativity and art.
Living in Los Angeles, California, Lorenzana primarily shoots film when photographing portraiture and lifestyle scenes. An artist at heart, he brings his camera everywhere he goes, capturing fully planned out projects as well as daily life documentations. The intimacy portrayed in Lorenzana’s work is palpable across the board.
Of course shooting film will give a photograph its own unique cinematic look, but Lorenana’s portraits push this a step further. Each portrait seems as if it could be a still taken out of a movie; his subjects look nothing less than extravagant characters in his artistic body of work. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and with Lorenzana’s work, these words could be an entire movie script.
Read below to learn more about the intricacies of Adrian Lorenzana’s deep love for photography.
LUNA: Your portraits are stunning! When did you start shooting portraiture and what inspired you to start?
LORENZANA: Thank you! I started shooting portraits in 2015, and have been taking it more seriously in the last four or five years. I started shooting portraits because I find people interesting. Everyone has characteristics that are unique to them, so I like to try to capture the essence of who they are when shooting their photos. A lot of the photos I was taking were at the tattoo shop my brother tattooed at — I would just walk around the shop photographing the artists while they were drawing or tattooing. Eventually I ventured into shooting with models and musicians.
LUNA: You’ve shot in various locations. What typically intrigues you when location scouting?
LORENZA: Location scouting is interesting! The technical aspects of it are important. For example, how sunlight hits specific locations at certain hours of the day, whether or not it’s somewhere I can shoot comfortably (indoors or outdoors), or if I will need lighting for the space, as well as finding a location that feels timeless. I usually gravitate towards locations with classic cars and ’70s themes. If a location is colorful, that’s also a big plus.
LUNA: Why do you prefer shooting on film over digital?
LORENZANA: Film is my favorite medium to shoot — I really love the limitations of it. When you're shooting film, you are limited to the amount of photos on that roll and every additional roll equates to more money being spent on purchase and development. So, deciding to shoot two rolls of 35mm film is only 72 chances at getting the photos I want from a shoot. Compare that against the couple thousand photos that’ll fit onto an SD card. Shooting film forces me to be more creative, think more creatively with each frame being taken, and take my time with photos.
LUNA: What are your favorite projects to shoot? What emotions come up when you are shooting what you love?
LORENZANA: I really love shooting album/single releases, or any photos for a rollout with musicians. Shooting photos for musicians is my favorite because it's the visual branding for their music. Getting to hear their music and plan the moodboard based on the feelings and emotions from the music is so beautiful. I get really excited when shooting; there are moments while shooting that make me so happy because I’m on set, surrounded by great people, and the person on the other side of the camera trusts me to bring their creative vision to life.
LUNA: You’ve mentioned shooting expired film on your blogpost. Do you shoot expired film often, and where do you find it? What’s your favorite thing about expired film?
LORENZANA: I love shooting expired film! Shooting expired film is great, but it also comes with new sets of challenges. For example, there is a higher chance of color shifts, [you have to guess] what to expose the film at, and the possibility of a blank roll. So when you get photos back that you love, it's just so much more rewarding. I buy all my expired film online. I spend time scouring Ebay, Craigslist, Mercari, and just about any other place I can find, looking for film that’s expired by 15-25 years.
LUNA: Shooting in midday is something else you’ve mentioned. Why do you love taking portraits in this light? What makes it so special?
LORENZANA: Midday light looks so good on film. I like shooting over-exposed and bright colors, so shooting midday just makes sense for me. When I started shooting film and expired film, the lower ISO films were just more affordable, so I could buy more of them. Shooting midday was more out of necessity at the time, but now I just love it. I like the tones that film creates in the lighting, and [love] working with shadows.
LUNA: What are your hobbies outside of photography? Do any of them inspire you in your creative work?
LORENZANA: I love to go thrifting, cooking and eating good food, finding new music, and going to the gym! And absolutely! Thrifting and music are big inspirations for my creative work. When I go thrifting, I see different pieces that will inspire the styling for a shoot. Also while thrifting, I'll find props, accessories, old magazines, and books that I find inspiration in. Or watching music videos — I love watching music videos because sometimes you see a frame and can add it to your moodboard and plan a whole shoot off a screenshot from a video.
LUNA: What is your go-to gear?
LORENZANA: I love my Hasselblad 500c, and I really love my Leica M5, but the camera that I use the most is my Olympus OM-1n with a 35-70 f4 lens and a broken light meter that I bought for 40 dollars. I also use my Polaroid OneStep and Instax wide camera. I always have so many cameras on set, because I’ll have two to three film cameras, a digital camera, a Polaroid camera, and sometimes my Super 8 camera.
LUNA: Many photographers start out shooting wedding and senior portrait photography when beginning their careers, which can be quite difficult when you're more drawn to the creative aspect of photography. Have you had experience with this? How do you navigate finding fulfillment in gigs?
LORENZANA: Yes! I didn’t do wedding or senior portraits, but I worked as a product photographer for a packaging company for a year and was so burned out from shooting boxes and bags eight hours a day by myself in a small studio. I didn’t shoot any portraits almost that entire year. These days, I try to take a healthy mix of client work and work that fulfills my need for creativity, and avoid taking on any gigs that might create burnout for me.
LUNA: What is your best advice for photographers wanting to get into the field?
LORENZANA: Shoot what you want, all the time. Make the photos you’re proud of and want to be hired for. When you’re making the photos you want, and around good people, it makes your shooting experience so much better! Your portfolio will be full of photos that you want to share, and hopefully you find the clients that want the style of photos you’re making. Make friends, meet other people that are in the same situation you're in, meet models, stylists, makeup artists, and other photographers. Help each other as much as you can. Just be a good person.
LUNA: The beginning of the year can be so exciting for creative pursuits. Do you have any fun projects planned for 2022?
LORENZANA: So far, just planning out my year. I really want to shoot another body of work for a gallery, shoot enough Polaroids to put a book together, and shoot a couple album covers.
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