“I could sense their emotions all over me.”

With his project I Have More Memories Than If I Were a Thousand Years Old, Baroni just became a LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2017 laureate. The work will be on display at Klompching Gallery in New York City from March 7th to 17th, 2018.

How did you find the protagonists for this series?
I found them through an open call on Facebook and other social networks. I asked the people to come for a portrait project, offering no further information. When they arrived I asked them to get into a comfortable mood.

How do you manage to create an atmosphere of trust on set?
There was only me and the person being portrayed. No assistant. All lights except for my flash were switched off. I provided a very warm room temperature. The photo shoot didn’t take place in a photo studio but at a friend’s home. I found this made it more intimate and suitable for the project.

Please describe the process.
I told them, “you’re alone, I’m not here. Please think about your fears. Only you can know what is in your mind now.”
After some minutes I asked them to try and ‘live’ their most hidden thoughts. After around fifteen minutes some people started crying, others started to breathe with difficulty. Every session was about 30 minutes long. Photographing 44 people in three days was very intense for me too. I could sense their emotions all over me.

Which technique did you use to create this special look?
I took these pictures with the Leica S and the Summarit-S 70mm f/2.5 Asph. I used a green filter in order to have more evidence of skin textures.