Insta Fav #97: Teresa Freitas

Follow: @teresacfreitas

Where are you from? How does that place influence the way you photograph?
I grew up and lived all my life in Lisbon, Portugal, in a village by the sea called Cascais. The ocean’s blue is definitely a great inspiration to me. Twice a week I’ll take a walk by the sea, which means that at least once a week you’ll see a photograph in my profile featuring this natural element – normally in a surreal way because the sea is something that has a surreal beauty.
My first photographs have a more urban style and are inspired by Lisbon itself, many times called Portugal’s city of light. I think light is one of the most important and key aspects in taking a great picture, so every now and then I try to portray that in a very literal way.
Lately I’ve turned all my attention to portraits and surrealism, which are two topics that I love to match. The weather in my town serves as the biggest influence for this style. For example, if it’s sunny, I want to make light the primary subject in the portrait; if it’s too bright I want to hide from the light; if it’s cloudy I want to portray daydreaming; if it’s raining, the ambiance will be darker; etc.

What are your favorite environments to shoot in?
Most of my images are captured indoors, in the intimacy of my bedroom. This is the place where I feel the most comfortable and free to experiment. It has big white walls, a beautiful source of light and enough space to place colored cardboards around and any other objects I wish to feature. Outside I prefer natural environments, I am lucky enough to have the blue sea, the green forest and the colorful city just a few moments away from home.

What are the strengths of shooting primarily mobile? How does this affect your imagery?
I think the biggest strengths of mobile photography are it’s immediacy and ubiquity, as I believe many instagrammers will tell you. Phones are not something we choose to bring out for given occasions, they are on our person all the time. I think mobile photography can’t be explained like traditional photography, because this new photographic paradigm of “This is what I just saw” has a very different and powerful connotation, plus the ability to share it in the spectrum of distance has a great impact on the image itself and its meaning.
Although my latest images aren’t so much about what I am seeing, they are very much so about what I am thinking, and the spontaneous capturing of that thought. The ease in which I can capture a thought and rapidly share it with everyone else is the reason why mobile works so well for me. It’s not about photographic skills but rather the sharing of myself and the individual interpretations of others. That’s what interests me the most.

Who and what are the things that inspire you?
I study at Lisbon’s Faculty of Fine Arts and this has been the biggest source of inspiration through the years. All the images and artists that I’ve become to know are shaping my work. Sometimes it’s needless to say, but the surrealist painter Magritte is probably the most unconscious inspiration that I have. I do not think of him or his work when I have an idea, but my pictures almost always have a subtle or obvious hint of his style.
I am also very influenced by the cosmos and the images we see given by NASA and the Hubble Space Telescope or even vintage representations of it. The most beautiful thing we have in our lives is the universe, I think.

Favorite instagrammers?
That’s really a though call. I love so many different instagrammers with different styles! At the top of my head, I can name 6 instagrammers whose images have affected me in some way: marielleko_, voodoolx, amandakusai, mariana_msr, mentaylunares, gabriel_isak. However, all the instagrammers I follow are somehow my favorite, so check them out.

Which Apps do you use to edit your pictures?
​I use VSCO Cam for filters, photoshop for minor and quick editing (deleting a part of my body, normally!) and Sketchbook X to paint some stars and dust on top.​

Tell us a little about your everyday.
I work and study with images, one way or the other. Photography, design and illustration are my key interests. I love the support, specially regarding photography, of my boyfriend, my big family and my friends.
​I have said this once in an image​​​ about myself​​: My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.​ And I’m not just talking about physical places, but imaginative ones too. I try to challenge myself everyday with my images.
I constantly have to deny myself of sweets during every single day of the year and my very unsuccessful moto is “tomorrow i’ll wake up early and”.

If you’d like to become a future Insta Fav, follow @ignant or post your profile in the comments below. We’ll look into it.