Photography is Art
Hi, my name is Dino Rovolis. I am of Greek ethnicity and I work as a freelance photographer & retoucher based in the city of Montreal.
Photography is a form of art I wasn’t necessarily always into; it sort of squeezed its way into my life in my late teens. It all began when I started doing some modeling work for local fashion shows, photographers, and brands.
After some time, I began to crave new types of images. I had concepts and ideas in my mind that photographers wouldn’t capture of me, so I decided to do it myself.
When the time came to choose a camera, I knew I didn’t want something that everyone uses because I have this thing with wanting to be different. The look of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II really struck me because it looked so retro and vintage; I just knew that was the one!
Creating different concepts and styles for my modeling portfolio really impressed my family and friends, especially when I’d post it on my social media. The way I took pictures of myself was by attaching my Joby gorilla pod to my camera and then using the wifi to turn my phone as the shutter button. Also, since the screen of the Olympus would come out, it allowed me to view myself and get a better feel of how to pose correctly.
Later on, I took on my first few clients and that’s when I realized this is a form of art I can potentially do as a career.
I tried taking various routes in order to discover what type of photography I want to focus on. About one year ago, I decided I want to be known for fashion, portrait, and travel photography. God has blessed me with the opportunity to travel to several different countries and capture such beautiful images, which I am able to showcase on my website and Instagram.
The use of models and travel photography creates such a beautiful visual and helps tell a story, whichever story you as the viewer would want to imagine. My favorite type of photography has always been on location because that is where I feel the most inspired and make my visual creations become a reality. For example, something as simple as a bush next to a stream of water with a person lying down may seem like a dull idea at first but with a little bit of imagination it can be something so captivating.
Natural lighting for me is always the winner because whether it’s sunny, dark, gloomy, or foggy, you just let that guide your imagery.
Planning something with a studio can be very cool depending on how specific you want to capture something, but I love the uncertainty with what you will encounter a day outside. It will always feel more inspiring and fun for me to just go with the flow!
If I shoot a model on location, I make sure to look at the surroundings and see if there can be a prop he or she can hold onto as it can add value to the storytelling.
I also like to take pictures of many different angles in order to have a better idea of what looks best for them. Once I figure that out, I make sure to guide their face to wherever there’s more light but If it’s very sunny, I will have them look away from the sun and be somewhere more shadowy. A great time of day that many photographers would agree on is shooting when it’s a grey day. The light is flatter and will almost always uniformly showcase most features of the person you want to capture.
After a shoot comes my second favorite part: editing. I love using Photoshop to get all the corrections done, but I have the most fun using Lightroom because of all the unique ways you can work with the color, shadow, and light tools. I do use some presets but I always end up tweaking them because they’re there just to help me visualize the mood I want to set the picture to. For example, from a slightly saturated and sharp image to a very grainy and vintage looking one.
Up until now, I only use the M.Zuiko 12-40mm F 2.8 lens for my Olympus because I enjoy how I can zoom in very closely. I also like utilizing the wide angle view which is not only great for travel photography, but for edgy fashion portraitures as well.
When it comes to equipment, I’m a pretty simple guy. These are the things I carry in my leather rucksack: a pen brush, a soft cloth, a reflector, my camera & lens (of course), and an extra battery. Less is more and I don’t like complicating my life too much; plus it gets really heavy especially if you’re hiking. Funny story, while I was on those pickup truck/buses in Thailand, my bag fell out of the seat and got run over.
Thank God this taxi driver stalled the cars behind him because as soon as I realized my bag was gone, I was running against traffic to retrieve it, praying that my camera and lens weren’t destroyed! When I opened it up, the lens only cracked from where it connects to the camera. Once I found the Olympus store in Bangkok, I only paid about 140$ to get it repaired! I could’ve lost it all but wow, are these cameras and lenses durable! It made me very appreciative of this brand.
Besides taking pictures, I’m very interested in creative direction as it’s all about brainstorming ideas for a client and catering to a brand’s needs, whether it’s a fashion concept, product styling or even music videos. Anything that has to do with visuals and art, I am all about! I also enjoy drawing as it’s something so subjective with no fault or mistake; just pure imagination and simple fun.
Dino is a self-taught photographer from Montreal, who mainly focuses on fashion, portrait, and travel portrait & travel photography. The manipulation of colors, shadows, and angles are his forte when creating a photograph. One of the qualities that characterizes Dino’s work, according to his clients, is that he evokes a certain ‘rawness & mood’ to his images. He likes to think of photography like painting. It can’t be shallow, there has to be depth. It’s definitely a form of art that relates to him the most because it allows him to visually capture his thoughts and ideas.
