A portrait that doesn’t flatter you. It recognises you.
The introspective portrait starts from an idea that is simple and difficult: a picture isn’t there to show how you look, but to recognise who you are — and who you are becoming.
I have worked in Milan for over ten years, with editorials published between New York, Seoul and Barcelona. But an introspective portrait isn’t a matter of technique: it’s an encounter. My job is to look at you until only the essential is left, and hold it still.
An introspective portrait can come out of very different moments:
- A personal passageA new beginning, a milestone, a change in your body or your identity that you want to hold before it fades.
- Your identity as an artistIf you are an artist or a performer and you are after images that say what you see, not only what you look like.
- A publishing or music projectA portrait made for the cover of a book or a record, where the image has to carry a body of work.
- The wish to look at yourself with new eyesWith no reason other than yourself. Sometimes that is the strongest reason of all.
The image as a way into what’s inside
Every change leaves a mark on the face before it reaches words. A good portrait isn’t a well-exposed frame: it’s an image that manages to recognise that mark — an honest expression, an involuntary gesture, a silence that says more than a pose.
In over ten years I have photographed people from very different cultures and histories. I have learned that every face is a narrative, and that every session is a chance to let it surface instead of covering it up.
Portraits, a selection
In Milan, every month. A limited number of sessions.
How a session works
- We talk first. You tell me where the idea for the portrait comes from; I tell you what I picture.
- We choose the date, the light and the place together: a studio in Milan, or somewhere that belongs to you.
- If it helps, we bring in make-up and styling. If it doesn’t, we keep it bare.
- On the day we work without hurrying. I guide you, but I leave room for what isn’t a pose.
- We look through the frames together and choose the ones that actually look like you.
- You receive the images in high resolution, retouched in a way that improves without ever betraying.
What you are left with
An introspective portrait isn’t money you spend and use up: it’s something you come back to.
- An image that recognises you, not one that corrects you.
- A record of yourself at a precise moment: useful today for work and for projects, valuable tomorrow.
- A guided experience, where you don’t need to know how to pose.
- The weight of work published in international magazines.
Packages
Frame
150 €
ritratto essenziale e raffinato
- Duration 1 hour
- Photos 5
- Outfit changes 2
Expression
250 €
shooting pensato per raccontare emozioni, stile e personalità
- Duration 2 hours
- Photos 10
- Outfit changes 3
Legacy
550 €
ritratti d’autore destinati a durare nel tempo
- Duration 4 hours
- Photos 15
- Outfit changes 4
- Makeup included
Upcoming dates
just opened
If you have questions, or you feel your idea doesn’t fit any of the packages, write to me: we’ll talk it through and find the right shape.
Let’s start with a conversation
Tell me what you have in mind, or even just where the idea came from. I answer, personally.
- dan@danphotostudio.com
- Phone
- +39 351 793 2905
Sessions take place in various studios in Milan or on location, agreed case by case.
Questions I get asked
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I have never posed: how do I get comfortable?
You don’t need to know how. During the session I guide you with simple directions and the pace stays slow, unhurried. Most of the portrait happens exactly in the moments when you stop thinking about posing.
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How long does a session last?
One to two hours on average, depending on the changes and on how much we want to let surface. The time is never counted to the minute: what counts is arriving at the right image.
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What is the difference between an introspective portrait and a standard photo shoot?
A standard shoot aims at a result decided in advance. An introspective portrait starts from you and lets the image emerge: the point isn’t to please at all costs, it’s to recognise who you are.
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Will the photos be retouched?
Yes, but naturally. Retouching is there to improve the quality of the frame without altering who you are.
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Where do you work?
In Milan, where every month I open a limited number of studio sessions. During the year I also take the work to other cities, on tour.
Where we are
Via Conservatorio 30,
20122 Milano (MI), Italia
+39 351 793 2905
www.danphotostudio.com
Opening hours: Monday–Saturday 09:00–20:00 | Closed on Sunday