Emilia Brandão

I'm a Brazilian Portrait Photographer, currently based in Madrid/Spain. I have been nominated as Ambassador for the prestigious Leica brand in 2020, and am developing my professional work and Fine Art personal projects.

I have over 15 years’ experience working as a professional photographer, collaborating with editorials such as Vogue, Glamour, ELLE, GQ. I work with a broad range of different clients from celebrities, athletes, actresses/actors, chefs, businessmen/women, musicians, designers, and artists to family and friends. What I love are the stories people have to tell… I'm a people person. Enabling people to see their true self and let their essence be printed in a portrait is what drives me at the core of my photography.

I started taking pictures aged 15 with my Dad’s old film camera, and have not stopped since. In the beginning, the camera allowed me to meet people as I was a shy teenager, and approaching people was really hard for me. But even then, once I had persuaded someone to be behind the camera, I still didn't know what to tell them or how to direct them, because I did not enjoy being the one in front of a camera. That was a life challenge that I have been working on until today. But a few things my parents taught back then that help me still today are: "always put yourself in someone else's shoes", "do to people what you would like them to do to you", and also the great quote from Carl Jung "learn your techniques well and be prepared to let them go when you touch the human soul".