Today we’d like to introduce you to Guilherme Vital Senise da Silva.
Guilherme, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am originally from Campinas, Brazil, but I came to America in 2019 to study film at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. Right now, I am a senior at the same university, but I usually commute to Nashville or Louisville in order to cover concerts and photograph the acts. I started taking photos in Brazil when I was 17 with a local photographer called Janaína Medeiros. She was the one that taught me how to take photos, deal with clients, and express my ideas through lenses.
When I came to Kentucky, I started off my solo photography journey at CU Sports Network, where I tried for the first time to take photos of sports. That eventually helped me a lot with my concert photographs in the future.
Throughout the years in Kentucky, I started to organize my portfolio and try other genres of photography, which led me to experience concert photography for the first time. In May 2022, I attended Forecastle in Louisville, KY, which gave me the first idea of how taking photos of music festivals and concerts would be: intense, challenging, and so much fun! I got the chance to photograph artists like Tyler, the Creator; Tame Impala; Still Woozy; and many others.
However, I had no contacts and no publications to photograph with, Something that really helped me was the conversations I had with photographers that were working for the festival and for other separate publications. So, after gathering information and advice from those workers, I contacted some publications such as the Returner Magazine, that would collaborate with me, and take me to cover some concerts in Nashville. The first one I got to cover was Teyana Taylor at the Marathon Music Work venue. That experience was so important to me because it made me feel professional for the first time, not only an amateur. Afterward, the venue welcomed and accepted me to cover other concerts throughout the semester.
The last concert I participated in was the Turnstile tour with the rapper Jpegmafia and the indie artist Snail Mail.
I am so grateful for all the experiences I had so far, and for all the people that helped me get on this.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I did have some struggles throughout the road. First, the fact that I am not an American citizen holds me up so much. I am not allowed to get paid for it, so most of my job is unpaid, or sponsored by myself with the small salary I receive from work at the university.
Getting to know Nashville, and being able to discover a new place sometimes can be scary and very challenging. But thanks to my girlfriend, Maggie Hutten, that showed me how everything works in the US, I was able to complete these previous experiences with good memories.
However, I would say that starting off without any help was the most difficult obstacle since the information was there, but the amount of information scares us that are starting this process for the first time. We usually don’t know where to go first, nor how to reach it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Currently, I am a Sports Director Assistant at Campbellsville University. There I take photos and videos of every sport we offer on campus. We also cover other events that the university would offer, such as Awards Night, Athletic Auctions, and Sports Broadcasting.
However, I also have a photography freelance job, where I take photos for music concerts and music festivals, as my specialization. I believe that what sets me apart from others is my life story as an immigrant from Brazil connected with my enthusiasm to work as a photographer in an atmosphere taken by local citizens. I usually joke that I am claiming my space in America.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
My favorite childhood memory was going to the movies to watch Pixar animations with my family and imagining myself coming to the US one day to work on something related to the film.
Pricing:
- $50/hour for a portrait photoshoot
- $200 for concert photoshoots
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vitalsenise.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/vital.senise
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/oisenise
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxyzJB2TtraufQVqA3JjL-w
- Other: personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/vitalsenise
