With a background in graphic design and illustration, Carlos has a passion for capturing emotions through his images. He has worked with big international brands and founded ‘Ones Atelier’, a design studio incorporating photography and video to create brand visuals. Through his experiences, he has learned to trust his instincts and find beauty in unexpected moments.
Bringing my camera with me every day gives me the feeling that I can do what I do anywhere I go – to always find the space and the time. It is also a reminder to stay alert and aware of my surroundings. I think there is a thin line between life itself and what kind of pictures you can make. It is all about decisions, courage, and feeling the moment.
I graduated in Graphic Design and love illustration. However, photography has always been present in my life and I’ve always been fond of it. I worked in the past with big international brands in the Brandia Central agency. We had to create graphics around the brands to establish a brand image; I never was a fan of that. It’s not as impactful. With images, on the other hand, you pass feelings and evoke imagination and dreams.
Today, I still work with graphics and create a brand territory through visuals. However, I am combining everything now and incorporating a lot more photography and video. After years of doing a variety of tasks and projects in big teams and big companies, I understood I could do many things by myself. Ones Atelier was founded as a result. It has a strong affinity with images and uses that to design brands. All processes and kinds of papers, colors, lines, and details are essential, but for me, the most important is to convey a general feeling and achieve that best through images. I want to connect with emotion; this is the most fantastic thing about pictures or videos. They have a broader frame of interpretation.
I’ve learned over the years that some clients know too well what they want, and sometimes they need a better project vision. Confidence and trust are complicated to gain in professional life, however, that is the only way you can help both types of clients. A client who trusts your mind and lets you guide them to a creative solution is gold.
I have a client in Alentejo, Montemor-o-Novo: L’and Vineyards. They have trusted me for more than ten years; I’ve created a lot for them and at the same time this has pushed me to grow tremendously. My photography has improved after many mistakes, and the place still challenges me to find new perspectives and to do something new for the same project. I think this force that moves you out of your comfort zone is the biggest quest in all aspects of life.
Leaving my comfort zone has also oftentimes rewarded me with beautiful pictures. I usually hear the voice inside me to make the decision and learn to trust it with all my heart. As a result, I took for example a picture of a summit after a 7-hours climb through a lot of snow. I was apprehensive because I would go down the mountain just with my headlamp, but something was pushing me and it felt right at the same time. I love to have listened to trust and passion rather than to my fear. I was able to capture an image with a beautiful light source. All the world is there, waiting for you to discover it. The light will repeat itself in the same cycle; you just have to take your camera and go for it.
Light is the key. At the same time, I’m a lover of technology and what kind of magic you can do with it. I shoot with Fujifilm and I got a gfx medium format camera; I love to push the limits of that big sensor, to try to find something far away from where I’m now. Editing is also an essential part of the (technical) process, and recently, I started doing it on the iPad, which is perfect for travel.
I color grade with Capture One pro. Color is something I have used sparingly in the past. So you cannot find too much color in my images before, but the commercial work makes me lean to make images warmer and more inviting, which is a very positive change, I think. In the last few years, I have changed my style many times, and now I’m searching for consistency. The cameras are evolving, and the dynamic range is better every year, but I try to take pictures and pass a sincere vision of the moment.
When you take a picture, it means you are inside that moment. I take landscape photographs, do portraits, and shoot commercial images. What I have in front of me doesn’t matter. It can be a 3 Michelin star kitchen or at the top of a mountain, all keep me in the present moment, and all can feel like a significant achievement. You’d be surprised how only being present with body, heart, and soul, can lead to a good picture.
I made travels in the past with small cameras, young and not worried about the pictures. Currently, I’m editing a book of my travel photographs taken over the past 10 years and I can see how I evolved but also how theory and technique started to dominate. Nowadays there are a lot of strategies and thinking going into a picture and not so much of feeling. I believe there is a time for learning, and after some years, we need to unlearn a little.
I’m 40 years old today. I am sure the next decade will give me finally the maestri to control my techniques in all aspects. Although branding, photography, video, and my approach to these, always have room for improvement. And all the energy I put into my work will make me find those improvements. I’m constantly aligning what I’m doing now with where I want to be.
I do a lot of photography work related to hotels, restaurants, food, products, and lifestyle. My passion is to travel and create images on my own. I don’t necessarily have to travel far. I’ve lived in Portugal for 22 years and it’s a paradise. We can find amazing cliffs, beaches, and even a small mountain in Serra da Estrela. Sometimes we forget how amazing the place we live is, which becomes “normal” with time. But Portugal is always surprising; I plan to visit some key areas soon to take new, exceptional pictures of Portugal.
To me though, the most beautiful picture I have ever taken and will ever take is of my daughter. When Emma came into my life, all changed. I have become a father, and everything I do has more meaning now. One specific shot represents the beginning of our small adventures and is the preface of a promise to show her the world and how to live free and happily. This is my master peace in life.
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