CiNAVA PHOTOGRAPHY / CREATIVE DIRECTION
Fashion photography demands mastery of light, movement, and collaboration. CiNava Photography’s Angel Cintron and Steve Nava share their creative process, from tackling outdoor lighting to pushing artistic boundaries with bold storytelling.
What are the most challenging aspects of fashion photography?
Outdoor lighting 100% comes with challenges. Sunlight can often be the enemy. Of course, we have remedies to overcome such issues - the extreme brightness from the sun or the lack-of. Most of these quick-fixes can be done by setting your aperture and/or shutter speed. When balancing light, we use an off-camera strobe, scrims to block harsh light, or a bounce to override the extreme shadows. Sunlight can be our enemy by far. We do have a few remedies to overcome the extreme brightness of the sun or not enough light as light comes and go’s. Most fixes are done with setting your aperture and/or shutter speed. When balancing light, we use an off camera strobe, scrims to block harsh light or bounce to over-ride the extreme shadows.
Do you have a preference in shooting men or women?
Females have certainly cornered the DIVA market, but male models are quickly learning that tapping into their inner DIVO is “DRAMA” and “DRAMA” grabs attention on and off the set. Why? When on set, male models tend to have more of a relaxed personality. We can tap into their feministic side but still have the striking chiseled masculine quality that stands front and centered. Our comfort level of shooting either a male or women tends to manifest differently depending on the shoot itself. As the male physique has a desirable appeal in many ways, we find ourselves exploring the edgy and sexy side of men.
What is typically in your camera bag?
We love our Canon 5D Mark IV cameras, but that seems like a standard answer. Everyone loves their camera. If we think about a really useful piece of equipment that can be easily transported and can, in some instances, replace the need for carting around heavy lighting equipment, it’s the LED ring light with remote trigger! This powerful and lightweight light can be used on location or in studio. It’s amazing. The light path creates a beautiful catch light on the talents eyes while emitting an even diffused light to eliminate shadows. This piece of equipment is essential for every photographer.
What advice do you have for aspiring fashion photographers?
Have a plan and assemble your team. Your team should have enough experience to execute defined roles and delegated responsibilities. Make sure you communicate with the team in one or more platforms like email, a joint teleconference or face to face discussions early and often. Follow up is key. On shoot day, the team should arrive early and set up their respective areas prior to the talent arrival. Do not sit around chatting! Get ready and there will be plenty of socializing time at appropriate times. Finally, once you have the shot, move on! Believe in your skills as a photographer. The crew nor the talent has all day for you to chase the perfect shot.
What advice do you have for models interested in shooting with you?
We both are pretty easy going guys ourselves. That being said, the best advice is to be yourself. Think outside of the box, become part of the scene itself. Don’t feel that you need to hold back in front of our camera lens. We cringe with simple stock poses and gestures, we strive for unique, bold movements. As photographers, we try to keep the energy going and engage with the talent during and after each shoot. This allows us to connect and bring out the best in the model.
What is the best way to describe the working relationship between you as a photographer and your stylist on any given project? How important is that related to the success of that project?
By exploring the sexy, raw, and edgy side of fashion we generalize our conceptual connotation of the theme collaboratively. CiNava is compelled to translate their own rue feelings while behind the camera. We capture the true interpretation of unique vision and to inspire our message. CiNava Photography works with so many talented and wonderful stylists across the USA and in Europe. We strive for creative styling abilities to translate our Bold Sophistication theme into a wardrobe mood board that really is quite impressive. Both Angel and I walk through all the looks with any stylist to decide what best fits the photoshoot direction in combination with the hair and make-up.
What is your creative Mantra? Like what do you live by to stay on the cusp as a creative image maker?
Taking concept to final imagery that not only tells the story, but demands your attention.
What are some of the depths that you need to go to in order to stay in a constant mode of innovative creation?
As fortune would have it, we have each other to lean on. We’ve made plenty of mistakes and still do. Own your mistakes and learn from it. Every successful person, photographer or otherwise, did not start off as a subject matter expert. We grow from the lessons we’ve learned; and, this allows us to course correct what we do or how we approach the next situation. Give yourself permission to fill and then to believe in yourself to grow from the experience. Celebrate your successes no matter how small and always give yourself permission to be successful.
What do you feel ties you in personally to your work?
By expressing ourselves emotionally and spiritually, we explore our surroundings. It gives us the opportunity to open our minds and interact with other human beings. We are both very outgoing and love to connect with people. Our friends would certainly see the differences we add to personal interactions and, in the business world as well.
How do you feel fashion is influenced by our culture and or vice versa if you feel culture is influenced by fashion and entertainment, how?
First and foremost, the mood and the vibe. What are you trying to capture? The wardrobe may lend itself to an airy, flowy, ethereal feeling, so a location suitable to interact with the clothing makes the most sense here Following this example, you’d seek a location with large amounts of open space, natural light that lends itself to the camera, and still air (we bring the breeze). However, if you’re looking for a fiery-inspired shoot, the location should have a darker feel. In this case, you’d opt for a sexier, edgier wardrobe.
Cinava’s portfolio includes a variety of magazine editorials. How do you balance between personal and comwmissioned work? Is it difficult to maintain your visual identity in both of these fields?
For all that encompasses CiNava, our personal business goals is to continue to advance our skills, increase our confidence and continue to command the production set. We seldom are afraid to take risks, as it satisfies our creative hunger.
The photography duo of CiNava is hotting up the scene with a number of fashion and celebrity photoshoots. This pair of visual adventurers are not only partners in business, but also match ying to the other’s yang in private. For the ying, Angel Cintron, brings his right brain esthetics, which have been honed by a Fine Arts Degree in photography from the Academy of Art University. For the yang, Steve Nava, brings his left brain firepower, which has long been deployed toward the development of novel drugs in the biotechnology industry.
Together CiNava has served up elegance with an edge and made urban stylings a contemporary couture. In pushing creative boundaries, CiNava takes a page from Ayn Rand. ‘The question isn’t who is going to let us; it’s who is going to stop us.’
For more, visit
Photographer: CiNava Photography/Creative Direction @cinava_photography
WB: https://www.cinavaphotography.com
Costume Designer: Marina Polakoff @polakoffstudio
FB: https://www.facebook.com/polakoffmarina/
WB: http://www.PolakoffStudio.com
Male Model: Will Robey @will.robey
Creative Agency/Agency/Producer: ARS Minerva @ars_minerva
Assistant: Zander Whalen @zvnderwhalen
Model: Siam Phusri @siamphusri
