“I never saw myself doing anything else.”
Fashion photographer and creative director Macami creates work that is vibrant, textural and boundary pushing. She blurs the lines between high fashion and fine art with bold flair and an eye for shape and composition. As she takes her fledgling steps as a full time creative, we caught up with the JMC Master of Creative Industries (MCI) and International student to discuss her journey to this point, her philosophies for art and life and her big plans for the future. 
Now based in Sydney, Macami reminisces on how, as a child growing up in the Brazilian city Salvador, a future in the creative industries was never a very clear-cut path. “Brazil is quite a conservative country. I think from the outside it might not always be perceived that way. In high school so many parents pushed their kids to be in those sorts of careers, like a doctor or lawyer or one of those classic careers, that theoretically make you money as soon as you graduate..."
"I’m lucky I always had a mum that pushed me to do what I loved.”
Arts subjects in highschool were not widespread study options, and apart from art lessons in elementary years, she never had too much access to a formal creative education. Through the practice of filming and editing mini end of year ‘recaps’ of her life with friends and at school, Macami fell in love with the medium of film making in her later years of adolescence, and became convinced that this would be the creative practice she would pursue. “I was literally like, that’s what I’m going to do… I applied to study at film school in Brazil and got in! But unfortunately they didn’t have enough students to make up the class so instead my other option was studying advertising and marketing.”
Macami’s love for photography emerged from the convergence of her love for capturing moments and newfound knack for marketing and advertising. The young creative had only begun to dabble in the medium before the decision to move to Australia to learn English provided the perfect pivot point for her focus. So, with only one photoshoot under her belt at her time of departure, Macami arrived in Australia with a newfound love for photography and a desire to pursue the medium to greater depths.
Macami used the time working at a studio in Brisbane to develop and refine her technical skills as a photographer and also to gain insight into the local trends and patterns of the industry (and the industries they assisted in-turn!). She realised that the current trends in Australian fashion photography were incongruous to her own stylistic taste or knowledge of what might best capture the attention of audiences.
“Basically, I felt like I was running with no clear idea in my head… I realised my style is quite surreal. It’s colourful, it’s vibrant and there's so much movement in it. I like it and other people seemed to like it online and on social media, but whenever someone would hire me for a shoot they wanted me to photograph something in a really clean way. It was amazing to be getting paid to do something I love, but I was like ‘why are you choosing me out of every photographer’?” Artistically, Macami was frustrated that although her clients trusted her skills as a photographer, they didn’t seem to trust her creative flair for capturing and showcasing products in her own style. It became her mission to challenge the way companies thought about the way they showcased their designs, so to back her beliefs with hard evidence, Macami decided to enrol in JMC’s Master of Creative Industries program.
Macami’s JMC Masters of Creative Industries (MCI) project analyses audience reactions to different photography styles to prove that creative, artistic photography can yield success in commercial photography spaces. She has been able to prove through a formulated and concise study that her professional creative direction surrounding commercial photography can help brands to attract more customers. “When I first applied to JMC, my idea for research was basically how to bring a surreal and dream-like aesthetic to commercial photography in Australia. The more I see commercial shoots happening here… if they’re not up against a blank wall with white light then they’re at the beach or in nature. Most of the photos are so beautiful, don't get me wrong, but I think there’s space and an opportunity for more than that.”
“I think melting is a good way to describe what I’m doing at JMC and in my outside work!”
As she continues forward on her creative journey, Macami hopes to use her research to bring more diversity and vibrancy to Australia’s (and the wider world’s!) commercial photography industry. Her first ever solo exhibit, held at the beginning of this year, came as the result of her studies at JMC and has also “lit the fire” to explore the melding of aesthetic and meaning in her own photographic practice. Her work this year has led to bold new places, capturing images of cliff divers for Red Bull, editorial shoots for multiple fashion magazines and campaigns for musicians such as Annie Hamilton and Tia Gostelow.
As far as advice goes, Macami has learned through her photography that perfectionism can be both a good and bad thing for creatives. “I feel like I am less critical of myself than others around me. I see so many people doing shoots and never releasing a photo or doing all this work that never comes out."
"I feel like it’s so important to just put it out. In five years time you might look back and think wow that was awful but it shows how much you’ve learned and allows others to follow your journey.”
It’s our pleasure to support Macami as she emerges as a fully realised creative professional. We can’t wait to see what’s next in her vibrant line of vision!
All images in this article are by Macami.
