With a preference for photographing people and still life, Don Giannatti  feels that lighting is the most important part of the image making process. Understanding the light and how the subject reflects the light helps photographers visualize the image before starting the shoot. This “subject centric” approach to light is what he teaches and is the subject of much of his writing. He loves teaching and has two projects he works on--Lighting Essentials is a blog-zine for emerging photographers, including weekly features and lots of tutorials and instruction, and Project 52 an online workshop for photographers.
 

I spent the first decade out of school in the world of music with a hobby of photographing the cities and places the music took me to. After a while the photography took over and I found myself earning a living making photographs for people needing a particular kind of shot. 

This developed into a full on commercial photography career with studios in Phoenix, Chicago and New York. I mostly shot women, whether it was fashion, beauty, or lifestyle and got to know more about the fashion industry than I ever thought I would.

After 30 years of fashion, I began pushing my work more toward real people, the environment, and still life. I do not maintain a studio anymore and prefer to shoot on location. I have created images for designers, ad agencies and magazines for over forty years.

My ‘work’ has taken me all over the world, and I continue to shoot assignment work when it fits my interests. I have written five books (available on Amazon) and teach a highly successful online course to many aspiring commercial photographers

These days find me vlogging and writing as much as shooting, and I am very partial to motorcycles and road trips. I had a big one go bad on me last year--going for it again this summer. I can hear the road callin’…