Check Out Rebeca Ferreira’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebeca Ferreira.  

Hi Rebeca, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I am originally from Brazil and a nurse by training. However, photography was something with which I always found myself involved outside formal work. So, I guess photography for me was never equated with work but existed as a passion, something I did happily in my free time. I was so motivated at first that I began by exploring assemblage and use of analog cameras. At one time I covered an entire room in my own home with black plastic, and allowing only a small space for a beam of light to enter and so I could replicate the process of light in a camera. So, I guess I made an entire room into an analogue camera so I could experience the phenomenon of light from “within the camera.” lol. 

It was then that my husband, observing my growing love for photos, decided to give me a semiprofessional camera as a gift (or to stop me from making the entire home into a camera, lol). So, for from the first time a modern camera was now in my hands and that’s how everything began for me. 

Today we no longer live in our country of origin, but it was photography, not nursing, that accompanied me in the various phases of our international life. The best thing about photography is that it is “mobile” and it accompanies you wherever you go. I’ve lived in South America, Middle East, and North America—photography has never left me. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I am a full-time mother (two beautiful boys), and I have taken on the duty of homeschooling them. So, the balancing of my activities with the passion of photography has not always been straightforward, my priority being to provide them with the best upbringing I can. In a way, photography is my go-to place of freedom, where I am able to unleash my creativity. It is much more than a job; it is my relaxing moment. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I photograph people in their different stages of happiness: marriages, engagements, families, pregnancy, birth, and follow-ups, and graduations. Just for the record, I also do photographic projects for new or upcoming products from various brands or businesses. But in every sense, I photograph something new, happy, innovative, and transitional. I like that diversity in my work of photography, the different movements, and the stylistic variations necessary for each genre. 

Another side of my work is that I don’t think of photography as “art,” but I think of it as “people.” Photography is a story about people, relationships, and life history. I am a people person, so I have true curiosity about people’s lives and histories. So, whatever the event or project I am shooting, I try to live the moment with them and try to find an immediate link with the person so that the photo shoot is a more true record of the story, context, or essence of the person in view. For me, my work needs to carry along some of those narratives that come associated with each person being photographed. In this way, I try to make my photography meaningful. More than a snapshot in time, photography is about the person I see through the lenses and their road to that specific moment we are about to eternize in time. 

Those who come in contact with me for a photoshoot can expect me to work at my best capabilities, in a great effort to deliver something meaningful. 

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I am a Christian; I follow the Bible as the inspired word of God and the principles of love for all and care for health and life in general. Most people don’t know that when I do a photo shoot, I am all the way asking God for guidance in prayer. I pray for each of them before and many times continue to pray for a while after that since I know more about their narratives and other life goals. Through these works in photography, I have many times made friends for life. That’s a plus to the work. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rebecaberlim.com
• Instagram: @rebecavferreira
• Facebook: Rebeca Ferreira