Meet Bianca Silva | Photography & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bianca Silva and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bianca, why did you pursue a creative career?
Growing up I have always had a grand imagination, I’m talking about imaginary friends, imaginary places, at one point it was just me, my toys, my imagination and my dad’s camcorder. I’m originally from Boston Massachusetts and I can remember like it was yesterday when I moved from Cambridge ma to Everett ma and instantly became best friends with my neighbor Kayla. We would pretend the hook-man was following us (mind you this was right around the time I Know what You Did Last Summer came out 1997) so our imagination was running wild. It was around this time that I knew that things were just different for me. I come from a long line of Brasilain musicians, my uncles all play an instrument, my aunts sing, sew and paint. So organically my parents put me in dance, I sang in the church and my mom always had my in the shop in Brasil teaching me how to sew. It was then growing up in the middle of my childhood that I realized I needed to do something in the arts. I picked up a saxophone in 7th grade and was in band. Until I got to high school and joined the orchestra and the photography club and fell in love with a different type of art. Though I was more involved in the music aspect of the arts getting into photography at first was just something to fill up my extracurricular activities. Little did I know, class with Mr. Nuzzolo would end up meaning much more to me. The more I got into it the more I fell in love with photography. It became a way of expressing myself. When I was having a bad day, I could let it all out in my photos. When I was having awesome moments in my life all I wanted to do was capture it and keep it forever. To answer your question on why I pursued an artistic career it was because it was a way for me to express myself. My photography is more than a career it’s a way to connect with others, a way to capture and freeze a moment in time. Of course, the freedom that comes with it is amazing, but the learning process, the exchange of energy and the creative process is what really drives me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
To me art is a way to express yourself, where we creatives may find it hard to use our words, we transpire what we are feeling through our work. The way I look at it, photography is so important to because it is way to capture a moment in which we wish we could relive forever. Think about all the photos our parents were taking of us, or that dad that just needed to film everything. Do you know how nostalgic it feels to watch home movies from the early 1990’s. Or to see photos of back in the day? Looking at photos or watching a video takes us out of the right now and allows us to relive a moment in time. Like it’s been said, “Some nights I wish I could go back in life not to change shit, just to feel a couple things twice.” That is what I strive for my art to be. Special moments in life that we can freeze.

What sets me apart is my photography tends to be very candid, I want to capture moments you wish you could capture yourself (that is what I am here for). When a client reaches out to me, I enjoy getting to know them and creating a creative relationship. I pick my clients brain a little to see what they are envisioning. From there I begin my creative process. I love mood boards! I am a visual person, so we talk about colors, we talk about vibes, we talk about what you want the photo to say. I begin to think of locations, and from there I can see exactly how the moment will be captured. Though not every encounter with clients will be like this, setting the tone is extremely important. I could be in a session at the studio and working with a rapper/singer my first thought is let me listen to their music. Let me catch a vibe real quick so I can understand them. One question I love asking the artist is “what vibe are we on tonight?” that alone will determine lighting. I could get into how different color lights make you feel certain things but that we’ll save for another day.

What I am most proud about is taking that step and moving to a new city by myself to really refocus on my photography. In general, as a creative we are faced with many challenges I think personally the biggest challenge was learning the art of photography. A lot of my photography knowledge is self-taught, in the beginning I had no sense of direction. Just wanted a camera and would take photos of anything and everything. But as time went on, I knew I had to find my niche. That was a challenge in its own. I don’t know if this is weird, but I combined my psychology degree and my passion of photography into one. I love helping people and one way I know how is to make them feel good, to look good and capture that all on camera. Art is a form of trials and error. It’ll always be a continuous learning experience for me because it is always evolving.

I want the world to know that is okay to not conform to the traditional expectations of our family, our friends, and the world in general. I want someone to look at my photography and think “wow this is so cool; I want to try.” and then add their own Sazon to it. I wish that though my art I can somehow bring the world back to a gentler time, a simpler time in which we weren’t always being judged or forced to live up to societies standards. I want someone to look at my art and see that I created my own story and that you too can create your own story. You are your brand and remember that no one has the power to be you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, I can say from experience my friends are always coming to Miami to get away from the cold up in Boston, so let’s get into it.

I’m very much a let’s just see where the day takes us type of person but if I had to create an itinerary for my friend’s Day 1 would be a nice yacht day to relax and just chill. Maybe some jet skis but for the most part we are by the water with some good food, good music and even better drinks.

Day 2 would consist of showing my friends all the art around the city. So, spending time in Wynwood, Design District and I can’t lie Little Haiti has some great artwork too. Taking a drive to Fort Lauderdale so we both can explore. Because I’m not from Miami exploring Miami in general is fun to do because were experiencing it together.

Day 3 is all about food fam, I LOVE FOOD. Like, LOVE FOOD. I will try anything at least once! I’m actually in search of a great lobster (Boston is known for their Lobster rolls) so if anyone knows of a place, please let me know. Continuing Day 3 it consists of me taking my friends to my favorite Haitian restaurant (Le Foyer), Saturdays in Wynwood now has Smorgasburger so you already know we hitting all the taste buds. But you get the point we eatin’ all day.

Day 4 we are exploring Florida as a whole, so maybe were heading to the Everglades or going all the way down south and hitting the keys do some outdoor activities.

Day 5 I would like to show them some exhibits Miami at the moment might have to offer or take them to the museums. This is for my benefit, just don’t tell them. But it would be moments like this that I have my camera on me and I’m just taking photos or doing some small video for a bts day with my friends.

Day 6 could potentially be a club night give them a little Miami Nightlife experience. Because let me tell you, there is nothing like it. We love to dance so it could be a situation where I can take them to Brick on Saturdays for Afro-Beats, Pikete Sports Bar for some reggaeton vibes and from the club were hitting Bobby Trap. Iykyk!

Last day, day 7 lounging by the pool either here in my building, SLS or Mondrain. Soaking up the sun before they have to head back to the cold.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost, I want to thank and dedicate this to my photography teacher Mr. Nuzzolo. For opening my eyes and allowing my class and I to express ourselves creatively with no boundaries. Although my parents like every other foreigner wants their child to go to college, I want to thank them for never limiting me and confining me to a box where I could not express myself creatively. I had to prove to them and continue to do so that photography means more to me than making a career out of it for me.

To my best friend Jeffrey Olivier (Scrilla H) if it wasn’t for him, I would not be in certain rooms with some amazing creatives. Moving to Miami and meeting him truly has been a blessing. He has been able to not only be my muse but a motivational force behind my photography. Scrilla being active in the music industry has given me the opportunity to intertwine my photography skills with his music career. Being able to be in the studio with him I have now ventured into videography as well. He pushes me to try everything at least once and to never give up.

Of course, I can’t leave out my circle of amazing friends that continue to challenge me creatively and keeping me on my toes. Being able to express myself and showcase to my friends a different look at photography has been amazing. To the regular person photography is just posing someone and taking their photos. But my friends are open to hearing why this means so much more to me with no judgement.

Website: biancafsva.format.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_bfsphotography/