Meet Natalia Blauth

Who are you & where are you based?

I'm Natalia Blauth, a photographer born and raised in Porto Alegre, a 1.5M inhabitant city in the south of Brazil. I lived for a while in a tropical beach village with 5K people, and also in a major city like London. I believe this gave me the ability to adapt in different backgrounds and showed me how much I love to learn how people live their lives in different cultures.

Why did you first get started in photography?

Taking pictures was something that was always present in my life — I’ve been taking photos since I was a child. Growing up in the 90’s, I remember grabbing our analog Yashica Minitec to take our family photos, since I was the one who most enjoyed doing it. When I was 12, I used my savings to buy my first camera, a classic Sony Cybershot, and started to take photos of everything and post in the now-extinct Fotolog. Later, I discovered that my grandad was an amateur photographer and he had many old classic cameras in his closet. He gifted me with a 120mm film folding Kodak, a gesture that meant a lot to me.

What is your go-to camera gear?

My Canon R5 with a 24-70mm 2.8 lenses, which gives me the versatility I need while shooting different subjects.

Your favorite photo on Unsplash+ right now?

How has Unsplash+ changed your life?

It changed everything. Unsplash+ contacted me around a year ago, a few months before it launched. I was in a tough moment of my life, I had discovered thyroid cancer and had just had surgery, and was told I needed to do a second one. I remember being super excited about Giulia’s email, but also thinking "Why now? What if I can't deliver what they want at the moment?". I shot my first two briefs, did the second surgery, and after recovering completely, started to work almost exclusively with Unsplash+. It gave me the possibility to travel and work at the same time - which I love.

Why did you decide to join the Unsplash+ community & contribute your images to our exclusive library?

As I mentioned, I love to travel and meet new people, so I believe shooting for Unsplash+ gives me this possibility, with a bonus that I have a lot of freedom to create with the monthly briefs.

What’s been your favorite moment on Unsplash+ so far?

Definitely when I was invited to shoot a special brief for the Unsplash+ launch. I called it Colours, it was a two-day shoot with around 15 amazing and really talented people in the team. Everyone had so much fun that they still come to tell me about how much they love this work and are proud of it.

How do you approach interpreting briefs for Unsplash+ in your own style?

I really like shooting in a documentary way, so I prefer searching for real characters rather than models. For example, I’ll search for a real doctor or dentist and photograph the person doing their actual job instead of asking a model to do the job. That gives me more freedom to think about creating unique compositions and angles since I don't need to direct the person much, and the result is much more natural.

What motivates you to keep shooting?

I think the understanding that I’ll always experience different moments and situations while searching for models, locations, etc. Often when I am shooting for Unsplash+ I realize that I probably wouldn't be in that place or experiencing that moment if it wasn't for the shoot.

Describe yourself in 3 emojis