Paolo Pellegrin

Canon Ambassador and Italian photojournalist Paolo Pellegrin is responsible for some of the most astonishing humanitarian photographs of the past three decades and has documented major conflicts around the globe. His images capture the sheer tragedy and trauma of wars and natural disasters, with the aim of drawing attention to people in crisis.

"I believe in the importance of collecting visual records for our collective memory, to promote understanding and also, in some cases, for reasons of accountability," he says. "There are always many challenges – ethical, moral – of representation. I am very sensitive to these issues and try to do the best I can, and learn and improve as I go along."

Born in Rome in 1963, Paolo initially trained to become an architect, his parents' profession, before pursuing his own path studying photography at Rome's Istituto Italiano di Fotografia (IIF). Today, he is one of the world's most celebrated photojournalists, having won 10 World Press Photo awards, a Leica Medal of Excellence, an Olivier Rebbot Award, the Hansel-Mieth-Preis, the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, the Robert Capa Gold Medal and the Dr. Erich Salomon Award.

"I think the main highlight of my career is when I feel I have done my absolute best to honour a project, a story, and its people," he says. "I come from a tradition of work with film where technically you needed to be very precise. I follow the idea, the Bressonian idea, that an image must be 'solved' in-camera when shooting. So I put a lot of effort into producing a file that is formally and compositionally precise, which doesn't need much post-processing work at all."

To date, Paolo has created 10 acclaimed books and has exhibited his work extensively. "I'm approaching an age where, while still very much working on new projects, I'm also trying to make sense of nearly 30 years of past work," he says. "In this respect, I'm working on a couple of comprehensive exhibitions and books."

Lots of your images are monochrome – why is that?

"I shoot a lot of colour too, but it's true that black and white is where I feel more at home. I think it's about being part of a lineage or tradition of photographers, who mainly worked in black and white. It also removes a layer of 'reality', and speaks in more symbolic terms."


What has been the most important lesson you've learned during your career?

"Working in the field with photographers I admire was, and is, a constant lesson of example. Humility and what in French is called 'pudeur' [modesty and restraint through shame or tact] before the suffering of others has become a cornerstone of what I do."


How does your kitbag vary depending on assignment?

"For a conflict zone, I need a first-aid kit, body armour, etc, but for other shoots it's very different. Currently I'm doing a global warming project and I'm using long telephoto lenses which normally I very rarely use."


How do you like to shoot?

"My process is really simple; I usually set the camera to monochrome and shoot either manual or aperture priority. In fast, dynamic situations I use full program which I find very good."


How do you decide what or who to photograph?

"Again, it depends on the nature of the project. If it's an assignment I would say there's a tension, in a positive and creative sense, between things that are needed for the story and just wandering and discovering without a plan."

"Despite having been technically simplified by digital, the language of photography is complex and takes time to acquire. So my advice would be to give yourself time to learn how to 'speak' photographically. This is a process that is obviously never-ending – a bit like learning a foreign language. It can take many years and a lot of hard work to begin to master it."

Instagram: @paolopellegrin

Facebook: Paolo Pellegrin Studio

Website: www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/paolo-pellegrin