M: Hello Pedro, it’s always an honor to feature a fashion photographer I admire and thank you so much for taking some time to answer my questions. So Pedro, how did you get into fashion photography? Were you under and formal training before?

P: Ever since I remember, painting, photography and cinema were my greatest passions. Also, I was always interested in people, feelings and emotions. Fashion became the "medium" to explore all the things that fascinated me the most. I started my career as a photographer at the age of sixteen, shooting a theater play. When I was seventeen I started to attend the prestigious ARCO School in Lisbon, where I studied photography for four years. While studying at ARCO, I collaborated as a photographer in publicity campaigns and catalogs. Later, I also shot many other events.

M: It’s always great to turn your passion into career and I am glad you have chosen to be a fashion photographer. When it comes to famous photographers, who are you favorites? Have their works influenced you at all?

P: The photographers that mostly influenced my work were Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin, Marcus Leatherdale, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Tomas Ruff, Nick Knight, Steven Klein and also Warren du Preez and Nick Thornton-Jones, that I had the pleasure to work with. As for how these photographers affect my works, it really depends on how viewers view my works and if any of them relates to the above photographers..

M: I love Nick Knight and Steven Klein’s works. Their images are always so inspiring! So when it comes to your photography style, what is the main photography element you have that sets you apart from other fashion photographers?

P: What I think that sets me apart of the others fashion photographers is I don't consider myself a photographer. Instead, I see myself as a creator that uses fashion, and the art of photography to create something that maintains my pure vision.

I always try to push the boundaries, and when I'm working, I always think that this will be the last job. Because of that, I always give out my 200% at every shoot I do.

M: I like when artists always give their best when working on projects and I think all successful artists have this great quality. Out of all the projects you have done so far, which editorial shoot is the most memorable one? Why?

P: My favorite work so far was the shooting I did for The Draft Mag, an independent project created by me and my team where there was no limit to creativity. The editorial was called "back to earth". Not only was the result an overwhelming and hyper visual set of images, but also I felt I had accomplished my goals and my works had evolved to the next stage.

M: Back to earth was the editorial that made me become a fan of your works and I am looking forward to see more editorials like this from you in the future. Last but not least, if you had a chance to shoot an editorial spread involving the Dolce & Gabbana F/W 2011 collection for a high end fashion magazine, what kind of imaginary would you want to achieve?

P: If I had the chance to shoot the Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2011 collection for a high-end magazine... well it's difficult to say in words but  I would create a story based in Venice.  It would be like in the movie of Hitchcock’s "Rear Window", creating a voyeur mood, where the images would be framed by the window and we would see what was going on inside. There would be 2 apartments and each would have a window.

For the first window, there would be this beautiful woman who was a photographer. She was shooting a girl (dressed in the boyish clothes of the collection) and she would be shooting like the iconic scene of the movie Blow up by Michelangelo Antonioni, but performed by two girls: one very glamorous and chic and the other very boyish.

The second window we would feature the men’s collection. There would be this man who was a painter, and he's recreating the painting of Velazquez, called "Las Meninas". However, he would be painting just men, wearing the collection of Dolce & Gabbana.

For the third and fourth window, these two artists would be In a party, where they met. The mood of this party would be like the one from the "Eyes wide shut" movie by Kubrick: very sexy, glamorous, mysterious and dangerous.

The fifth image would be a double page (5th and 6th page) where you could see the two windows (one of her place and the other of his place) and they were both at his house. In this frame, they understood they were neighbors, and each of them would be in a really sexy look: she could be wearing a tight see through dress in lace with underwear and he could be wearing a satin robe and boxers. Here, they were attracted to each other.

The last double page would be out of the window. They would be by the river with the sunset as backdrop, in a gondola, guided by a very muscular man, with very tight clothes and a woman. They would be wearing Venetian masks, and the main characters would be in a very romantic mood.

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