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Rino Pucci

Rino Pucci

Photographer and writer specialised in portraiture • Taking portraits | Talking portraits

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Nirusha Wijayamohan (portrait by Rino Pucci)
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Nirusha Wijayamohan

rinopucci

Manchester portrait photographer & videomaker
Thoughtful, story‑driven portraits for creatives & freelancers
Book in the making: @_when.in.manchester

Rino Pucci | Manchester portrait photographer
I haven’t painted a new backdrop in ages. Perhap I haven’t painted a new backdrop in ages. Perhaps I should. This portrait of Elina Li is a particular favourite – I invited her to pose for me as soon as I finished painting this backdrop because I wanted to test it. I felt her complexion and features would work beautifully with the atmosphere I had in mind. All my backdrops are hand-painted. I never want them to be too plain: I want texture that can enhance the sitter’s features and help convey a mood. This backdrop, in particular, had an earthy, weathered quality to it. The main tone was a warm tobacco brown, over which I added strokes of chalky white. I’m speaking in the past because this backdrop no longer exists in this form: I’ve since painted something else over it. I like the idea of a palimpsest of backdrops, one painted over another, each recalling a particular period of my work as a portrait photographer. I remember it being quite tricky to work with, as those marks could become overpowering. The secret was to leave some distance between the sitter and the backdrop, but not too much. I think it works very well here – there’s a balance between the busyness of the backdrop and her stillness. The physical backdrop may be gone, its paint now buried beneath another layer, but it doesn’t matter – as soon as I return to the portrait, the mood it helped to create is back here. (C) Rino Pucci 2026 #paintedbackdrops #studioportrait #portraiturewithconnection #manchesterportraitphotographer #manchestercreatives
Portrait of Will Peters by Rino Pucci. Let’s ta Portrait of Will Peters by Rino Pucci. Let’s talk about Instagram and ratios, shall we? In the beginning, everything was square. The pictures were square. The grid was square. A reassuring level of agreement. I rather enjoyed it. I wasn’t making many square photographs for my professional work, so Instagram gave me an excuse to do something different. At one point, I even challenged myself to post one picture a day: a square take on my life and the world around me. Then came other proportions. Eventually, the grid changed too. At some point, I stopped arguing with the geometry and let it narrow the selection. I now post only what fits.And this portrait is a case in point: the composition fits neatly into a 4:5 frame, with a strip of railings, greenery and orange at the top, just above the white wall. I’ve also come to terms with the fact that what I share here is only part of my work. Not necessarily my favourite part, either. More often than not, Instagram feeds are the visual equivalent of easy listening: photographs that read quickly, work on a small screen and don’t ask too much of someone scrolling past. I suspect quite a few photographers have reached a similar arrangement with themselves. A quiet negotiation, with neither side entirely satisfied. The landscape images, the work that takes a little more time to decode – those can find somewhere else to live. Preferably in print.
Portrait of Simone Lomax by Rino Pucci Rino write Portrait of Simone Lomax by Rino Pucci Rino writes: I have a soft spot for the black-and-white portraits of old Hollywood: the carefully shaped light, the drama, the aura. Of course, times have changed, and there’s so little room for that tradition in today’s headshot portraits for casting purposes. That’s why I very rarely work in black and white in the studio. But whenever I’m not constrained by the grammar of a headshot, I aim to give my clients a black-and-white studio portrait. When we’re building a modelling portfolio, I always feel it deserves a place. I love this portrait of Simone Lomax for precisely that reason. The absence of colour brings everything back to the essential: her gaze, her expression, or, to use a word I love, her engagement. Looking into the camera and showing engagement aren’t quite the same thing. Many do the former with ease; fewer manage the latter. For me, that engagement is a dialogue without words between sitter and photographer, and whoever sees the resulting portrait can sense it, as if they’d been there. © Rino Pucci 2026
An empty room, in a building living on borrowed ti An empty room, in a building living on borrowed time. A woman keeping something to herself. Has someone just left, or is someone about to arrive? And what isn’t she telling us? These four images offer a glimpse into the thriller-like narrative of PROPERTY., my first book. These days, you’ll hear me talking a lot about When in Manchester, my ongoing project that will become a book. (Head over to @_when.in.manchester to find out more.) But that will be my second book. My first, PROPERTY., was published in 2023: a multi-layered, tactile photo-thriller. It began as a site-responsive art project: a collaboration between me, a photographer and writer, and model and artist Diana Christine Keller. Over a series of visits, we explored a building in London living on borrowed time, destined for demolition. It no longer exists. The building inspired our work together. Later, after moving to Manchester, I decided to bring those photographs into a book. I invited 11 wordsmiths to contribute short stories and poems in response to selected images, without giving them any information about the setting or the person portrayed. What intrigued me was the process: first making the photographs in response to a place, then opening them up to other people’s imaginations. Their words added new layers to the narrative. The book also contained newspaper clippings, pieces of fabric, drawings, mysterious letters and envelopes. These tactile elements made the book itself a precious object, and keeping the edition small made it special. I curated and published PROPERTY. in a very limited edition, and there is a chance it will be republished at some point. #photobook #artistsbook #narrativephotography #cinematicportrait #independentpublishing
Portrait of Becky Kershaw by Rino Pucci Rino writ Portrait of Becky Kershaw by Rino Pucci Rino writes: Becky is the 95th sitter of the “When in Manchester” project, and without a doubt one of the most engaging to work with. We wandered around Victoria Station and, on a whim, stepped into a barber’s. The people there were very kind to let us in – thank you. I loved the mosaic tiles on the floor and the old-fashioned barber’s chair with its chrome footrest. And, of course, for a touch of modernity, the ring light that every barber’s now has – a homage to Instagram, and to the people willing to take photos for it. I took this portrait from outside, through the shop window, while Becky was reading her newspaper. I guess she was looking at the bus passing at that very moment (do you see the big “Scary Movie” advert?) when I clicked the shutter. If you look closely, you can spot the photographer in the reflection, as well as a passer-by who probably stopped to check what we were doing – though I have no recollection of that. Thank you, Becky, for being a great sitter (pun intended). “When in Manchester” is now almost complete in terms of production, but if you would like to take part, please get in touch by message or comment. And if you know anybody with a strong connection to Manchester and an interesting story to tell, please pass this on. Thank you. #wheninmanchester #manchesterphotographer #portraitphotography #blackandwhitephotography #manchester
Nelson Nsofor came to the studio early this week f Nelson Nsofor came to the studio early this week for a series of portraits to enhance his modelling portfolio. We are both very pleased with the images we created. In this particular one, I love the honesty of his gaze. Stay tuned for more portraits from his session. #portraitphotography #studioportrait #modellingportfolio #manchesterphotographer #manchesterportraitphotographer © Rino Pucci, 2026
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All content and images © Rino Pucci 2021 (unless otherwise stated). Reuse or reproduction without express permission forbidden.

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