Rosa Guerra | Art for Art | San Francisco

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Since the beginning of 2014, I have been working on my year-long personal project, Art for Art. Once a month, I find a fellow photographer whose work I admire, and I photograph them; they photograph me. View the full set of previous shoots in the series here: Art for Art.

In June, I met up with Rosa for a lovely San Francisco beach shoot. Rosa was my intern in 2013 and has since become my wonderful associate photographer and videographer. See our collaboration below:

Art for Art with Anna Wu Photography x Rosa Guerra Photography

Our Styles:

Anna: I love that Rosa used this shoot as an opportunity to practice shooting film. She loves a clean, pretty image just as much as I do, and it’s been fun to see her style develop over the last year since we first started working together.

Rosa: My style tends to be candid and intimate. I always lean towards romantic, simple and timeless images. I love Anna’s style, and see some resemblence with my own. Her style is clean, creative and captures moments in a photojournalistic way that really tells a story. She also manages to capture light beautifully.

Rosa Guerra | Art for Art Portrait Exchange by Anna Wu Rosa Guerra | Art for Art Portrait Exchange by Anna Wu

Rosa Guerra | Art for Art Portrait Exchange by Anna Wu

The Shoot

Anna: I felt very comfortable working with Rosa and was surprised to hear this was her first-ever portrait session in front of the camera. I love the small beach location we chose, and the overcast skies provided a lovely mood to the images. It was fun to shoot in mixed media as I shot digital-only, and Rosa shot film-only.

Rosa: The shoot was fun and I enjoyed the experience very much. I was also a bit nervous! Not only because I was also the one behind the lens, but because I was also the one shooting a professional photographer. I’ve worked with Anna before, and I always enjoy it because she has a very calm approach. I felt nervous but comfortable taking turns photographing each other, even in front of others, which to be honest, I’m still a bit shy about.

Rosa Guerra | Art for Art Portrait Exchange by Anna Wu Rosa Guerra | Art for Art Portrait Exchange by Anna Wu

Rosa Guerra | Art for Art Portrait Exchange by Anna Wu

Rosa Guerra | Art for Art Portrait Exchange by Anna Wu Rosa Guerra | Art for Art Portrait Exchange by Anna Wu

Favorite shot below. Thanks for climbing up a rock in your flip flops, Rosa!

Rosa Guerra | Art for Art Portrait Exchange by Anna Wu

Lessons Learned

Anna: I love the black and white film portraits that Rosa was able to capture (see a few below!). I’m still learning lessons about posing and helping subjects feel comfortable in front of the camera, but I think this monthly commitment has been such a worthwhile and rich experience so far!

RosaThis experience helped me remember the importance of moving and shooting various angles while in the same location. Anna is very calm while shooting, and does such a good job at directing. At times I tend to shoot my subjects with very little direction, but I learned from Anna that even a little directing can make a big difference.

Art for Art | Anna Wu by Rosa Guerra Photography

Art for Art | Anna Wu by Rosa Guerra Photography Art for Art | Anna Wu by Rosa Guerra Photography

Art for Art | Anna Wu by Rosa Guerra Photography

Art for Art | Anna Wu by Rosa Guerra Photography Art for Art | Anna Wu by Rosa Guerra Photography

Art for Art | Anna Wu by Rosa Guerra Photography

Art for Art is a monthly personal project in which Anna and a fellow photographer photograph each other. See the full series here. View Rosa Guerra’s blog here.

Anna Wu is a San Francisco wedding photographer often  around the world. Follow her Art for Art series and professional work at annawu.com and on Facebook.