Manuela Salgueiro Lourenço

Over the past decade, photography has evolved from a passion into a profession. My first experience working in the field came in 2012 when I served as a fixer for American photographer Jon Lowenstein on a Nikon report about Brazil’s economic growth during the 2010s. After years of photographing intuitively and attending workshops to refine my skills and deepen my understanding of the medium, I began working commercially in 2020. Since then, I have photographed architecture, interiors, portraits, events, products, art installations, and political actions for clients such as Projections on Walls (POW), Greenpeace, Lonely Planet, Farm Rio, the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), Index Space, the Institute for Public Architecture (IPA), External Affairs, and Collection Cisneros. As a photographer, my role extends beyond simply taking pictures. I oversee budgets, develop concepts, and craft the creative direction of each shoot to align with the client’s vision. Depending on the project, I may take a highly conceptual approach—shaping the aesthetic and narrative—or adopt a more observational role, capturing candid, unfiltered moments. Building connections is a fundamental part of the process—whether engaging with subjects to create a sense of trust and ease or collaborating closely with clients to ensure their needs are met. From managing logistics and problem-solving on set to navigating the dynamics of commercial and editorial work, my practice balances structure and spontaneity. My work has been featured in ArchDaily, Folha de S.Paulo, It’s Nice That, PhotoVogue, PH Museum, Fotodemic, C41, Booooooom, Musée Magazine, and Blind Magazine. I have exhibited in group shows in New York, San Francisco, and São Paulo, including at Art Gowanus, ChaShaMa, and the International Center of Photography (ICP). My photographs are currently available for purchase through the Brazilian platforms Boobam and Selo Coletivo.

As a photo assistant, I've had the opportunity to work alongside many talented photographers in Brazil and the U.S. for clients, brands, and publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, Casa Vogue, Ark Journal, Harper’s Bazaar, Harry Styles, MillerKnoll, Tiwa Select, and others on commercial and editorial shoots. I’ve assisted in designing and building lighting setups as well as hiring and managing equipment on set. At times, I have also taken on the role of Digital Technician, responsible for managing digital assets. Over the past years, I have worked with photographers including Layla Motta, Ruy Teixeira, Brian Ferry, Alex Korolkovas, Adeline Lulo, Stella Blackmon, Martien Mulder, Yael Malka, Justin J Wee, Laurel Golio, Natasha Stanglmayr, Jordan Macy, Josefina Santos, and Nicholas Calcott.

As a teaching assistant at ICP, I worked with professors Frank Franca, Jason Fulford, Teun van der Heijden and Sandra van der Doelen, Alice Gabriner, Jade Doskow, and Logan Bellew, assisting in classes on editing processes, fashion photography and creative direction, bookmaking, and the intersection of architecture and photography.

For RADDAR, a São Paulo-based architectural design and consultancy studio run by Mexican architect Sol Camacho, I conducted visual research and designed communication guidelines for Lina Bo Bardi's Casa de Vidro dossier for the Graham Foundation. I also helped initiate cultural programming research and develop cultural strategies for the renovation and rebranding of Pacaembu Stadium.

Visual identity, branding, signage, packaging and book design projects creation and development at CJ31.

The module I participated in is part of the Masters in Territory and Environment at Roma Tre. The goal was to experience the phenomena, directly through the Stalker practice of walking and wasting time, to creatively re-invent relationships with sites. The intention behind the Masters was to provoke through our presence an opportunity to activate processes of identification and value of the territory, weaving social relations that revitalize the communities and encourage the encounter and exchange with those who cross them. The module consisted of an intensive workshop in June, held in Palermo, Sicily, on the theme of hospitality and walking as an aesthetic practice. The hypothesis is that the city model as we have known since modernity is close to collapse, and that it is necessary to begin to rebuild the paths to the hinterland with which Europe was re-established at the end of the ancient era.