Conegliano, Italy-based photographer Colin Dutton recently photographed the Antinori Nel Chianti Classico winery and restaurant located in Tuscany for the print edition of American Airline’s November/December issue of Celebrated Living. The Antinori winery is for the first time being run by women, three sisters who have inherited their family’s wine empire, and Colin explored the beautiful grounds to capture the charm of this Tuscan treasure.
What was involved in planning and preproduction?
The magazine gave me quite an open brief which included portraits of the Antinori sisters in a couple of locations, plus general pictures of the cellars, vineyards and the three restaurants associated with the winery. It was a lot to cover and only a day and a half to fit it all in. I was lucky to get help from Sara Nieddu from Antinori’s communications office. She organised everything for me, from arranging accommodation to scheduling time slots for the different people and places I needed to photograph. She also stayed with me throughout the shoot which was a big help.
What were the shoots like?
As often happens with magazine jobs, you have to cover a lot of different subjects…interiors, portraits, food, and landscapes in a short time with minimal equipment and no assistant! Although it was an open brief I had a good idea of what the magazine was looking for as I’ve done three or four other jobs for them. So I was mentally ticking off the type of image I was getting along the way and trying to produce enough variety in terms of subject and format to make their job easier when it comes to laying out the story.
Did you face any challenges with this project?
The main problem was covering everything in the time available. It was pretty hectic. The Antinori sisters are busy people so I had like a 30-minute window to shoot portraits in four locations around the winery. I was also working without an assistant which made things tricky. What I did was place lighting in advance at two of the portrait locations, using Sara as a model and assistant to set up the shots. That was I could just move the sisters from one shot to the next. It saved a lot of time and stress.
What was your favorite part of the project?
It was a fun job, despite the schedule. My favourite part was probably shooting the photograph that American Airlines eventually used for the front cover. It wasn’t easy to set up but I knew that a strong image was going to come out of it so it was kind of satisfying to produce. Beyond that, Sara was great company during the day and I got to eat and sleep in an amazing location in a beautiful part of Italy. What’s not to like?!
See more of Colin’s work on his website.
Credits:
Photo Editor: Mark Mantegna