All images by Breana Mazzagatte. Used with permission.
What draws me to Breana Mazzagatte’s portraiture is that there’s often an element of mystery to the frame. Whether that’s through a hidden face or a subject that sits in the shadows, her images always leave you wondering. I find this type of photography extremely interactive as it gives the viewer the opportunity to shape their own ideas about the work they see.
Breana Mazzagatte (Self portrait).
Mazzagatte continues to create a portfolio that is filled with vulnerability, it’s gentle and at times, subtly provocative.
Regardless of the style of shoot, she has a running theme: safety. It could be her daughter or a client on set; the subjects carry a visible ease in front of Mazzagatte’s lens, as if nothing is being asked of them beyond honesty.
That’s a testament to the type of photographer – and person – she is. Being able to draw authenticity out of a subject is a skill that’s hard to own, but one Mazzagatte seems to have mastered.
I caught up with her to learn about her story and her relationship with the photographic practice.
Them Frames: Hey Breana! How was life growing up in La Puente? How did it shape your creative flair?
Breana Mazzagatte: A childhood in La Puente was an experience I owe great gratitude to. La Puente, my home, my upbringing, it left me with a character that I am proud of.
Where and how I was raised, it shaped me as an artist because I saw how things like culture, mental health, drugs, generational trauma, and economic status impact vulnerability and connection. This led to my attention to, maybe even an obsession with, expression and mannerisms.
Them Frames: One of (the many) things I like about your portraiture is how you’ll sometimes hide or partially cover the identity of your subject. What’s the creative thought behind this?
Breana Mazzagatte: Thank you for taking notice. I don’t often show my subjects’ full face, and when I do it’s very often a direct back drop portrait. This is because I’ve observed that our truest emotion is rarely held in our face.
And-the more a person is guarded or tries to present as something inauthentic, the more that seems to be true. I may capture tension in a hand or the reliance on the space between a horse and its trainer.
No one is without complex feelings like pain, love, insecurity, pride, shame.. they just often hold it somewhere that they hope it can’t be seen.
Them Frames: Your subjects tend to look vulnerable in their frames – not uncomfortable, but perhaps not quite in their usual comfort zone. How do you create that space and what helps you settle your subjects?
Breana Mazzagatte: I think I really look at people, with a genuine curiosity. Sometimes it really just takes that. The world is full of people just waiting to talk, and so I think maybe it’s relieving to sit in front of someone who is genuinely curious about you.
Them Frames: How does photography help you find and navigate human connection and community? How does this help inspire creativity?
Breana Mazzagatte: I love the friends I’ve made through photography and art, and having people to talk about the technical side with, and some that I can connect with deeply, that know hardship and sentiment and want to talk about it.
But, I find it vitally important to connect outside of the work. There has to be a balance there, because if you spend all of your time around other artists, you’re not really experiencing the real world.
Them Frames: You speak transparently about some of the personal challenges you’ve had in recent years, and the loss of your parents. If you’re happy to, can you share how photography helped you process grief and loss?
Breana Mazzagatte: It didn’t. It’s sort of the opposite, in a way. Loss has significantly shaped my work. Really, loss is the reason I came back to photography, because I no longer had a witness to my daughter’s childhood, or my own life.
I wanted something tangible to share with Amelia in years to come; something beyond my own recollection, where we could both look back at our life together, and she could see her young self as I saw her.
Them Frames: Your daughter was your original subject. How does she feel about mom photographing her? And how does it feel for you to be creating a photographic story of her experience growing up in this world?
Breana Mazzagatte: You know, this is something I think is important for all artist parents, and especially photographers, to always check in with their kids about. Amelia loves it, she has always loved it. If there is ever a moment where she even seems kind of over it, the camera gets put down, every single time, and I’m happy to take this moment to encourage other parents to do the same.
She’s getting a little older and now she looks at the camera differently. That comes inevitably with that sort of physical self-awareness of tween to teen hood. It’s really interesting to watch her relationship with her image change as she gets older. And, you know, it’s pretty cool for her that she and her friends get to do photoshoots whenever they want.
Them Frames: We love music here. If you could pair a song or album with your body of work what would it be and why?
Breana Mazzagatte: Ooof, that’s really a tough one. Probably something deeply sad and beautiful, like something by Nils Frahm. Or “Don’t Be Scared, I Love you.” By Bill Ryder-Jones.
Them Frames: Finally, please finish this sentence. I need photography in my life because…
Breana Mazzagatte: It’s the way I show the world as I see it.
You can enjoy more work by Breana Mazzagatte by visiting her website and Instagram.
More reading: Olha Stepanian and the Power of Letting Ideas Take Their Time
