Thomas Weinreich

“I consider myself to be very emotional and optimistic. So every moment, as ordinary as it might seem, can mean something special for me and a great opportunity for a photo.”

Intercru: Where are you from? Where are you living/working now?

Thomas: First of all, thank you for having me!

I was born in Fortaleza, a tropical city in Northeast Brazil. My parents have been separated since I came to this world, so because my mother is Brazilian and my father is German, during my childhood I was raised both in the city and in the small suburb of Gauting, near Munich.

In 2018, I decided to move to Germany, to give a step forward in my career as a photographer and videographer by starting from complete zero again.

Today I live in Leipzig, one of my favorite cities in the world.

What got you into photography?

What got me into photography in the first place was actually making videos for YouTube.

I got my first camera as a Christmas present at the age of 11 and I used it to make action videos and photos with toy guns together with my friends. As I grew up, I got bored of making such content and wanted to try something new with my camera. At the time, Instagram and Tumblr were on the rise, and I completely fell in love with the photos I was seeing there. I immediately wanted to do the same.

In my last year of high-school, I knew exactly what I wanted to do for a living: my passions. I wanted to create art and travel.

So as a first step in my career, I started shooting for small local brands, models, artists, raves and festivals.

What types of emotions do you try to capture in your photography?

I mostly try to highlight some feeling of nostalgia, joy, and warmth.

Also, when shooting people, I aim to create photos that scream confidence. I love the process of making my subjects feel the most comfortable as possible in front of the camera, because that’s the best way to portray their authenticity.

It honestly makes me super happy to see someone feeling so good about themselves. I consider myself to be very emotional and optimistic. So every moment, as ordinary as it might seem, can mean something special for me and a great opportunity for a photo.

What are some of your favorite accounts to follow on Instagram?

I personally try to be the most offline as possible as a way to keep my mind empty and my creativity at it’s best, with few external influences.

But of course, I do admire the work from some amazing artists. The first accounts that come to mind are definitely @linatesch and @nicholas.fols.

Where do you find inspiration for your photography?

I mostly try to gather inspiration from sources outside of photography itself.

I am deeply fascinated by people, diversity, cultures, stories, nature, colors, places, naturalistic paintings, old esthetics and especially by music.

Every time I go out to shoot, I have one or more songs in my mind that somehow fit with the theme of the shooting and serve as inspiration.

I freaking love psychedelic rock, reggae, old-school hip hop/rap and techno. So whether I am shooting strangers, fashion, travel, or lifestyle, I probably have some Ocean Alley, Tame Impala, Hollie Cook, or Biggie song playing in my head.

How would you describe your photographic style?

I would say vintage, cinematic, dreamy and natural.

I almost always go for a nostalgic and inspiring feeling. I try enhance my photos during the editing process keeping them the most natural as possible.

And lastly, I’d like to give an advice for new photographers… Avoid sticking to trends, stick to your own ideas and trust them.

Shooting something just because it’s trendy or because it will give you likes in social media won’t challenge you creatively and won’t bring you any progress as an artist. If someone’s work is based on trends, it won’t be timeless because trends always die at some point.