Photographer/Director SAVERIO recently brought his signature mix of improv instincts and kid-friendly intuition to two assignments for Chicago Magazine: a portrait series featuring young performers at KidProv Chicago and the cover for The Savvy Parent’s Guide to Raising Kids in Chicago. Fluent in “third-grader” and well-versed in the rhythms of a studio set, he proved to be the ideal Photographer to wrangle young subjects into portraits full of character, humor, and honesty.
For the KidProv Chicago portrait series, SAVERIO worked with a group of young improv students, going beyond the usual request for a “silly face.” Instead, he coached the kids to think differently about their facial muscles, encouraging more nuanced expressions. The result: roughly 1,500 perfectly odd faces, many of them likely expressing their feelings about him that Saturday morning.
The second assignment came with a different set of challenges. As any seasoned kid Photographer knows, early shoots are key to avoiding cranky, hungry afternoons. While that rule held true for most of the project, the cover shoot didn’t allow for such luxury. The magazine’s 5-year-old cover star, Pharoah, offered a real-world reminder of why timing matters, occasionally going on strike until his mom stepped in to gently smooth things over.
Across both projects, the final images balance spontaneity with subtle direction, capturing kids exactly as they are: unfiltered, expressive, and unpredictable.
For more of SAVERIO’s work, visit his Workbook portfolio.
Represented by the Gren Group.
