Behind The Lens: Neri Valenti // @neri.valenti
“First I wanna start by saying that I’m super excited to be part of the LMS family and to be alongside some creative minded people on the media team. I’m looking forward to all the fun content we can produce with all of you LMS community members.
My name is Neri Valenti, I’m a 21 year old automotive photographer from Seattle WA, and this is a look behind my lens. My journey to being a photographer kind of came out of the blue. As a kid I was surrounded in a sort of automotive family because ever since I was born my dad worked in some sort of car company from VW to Audi to now Alfa Romeo. Due to this when I was growing up I really wanted to be an automotive designer because I loved looking at exotic cars and admiring the body lines, smooth curves, and aggressive angles. I loved the visual aspect of cars and considered them to be a work of art which was something that I wanted to create. However, when I was in early highschool, like many people I wanted to try photography. I borrowed a camera from one of my mom’s friends and took an online course about learning how to use a DSLR camera in manual mode and hit the car meets right after. Right when I started taking pictures of cars it instantly clicked that this is something that I really like doing. It took one thing that I was passionate about learning (Photography) and one thing I wanted to do as a career (Design cars) and merged them together. With photography I could choose how to capture a car and examine the body lines and really bring out the beauty in a work of art. From there I just worked on some of my skills, upgraded to a heftier camera when I decided that I wanted to pursue photography and for the past 3 or so years I’ve been really trying to take photography seriously and working my hardest to make a living out of it.
Another thing that pushes me to keep going in automotive photography is the communities that you find in the car scene. When I was in highschool I really only had a core group of like 6 friends and nothing else but when I started getting into car stuff, while I didn’t have a cool car, I was still able to meet a lot of great people and now have a lot more close friends that share similar interests. Obviously car culture is really big and there’s probably always gonna be some people that are kinda nasty but if you find the right people, it helps connect you to your passion and experience all that there is to love about cars, motorsports, and everything under the hood.
When talking about cars the question always emerges of what my favorite car is. If you’re a fan of anything automotive, you know this is the hardest question someone could ask you. While I could say my favorite car out of any cars is a Bugatti Chiron because of how aggressive it looks, there are so many different calibers of cars and it’s hard to pick just one. On a personal level I’ve always loved the Mazda Miata (NA). Growing up I fell in love with the pop up headlights and how small and agile the car was. I looked and looked hard for one when deciding on a first car to get but I had a deadline and in the end I was unsuccessful in finding a clean one that I knew would be reliable. I leased a car that I knew would serve me well and be reliable but everyday I dreamed of what it would’ve been like if I found a Miata and how fun it would be. However, after 3 years and the lease was over, I found my car. In July of 2020 I finally got my dream car. A 1991 Mazda Miata with 98,000 miles and it was suuuper clean (after cleaning the cobwebs and dust out of it first). But ever since I got it I've been more in love with it and how well it corners and all the fun stuff to love about Miata's. Also the Miata community is super fun and comes with a lot of cool people with sick builds.
With trying to make automotive photography a full time job for me, some goals I have for my future is to work for some sort of car related company whether it be a magazine/publication, or a shop that works with custom fab stuff. I’ve been trying to take my photography to a more professional and somewhat commercial level to step up my skills and make myself more appealing to potential clients. Another things that I’ve been thinking of doing is starting a YouTube where I’d share photography tutorials, other automotive content type of stuff and just help people learn things because I’ve found that I like teaching people stuff about photography but not really in a traditional classroom setting
With all that being said, I’m looking forward to all the cool new faces I meet through LMS and I’m excited to work on future projects, go to events, grow my skills, and reach new people through this beautiful community of people that Taylor has built with the help of all of you of course. I’m looking forward to all the new opportunities that LMS brings and I can’t wait to grow as a person and a photographer. And if you’re in the Pullman area or the Seattle area and see a silver Miata with a big Likeminded banner on it, make sure to say what’s up because I'd love to meet more people part of the LMS family."
- Neri
I am honored and humbled to have Neri on the LMS Media Team. He as an individual offers such a wide variety of skills which shows in the work that he produces. The level of content is entirely unique within itself and it is mind-blowing to know he has worked with brands such as Polestar as well. From light painting, to creative styling, to taking photos of some of the rarest vehicles in the world. If you have seen his work it speaks for itself and I highly recommend you reach out to him for a shoot. If you haven't, just take a look at this portfolio or Instagram page here! The fall is upon us at the time of writing this, and I am very much looking forward all of the upcoming content that Neri has to bring us in the future! Thank you for being apart of the team!
PS: Expect more photos to be added to the BTL blog post over time as Neri produces more quality and exciting images to share with us all!