Beauty, Style, and Island Culture

Photography By Romana Caban-Chastas

Portrait photographer Romana Caban-Chastas talks about her love for photographing people, conveying emotions, and the importance of the showing the diversity of her island.

Guadelope

What is your history as a photographer?

I’ve been doing photography since 2014. First, I was taking pictures of landscapes and street art. Then, I began to shoot people who I met with Instagram.

I always had this love for visuals, especially for pictures since I was young ! My mom bought me my first camera (a compact camera), I was so happy to have it and I immediately started taking shots of whatever I saw (haha) .

You primarily shoot portraits. Why is portraiture important to you?

Back in the day, I did a lot of portraits because I was really enjoying it ! I think portraits convey emotions and show diversity. Indeed, the fact that the population of Guadeloupe is rich in ethnicities, you can see different faces but some physical similarities and I want to highlight that. Different people, different personalities, styles etc..

Who are your models? How do they inspire you?

I find my models mostly on Instagram. Sometimes I’m looking for original style, sometimes just physical differences like facial features.

I can be inspired by their energy, their personal style, by their faces, it depends. I connect with them first and then try to organize a photoshoot.

What makes your style unique and different from other portrait photographers?

I don’t really know if my style is unique but I want to create something new here on my island because when I began I didn't see a lot of diversity or a certain style of photos. I wanted to bring a different approach to photography and wanted to make art. Today, I can say I have my style, my vision, and if it feels like it an unique and different style to people, I’m glad and proud to hear that !

Tell the story behind one of your photographs.

I have fun little stories behind some of my photographs, but I guess I can’t tell about them all. But the most recent is when I was shooting my friend Kéryann who is pregnant. We wanted to do a pregnancy photoshoot but we had some struggles with the location, then with the rain and after with bugs. It was a bit chaotic but we managed to get beautiful shots and we created some fun memories.

You are from the island of Guadeloupe. How has the island and its culture influenced you as an artist?

Guadeloupe influences and inspires me a lot in my photography because of landscapes, the culture we have, the habits. I can say literally I am inspired by everything !

It pushes me to highlight what we have here, in order to show to people who don't know Guadeloupe who we are and what we have. It's a part of my identity, who I am.

What is it like being an artist in Guadeloupe? What is the art scene like?

Being an artist in Guadeloupe is not that easy because this area is not sufficiently developed, I think. We have painters, photographers, art designers, and more but not that much. We can develop more. Now we have social media to link with the world and it's a good thing ! It really helps to make your work travel.

Creatively, is there anything you would like to pursue?

Of course, I want to do more creative photoshoots, meet new people who are also passionate about art. Maybe do a magazine cover, or do an international exhibition of my pictures