Francisco de Deus is an advertising photographer based in New York City. Originally from Brazil he is known for his concept driven approach to image-making and a love for ideas. Francisco’s work has been featured several times in Lürzer’s Archive magazine and Specials among other awards and publications worldwide.

How you got into advertising photography?

Photography came naturally as my way to work in advertising. I am passionate about creative ideas and the challenge of telling stories using images. My work has a strong handcraft vein and I feel these mix perfectly in conceptual advertising. Image making is essentially my doorway to create new worlds and tell stories.

A run down of the most recent campaigns I worked on…

I shot Amazon’s Prime Day global print and digital campaign. On this I collaborated with director Peter Sluszka and his amazing team of stop motion artists. Together we created a paper-craft world for Amazon’s biggest shopping day of the year. It was quite a journey and I’m really proud of the final outcome.

I shot a pro-bono stop-motion animation with the Refugee Nation. In it we illustrate a Refugee Flag folding into a life jacket shape. The initiative has received lots of attention this year and I’m very grateful to have been a part of this team. I’m also very proud the of the campaign I shot for Facebook’s Internet.Org. We developed, fabricated and shot stills and animations of 10 objects cut in half. It was one of the first works I did involving water jet cutting for big objects, we had a lot of fun in the making of it!

The best piece of creative work around at the moment is…

The Havaianas “Made of Brazilian Summer” print campaign done by ALMAP BBDO is one of the best creative works I’ve seen lately. It has a really clever use of the product. I love the art direction, use of color and the craft that went into making these beautiful ads. For me they really encapsulate what summer represents for Brazilians and the power of beautiful images.

The next big advertising trend is going to be…

Good ideas never go out of fashion. We live in an exciting time where technology is evolving fast and constantly giving us new tools to tell stories, but no matter the medium, a great concept will always catch our eyes and hearts.

The piece of photography I wish I had thought of is…

I’m inspired daily by images, they bring me the fuel to create something new. Working with advertising I am constantly looking at images and thinking on what my approach would have been to produce them, it’s a never-ending exercise. Artistically, the body of work from photographer Irving Penn is a great influence, the range of the work he was able to created during his career is amazing.

My favorite digital tool/ app at the moment… 

Instagram is my favorite app, as it’s one of the most complete platforms for inspiration, marketing and networking nowadays. My instagram feeds are @francisco_dedeus @blindedbylasers.

In a film about my life, I’d like to be played by…

I hardly think my life is exciting enough to become a movie, but if this ever happens, Christopher Walken would be my pick — always!

A word or phrase I overuse…

“How can we make it better.”

My last social media update said…

Great surprise and honour! Our Billboard “The Power of Number One” campaign shot for Ogilvy Brazil was featured in Luerzer’s Archive São Paulo edition, next to many of the most awarded and classic ads from the past years!

My dream collaboration is…

Any opportunity where art directors, designers, fabricators, stop-motion artists with inspired visions come together as a team. This is my dream collaboration and how I see great ideas coming to life.

A piece of criticism I’ve received was…

While I was still working as a photo assistant, I was told by my boss at the time that handling criticism well would be an important skill to have as a commercial artist.  I made a point in working on this skill and I feel I was very successful. Being able to listen and understand a different point of view, is, in my opinion, one of the pillars of team work and for me it’s an integral part in building something great. 

A great piece of advice I received…

I have a couple of pieces of advice that I like very much. “No job is too small, always give all you got in it” “If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. “Never give up and always be thankful!” 

https://www.franciscodedeus.com