You may not recognize her by name, but you definitely recognize her as the girl behind the camera at every sporting event on campus. This year’s sports photographer and POLISHED features photographer is none other than the talented and driven Corinne Ciraldo. The sophomore Fashion Merchandising major from Glastonbury, Conn., has been photographing people, places, and things for as long as she can remember. Since arriving on the scene at Lasell, she has brought it to the next level by making her hobby a profession.
After taking pictures on her mom’s camera for years, she received her own camera when she was 16. The subjects of her photos vary, but her favorite subject is fashion photography, with nature shots taking a close second. She was more than excited to get involved with POLISHED Magazine, doing several editorial shoots over her time here at Lasell.
“It’s super cool to see my photos in print, [such as] the magazine, the 1851 Chronicle, or the Lasell Athletics website; it’s like ‘Oh right I was there for that, oh I took that!’”, said Ciraldo. “It’s a strange feeling, but it also feels really rewarding to see your work in public.”
After becoming the sports photographer for the athletic department this past August, Ciraldo learned a whole new side of photography that is more fast paced.
“It’s crazy because there are a lot of games to go to, but it’s also fun because you get to see the game from a whole new angle that no one else has,” she said of her experiences at games. “It’s really up close and personal, definitely a different feeling when you’re trying to line up a shot and then all of a sudden there’s a ball coming towards you, or a person is about to crash into you.”
If there’s anything else you need to know about Corinne Ciraldo, other than that she can take a great picture, is that she loves music. She credits her love of music to her dad who was always playing music in her house growing up, giving her a solid base of classic rock, and her aunt for introducing her to more modern indie music as she got older. With routes in the music industry, her dad worked as a producer in California and her aunt was a singer, there was no doubt that she would become the music-obsessed concert junkie she is today.
Her first concert, she sheepishly admits, was the Cheetah Girls when she was 7 years old. Shortly after she developed impressive taste for a 9 year old, begging her mom to take her to see Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak tour, as well as a performance from the music legend Stevie Wonder, where she was the youngest audience member in attendance by at least 20 years.
She credits Two Door Cinema Club’s Game Show tour this past November as her favorite concert she’s ever been to, saying that it was like fulfilling a lifelong dream. Her diverse taste is perfect for the music festivals she hopes to go to someday, saying that her biggest concert regret was not going to Boston Calling in Fall 2015 when the Alabama Shakes headlined. If you ask her to create the perfect concert, it would be Cub Sport opening for Tame Impala with Amy Winehouse headlining. But the concert that changed it all for her was October of her freshman year here at Lasell, when she saw The Growlers at the Sinclair in Cambridge.
“The concert introduced me to a whole new genre of music that I hadn’t yet discovered yet. I guess you could describe it as Beach Goth, but it lead me to so many concerts. That’s one of the things I love about Lasell, it’s so close to Boston, which has an incredible music scene,” said Ciraldo.
In addition to being able to quote every episode of The Office and every Will Ferrell movie by heart, Ciraldo has a huge interest in fashion documentaries. Her favorite, In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye, gives a behind-the-scenes look on how editors work with photographers.
So in the future, you may not see Ciraldo in the fashion magazines but you’ll know from the high quality photos of your favorite musicians on the cover that she was there behind the camera. Until then, look for her photos on her Ciraldo Photography page on Facebook, in POLISHED Magazine and the 1851 Chronicle, and keep an eye out for her website launching soon!
All photos provided by Corinne Ciraldo