Behind the Name — Portrait Novella
Hello all, so glad you are here.
As many of you know, Portrait Novella stemmed from Hannah Arnzen Photography, my photography business of 13 years. This rebrand has been a long time coming. Over the years, my work and mission has changed into what is now Portrait Novella. I wanted to take a few minutes to share where the inspiration for this rebrand came from. Later on, I will write another blog breaking down the design elements of the brand. For now, we will stay with the name and mission.
Portrait
“A painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one depicting only the face or head and shoulders”
Novella
“A short novel or long short story” “The English word "novella" derives from the Italian novella, feminine of novello, which means "new.”
Coming up with the new name was by far one of the most difficult tasks through all of this. In fact, I spent about six months working on name combinations. I felt limited because I really did not want to use my name or the word “photography” at all.
I began looking for inspiration through my old photographs when I came across photos I took while I was in Italy. There was a specific photo in particular that I took and has always stood out to me. While heading out for a bike ride, I smelt the aroma of homemade PASTA SAUCE. I looked up and saw an Italian woman in the window wafting a freshly clean sheet. In that moment, I was in complete awe and felt like I was living in a fairytale moment. The few seconds all of this took place made me feel like I was in a movie.
By the time I snapped out of it, she had disappeared. She probably saw me staring at her and left in a hurry! I didn’t have my camera at the time, but came back later that day to snap a photo. Although the curtains were drawn and windows shut, this photo still brings me back to that very moment where I can smell the pasta sauce, hear the sound of her wafting the sheet and admiring her from afar.
I’ve always enjoyed romanticizing things in life, just like the story above. I wanted to start portraying that in my work. When you get your photo taken, I want you to be able to look back and remember all of the elements that went into your session. Photographs are a beautiful way to reminisce at who you were at that moment in time. What part of your story was being told as the shutter clicked? Let’s stop and remember that this is not the end of your story. In fact, it’s only a short piece of your life’s story.
So this is how I finally came to choose Novella. I love the idea of a photograph representing who you are and it being only a short story of your life’s story. A few weeks later, I called my sister Haven and said I needed help with the second word. We then mapped out a few options but Portrait is what stuck. A month later, I hired Aspen Theory to help me translate my ideas into what you see now. I’m looking forward to bragging on her a little later on.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Portrait Novella specializes in capturing photos that tell a story through sensual detail. They draw you into the moment making it feel as though you can smell the air and feel the ground at the exact moment the shutter clicked. Hannah brings her years of experience into her art through a highly experiential approach towards narrative driven photography. She is breaking away from the expected in favor of capturing the often forgotten or looked over beauty in simplicity and authenticity.
