Emilia Brandão Carneiro (São Paulo, 1982) is a Brazilian photographer based in Portugal whose work explores identity, divinity, and psychology through intimate portraiture and autobiographical narratives. Working with digital and medium-format analog photography, she draws inspiration from pictorialism and surrealism, shaping a visual language rooted in introspection and emotional depth. For over twenty years, her practice has unfolded through sensitive, personal stories that reflect her own journey of healing and self-reflection.
A LEICA Ambassador since 2020, Brandão’s work has been featured in Vogue, Art News, ELLE, El Mundo, and Marie Claire, and she has collaborated with Vogue, GQ, Elle, and Glamour. She holds a Cinematography degree from FAAP (São Paulo) and a Master’s in Photography from EFTI (Madrid).
Her recent solo exhibitions include Acervo Migratório (São Paulo, 2025), Sentimental Journey (Madrid, 2022), and Time to Heal (Madrid and Logroño, 2020–2021). She has participated in international festivals such as Open Walls by the British Journal of Photography in Arles (2023) and the Barcelona Foto Biennale (2022), and is the recipient of the 2023 Open Walls Arles award. Her work has been exhibited across Brazil, Spain, Germany, France, and Portugal and is held in several private collections.
How do themes of healing and self-exploration manifest in your photographic process?
I see life as a continuous journey of learning… My whole life philosophy is based on us being here, in this lifetime to learn! The lessons are there, on everyday life challenges and experiences, but it’s up to us to see them, look inward and be brave enough to learn from them. So the themes for me are the stories that unfold in my personal life, the signs my intuition picks up and decides to look closely and explore. Photography helps me observe life in such a way… closer and attentive to life’s lessons.
Your images often feel deeply feminine — what role does feminine energy play in your creative vision?
I believe we all carry both masculine and feminine energies, and as soon as I allowed my feminine energy to have a stronger voice in my life my artistic work started flowing more intuitively, from an introspective place allowing for more contemplative moments… I felt more connected to myself, to nature and I accepted the mysteries and miracles of life. That’s how I see my feminine side on my creativity.
Where do you draw emotional or spiritual inspiration from when creating new work?
It’s just the air that I breathe, my modus operandis, the engine that guides me to experience the world. I’m deeply sensitive to energy, emotional and atmosphere, and that sensitivity naturally shapes my creative process. Maybe it has to do with being Brazilian, living connected with your heart and soul… I just know I wouldn’t be able to create differently because it wouldn’t be authentic.
What would your ideal day dedicated to art and culture in Lisbon look like?
It would involve libraries, galleries and museums.
What new ideas or series are you currently developing, and what emotions are guiding you toward them?
My next project will be shown in Paris at the beginning of November for the first time. I spent 5 years developing it and it is finally complete. It’s a self-portrait project exploring my connection to nature, my first encounter with the energy that most call Mother Earth. Through this process, I discovered how profoundly healing that connection could be. The project became a dialogue between my body and the natural world, between stillness and transformation.
