“No one has ever asked me if my family and photography are linked,” she admits.
“I’ve literally always done my photography a certain way because of my family.”
Pignataro’s mother emigrated from Reggio Calabria together with her family at the age of three, while her father was born in Melbourne to parents also from Calabria.
Her parents passed on to her an appreciation of the importance of union that comes from being part of a large family.
Pignataro believes that the liveliness and joy she witnessed at her family gatherings was responsible for her love of Photography.
“I’ve always grown up around lots of beautiful people,” she said.
“People together, celebrating things.
“I would always see everyone enjoying themselves.”
Lisa Pignataro (centre) with her parents, husband (second from right) and brother
Pignataro’s adoration of these moments inspired her to immortalise them by taking candid shots that captured the essence of her family.
She affectionately remembers these pictures, taken in the course of daily life at a place she loved.
For Pignataro, her grandparents’ home was a pillar of stability while other aspects of her life changed.
“I always noticed … it always kind of stayed the same,” she explained.
“I’ve taken really beautiful photos of my nonna when she’s sewing or cutting up food to cook.”
She prefers photos of ‘real life’ instead of contrived pictures where subjects formally pose.
Pignataro was recently asked by a client to take photos of her dad at her child’s baptism.
The client's father had been unwell, and she wasn’t sure how much time they had left together.
“I took the most beautiful photos of him with his grandchildren,” she recalled.
“He’s not even paying attention, and they’re not paying attention.”
“But they’re just there, together.”
Pignataro associates Italian culture with the independence and strong work ethic she observed in her parents.
"The Italian culture that I have grown up in has been such a significant part of my life," she said.
“I’ve seen my dad work tirelessly for himself.
“I think that’s the Italian passion, that goes ‘I’m going to do it my way.’
“My mum’s worked for herself, she’s very much a [maverick].”
Pignataro has now herself decided to go her own way.
After eight years of photography being her side project, she has finally turned it into her full-time job.
“The world has kind of opened up for me,” she said of her decision.
“I know that it’s the right time.”
Pignataro admitted there were initial moments of doubt, but in the end it’s who she is.
“Everyone who knows me knows that I’m the girl with the camera.
“I’m the annoying one who’s like ‘let me get some photos, pretend I’m not here!’
“It’s so nice to be confident enough to say I’m actually going to do this and I’m going to make it work.”
Pignataro’s photography can be viewed via her Instagram.
