Romolo “Rome” Celli

Where there’s fashion to be found, he’s not far behind—camera in hand.

Rome has an eye for emotion, texture, and mood, human subjects and otherwise. Makes sense: for 30 years, he’s been portraying properties in their most flattering light as a real estate broker.

Gorgeous fabric, form, shoes, movement, color, texture, hats. These comprise Rome’s muse. Featured here: clothing and hats from dado boutique and Godiva’s Vintage Clothing. Accessories from Joette's on Monroe. Model: Jaclyn O'Dell.

But it’s the movement of fabric, the shine of patent leather, and the intrigue of a smoldering glance where Rome’s passion truly shines.

“I'm deeply interested in editorial and commercial fashion photography,” he says.

Rome has worked with area lifestyle magazines and he’s also captured local events, such as a recent fashion show at Good Luck. Then there’s the steady stream of small, trendy shops around town, such as Godiva’s Vintage Clothing, dado boutique, and Joette’s on Monroe, who’ve all worked with him to showcase their collections.

While much of his work is close to home, Rome is not averse to hitting the road for juicy projects.

“Especially for designers and retailers all around western New York, north to Toronto, south to New York City and west to Columbus,” he says.

He recently worked with Buffalo designer and retailer Báles Clothing Company.

“I would travel anywhere to shoot for a commercial gig,” he says. He’s also in the middle of a local shoot for Minneapolis-based designer Samantha Rei.

Through the years, his influences have evolved alongside his talent. One of his earliest?

From a shoot for Thomas Lee Designs. Model: Kayte Dies.“An inspiring high school teacher and a couple of friends plugged me into a photography club and introduced me to shooting and developing film,” he says.

Today, he adds some bigger names to the list. Richard Avedon. Steven Meisel. Craig McDean. Javier Vallhonrat. Sophie Delaporte. And Mario Testino.

Rome is in the midst of expanding his Elton Street studio. But that’s merely home base. He loves location shoots, and many of them feature iconic Upstate and Western New York locales as you’ve never seen them before. Downtown high rises. The Lake Ontario shoreline. Favorite pubs. And historic gems with just the right amount of decay to add some gothic drama, where appropriate.

Oh, and then there’s the gravel pit.

“Scheduled to shoot there next month,” Rome says.

Anything for fashion. 

Rome See more: ROCimage.com, Rome on Flickr

Say hi: romolo@ROCimage.com, Rome on Twitter