Carnival Photoshoot in Santa Teresa and the Selarón Steps, Rio: Yellow and Green Feather Costumes
Two places, two Carnival looks. This session started on the tram tracks of Santa Teresa with a yellow and gold feather costume, and moved to the Selarón Steps, where a green and turquoise headdress stood out against the red walls and the colorful tiles.
Santa Teresa and the Selarón Steps are close to each other, so both fit in a single morning. Together they give you a street gallery and a very colorful tile gallery in the same session.
The photos in this gallery are from my session with Shea.
Yellow feathers on the tram tracks
We started in the streets of Santa Teresa, where the old tram tracks cross the cobbled road. The yellow wings of the costume open wide against the gray street, and the colorful house fronts and murals behind add more color without hiding the person.
Walking toward the camera, spinning and lifting a leg like in a samba step gave the most movement.
Street corners, the tram and a painted wall
Further along we used a street corner with a stone wall, a leafy street and a mural of a yellow tram with Sugarloaf Mountain and the sea painted on it. Standing in front of the mural, the costume and the painted tram match in color.
The real yellow tram appears in the background of one of the frames.
The Selarón Steps and the red walls
At the Selarón Steps the look changed to a green sequin bodysuit with a big turquoise feather headdress. We began at the Brazilian flag mosaic on the red wall, then sat on the steps with yellow wings spread over the blue, yellow and green tiles.
A short walk down the lane, the red tile walls with diamond shapes and the yellow Caipi Rio wall gave two more strong backgrounds.
The ribbon wall and the full staircase
The wall of colorful ribbons is one of my favorite backgrounds. The turquoise feathers and the ribbons look great together, and leaning on the wall or dancing along the lane gave the happiest photos.
To finish, we stood at the bottom of the staircase, where the name Escadaria Selarón is written in tiles, with the whole climb behind the headdress.
Tips for a similar photoshoot
- Bring your own Carnival costume, or tell me the idea early. Big feathers and headdresses need space, so we choose the corners together.
- Start in Santa Teresa and finish at the Selarón Steps, or the other way around. Both are close to each other, but the steps get crowded later in the day.
- Wear comfortable shoes for cobblestones, tram tracks and steps.
- Check whether the tram is running on your date, because its operation can change. We can shoot at the tracks and the murals either way.
Locations in this session
Want a session like this in Rio?
Send me your dates, the area where you are staying and the pack you like. I reply with availability.
Message me on WhatsApp See packs
