PHOTOGRAPHER, DANCER, ARTIST

I’m Luca Sportelli, a photographer with a deep-rooted background in dance. I was born and raised in Italy and began dancing at a young age before moving to the United States at 17 on scholarship to the San Francisco Ballet School. After five years of training, I went on to dance professionally with companies in the U.S., Canada, China, Belgium, and the Netherlands, including Nashville Ballet. Dance shaped how I see movement, timing, and emotion, and it still influences everything I create.

In 2019, a serious ACL injury brought my dance career to an unexpected stop. During recovery, I turned to photography, something I had always been drawn to, and quickly realized it gave me a new way to stay connected to movement and storytelling. What started as photographing students grew into a full-time studio and creative career.

Today, I specialize in dance and portrait photography, blending technical precision with a clean, editorial, fashion-forward style. I’ve worked with over 25 dance studios across Ohio and beyond, as well as professional dancers, young artists, and brands. My work focuses on capturing authenticity, strength, and individuality, whether in motion or stillness.

Photography, for me, isn’t about perfection. It’s about presence, trust, and creating images that feel honest and lasting.