Stefania Dobrin is a Cuneo-based photographer specialising in new-born, children and couple photography. Since 2016, Stefania has specialized in newborn, maternity, and family portraits. Her work is all about capturing real feelings and moments, those little details that become tomorrow’s most precious memories.

What is your main field in photography?

I specialize in children’s portraiture—with a focus on newborns, maternity, and family sessions. For the past ten years I’ve built my work around authenticity: real expressions, real gestures, and those tiny details that become a family’s most cherished memories. Working with children feels natural to me—their spontaneity and playfulness set the rhythm of every shoot—so I design each session to be calm, simple, and honest, letting personalities emerge without pressure. Light is my language: I favor soft, natural-looking setups that keep babies comfortable and help parents relax, while still giving me the control to shape mood and highlight emotion. Increasingly, I also capture short video moments alongside the photos, so families can remember not just how a moment looked, but how it felt.

What equipment do you use?

I work with Nikon Z6 cameras paired with a 50mm and 100mm large aperture lenses, alongside a selection of others, including some wider lenses. In the studio, I have switched completely to Maxima, using the Maxima Furiosa with the Profoto® adapter to quickly mount the many Profoto® accessories I have, using them even more proficiently than I used to do with flashes. I also rely on the Maxima Rapida both in the studio and during outside shootings.

Which Maxima products have you used?

I use the Maxima Rapida both indoors and outdoors for its waterproof lightweight design and versatility. The Furiosa delivers a powerful 80,000-lumen output with a full colour range from 2600–6800K and can also be powered outdoors using a third-party battery.

Can you tell us a little more about your preferred lighting strategy?

I build my light around comfort, authenticity, and control. For newborns and small children I keep things simple: one large, diffused key at about 45° to the face, slightly above eye level, and a white reflector on the shadow side for a soft 1:2 or 1:3 ratio. I feather the key across the subject rather than pointing it straight on—this keeps skin tones gentle and preserves texture without harsh hotspots. If I need a touch more shape, I add negative fill (a black flag or V-flat) rather than cranking contrast with harder light.

I almost always work with continuous, soft light so kids stay calm and parents see the mood in real time. With Maxima Rapida I can dial CCT to match the room (tungsten lamps, window light, or mixed ambient) and fine-tune output in tiny steps. For sleepy newborns, I keep intensity low and place the source high and slightly behind to feel natural and non-intrusive; for energetic toddlers, I lift the overall key for a brighter, high-key look that suits their pace. I’ll often bounce off a wall or scrim for extra wrap, and bring in a subtle hair/background lift only if it serves the story.

Because the setup is quiet and ballast-free, I can switch to video at any moment to capture micro-interactions—hands, smiles, hugs—without stopping the flow or rebuilding the light.

What are the characteristics of Maxima that you enjoyed most?

What I appreciate most about Maxima is how naturally it fits children’s portrait work: the light is soft, even and beautifully clean on skin, so I don’t have to fight color shifts or harsh hotspots. The wide bi-color range and fine, stepless dimming let me match whatever ambient I find—window light, tungsten lamps, mixed rooms—without stopping the session. It’s also quiet and cool, which is essential around newborns; babies stay calm, parents relax, and I can work closer with large diffusers without heat or noise becoming a distraction.

Day to day, the battery power and ballast-free design make a big difference: I can move the light from one corner to another in seconds, keep my footprint small, and follow the energy of the family instead of rearranging gear. I also love to use the instant photo-to-video switch on my camera—one tap and I’m capturing short clips in the same setup, which adds so much value for clients. This pairs extremely well with the high-quality light from Maxima and basically gives you a finished result out of camera. Finally, the fixture plays nicely with my favorite modifiers, feels robust, and is consistent from session to session, so I spend less time tweaking and more time focusing on the emotions that matter.