WE ARE DARLINGS!

A story that began before the studio.

Darling Studio opened in Mondovì in 2026. The story behind it began much earlier.

We are Lara and Simo: life partners and colleagues in this adventure. We have lived across Europe and Oceania - in Italy, Tasmania, Sydney and Brisbane, New Zealand and Scotland. Following work, photography and a curiosity about other cultures and ways of life, we made homes in places far apart from one another.

Lara

Lara was born in Australia and grew up in Alba, in the Langhe. Photography arrived long before it became a profession, alongside art and an interest in anthropology, cultures and the ways people inhabit the world.

In January 2011, we left together for Australia. Lara began her formal path in photography in Tasmania, completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Photography. In the years that followed, she continued to study visual storytelling, fashion photography and documentary film, developing a way of seeing in which artistic research and observation of the real world continue to meet.

Lara has worked for the University of Tasmania and the National Galleries of Scotland. Today, alongside her photographic practice, she teaches photography and video at the Grafico Ipermediale school.

Simo

Simo has a degree in Enology, is a certified sommelier and holds WSET Level 3. For many years he worked in management roles in restaurants and hospitality, both in Italy and abroad. While in Australia, he followed Lara's photographic path closely - her projects, exams and submissions - while developing a photographic practice of his own. In Sydney, he completed a diploma in graphic design and image at Enmore College, then continued his training in Milan with courses in graphic and web design.

His experience in hospitality allows him to look at a restaurant, winery or business with an understanding of what usually remains behind the images: the pace of service, the work of the people, the preparation, the care of the spaces and the attention given to guests.

Two years ago, we decided to make the province of Cuneo our home. We had liked Mondovì when we were younger, long before we set off to explore the world. Returning here, this time to stay, felt natural.

Darling Studio began here.

The name comes from the part of the world that set much of what we have become in motion. The studio brings together two personal photographic paths without trying to make them the same.

Lara works mainly with weddings, portraits, reportage and fine art photography for interiors. Simo focuses on interiors,restaurants, businesses, professionals and events. Some projects carry one point of view; others begin where both meet.

We share photography, travel and a curiosity about people and cultures. Darling Studio is where all of this has finally found a home.