Stephanie Diani is a New York-based photographer who makes portraits of people — from A-list celebrities and CEOs to Red Cross workers and army generals — for a cool group of discerning editors, art buyers and creative directors, both on location and in her 1000-square foot, Flatiron District, baller daylight studio named Ripcord. (see photo)

She uses cinematic light and shadow to capture the subtle nuances of her subjects in moments of contemplation, humor or playfulness. She is self-taught, has been an independent photography professional for twenty years, and still gets giddy about a great shoot. She has scuba dived in Fiji and Belize, zip-lined in Hawaii, jumped out of an airplane, earned a black belt in Korean karate, graduated summa cum laude with a degree in classical archaeology, taken trapeze, fencing, Latin, Spanish, French and Italian, bumped into Mr. T in Whole Foods, and been swept off her feet by Fabio, and more recently, Lieutenant General Walter Piatt (see photo).

She picks groovy Spotify playlists, believes photoshoots should be fun, and is damn good with wardrobe clips.

Hire her.

Monica Volpacchio, aka Mini-Me, aka Right Hand Mon, aka Sweet Baby Jesus, is first assistant and studio manager for Diani Industries. In addition to her work interpreting Stephanie’s poor English and hand gestures during shoots, she is a musician, camera operator, audio engineer, producer, wood-worker and writer.

She is also in charge of explaining youth culture to Ms. Diani.