Ilva’s style is varied yet straightforward and simple, highlighting the food without unnecessary frills and props, creating mood with an inspired combination of light, color and creative styling. She prefers to shoot in daylight because it enhances the beauty of the food and gives a natural feel to the finished image but she is happy to use studio lights when needed. Her innovative vision infuses her food photography with a unique quality of beauty, harmony and light, at once simple and complex.
She works primarily as a food photographer but as she can’t resist a challenge she has photographed cars, interior design elements (bed linens, bathroom and kitchen accessories, toys, etc) and portraits. Her clients include Ferrari, Rio Mare, Esselunga (one of Italy's biggest food chains), Pernod Ricard (Havana Club) and Domaine Wines. She has styled and shot for magazines Sale&Pepe (Italy), Alice Cucina (Italy), Mat & Vänner (Sweden), Four Season’s Magazine (USA),The Art of Eating (USA), American Food Roots (USA), The Foodie Bugle (UK) and editors Q-A International (Canada), Conde Nast (UK and Italy).
She had a one-man show in 2008 in Uppsala, Sweden; I was part of a group exhibition on food art in 2013 in Bologna, Italy.
Ilva won the Best Photography Based Food Blog at the IACP Media Awards in 2014 and the same year, she was one of the finalists in the International Colour Awards.