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Shoot Outside The Box: Into The Imagination Of Auriane Perez
By Brogues - 7 min read
Meet our Showcase March winner!
Born in France,Auriane Perez is an advertising communications student with a flair for out-of-the-box thinking – above all when it comes to her imaginativephotography. With her rich, varied portfolio and unusual take on the classic portrait aesthetic, the 23-year-old talent attracted the attention of our photo editors and earned herself the Showcase Marchtop spot!
Curious aboutthe approachbehindher eye-catching compositions – particularly her distinctive marshmallow series – we quizzed Auriane about her creative process, photographer inspirations and propensitytocapture the female form in her work.
You’ve been into photography for years. What inspired you to pick up your first camera and begin shooting? Has your approach to photography changed since then?
It all properly began during my first trip to Thailand,although I was drawn towards photography beforehand. I traveled therewith my parents, andmy mum and I essentially took the same photos with the same type of camera(a small compact at the time). However,they immediately noticed something a little extra in my pictures;I thinkthat’s where it all started. From that moment I started photographing objects, and later my best friends! I took a real liking to the staging and retouchingof it all.
My work from 7 years ago looks nothing like my work today. Although my photos aren’t technically sound yet, they’re definitely thoughtful. I really try to tell a story – I’ve never started a photo shoot without having ideas in mind!
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Each of your shoots is distinctive and creatively composed. Could you talk us through your usual photographic process?
Generally, I have ideas that come to me and I try to find the model(s) that match mymental images. Everything unfolds quickly in my head: an image comes to me and the rest follows pretty fast. I always try to keep a notebook handy so that I’m able to write everything down in detail, or I take notes on my phone. But sometimes it’s the models that inspire me!
For example, I photographed a model called Adriane on a Solex bike. The entire session revolved around a pretty, vintage atmosphere and everything came to me because she has a style that naturally lends itself to that kind of mood. Or for my photos with marshmallows, a journalism student wanted to interview me as part of her studies and film me taking pictures.
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From the outset, I asked a girl called Camille to model because I particularly liked working with her,having done so before. I had no idea of the concept though. Then suddenly – the night before the interview, in fact – I thought about her pink hair and everything came to me at once!
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We’ve noticed that many of your portraits focus on female subjects. Is there a specific theme or message that you want to convey through your work?
Actually, I’ve already come up with topics I want to address with men. But it’s been difficult because I often don’t find the ideal model (in my eyes, at least)! Curiously, it’s easier for me to imagine a picture with a female face or feminine curves. For me,there are some images that can’t be done with a man, and vice versa.
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To what extent do your individual subjects influence the artistic vision behind your photos? Do you know any/all of them personally?
Photography hasgiven me the pleasure ofmany niceencounters with people. Although at the beginning I would shootwith my close friends, I now work with people I don’t know, which is made quite easy through social media. There are people who I’ve stayed in touch with, and others I don’t see at all anymore. But even if I don’t see them again, the memories remain; because of my photos, there will always be this link and little reminder that I was part of their life for at least a day.
I’ve come acrosslovelypeople to photograph, and if my photos don’t always revolve around the same atmosphere it’s becausemy subjectsare very different from one another. It’s really interesting to have to adjust in one way or another in order to fit with the model’s personality. It’s important to me that the results please the people I take photos of, not just me!
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Is there a particular shoot or image that you’re most proud of? Tell us more.
I’m really proud of the album “The most beautiful of men” with Adriane (these are the imagesinvolvingthe young woman holding a pipe). It’s rare that I can create exactly what I have in mind, but the photos from that session turned out exactly as I’d envisaged! We had great light in the morning and beautiful sun in the afternoon, too.
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It was greatto see Adriane pose exactly as I’d hoped, andalso to see the photos I had imagined display on the screen of my camera – I was excitedabout the editing process! The man I love is also a fan ofthese images; it was really great to see the admiration in his eyes when he saw them. It was actually him that spruced up the Solex seen in the pictures, and the pipe shown is from his personal collection; it’s almost as if he was present in these shots! And the cherry on top:Adriane (and her parents!) loved the images too.
Which other photographers do you admire?
There are two photographers in particular that I’ve admired for years: Fanny Latour Lambert and Charlotte Abramow. They’re incredibly talented; you can spot their photos a mile off!
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Thanks so much for the chat, Auriane! Follow her on EyeEm to see more of hergorgeous work.
The monthly Showcase Missions are all about uncovering new talent with the potential to take their photography further and reach a broader audience – and Aurianewas the winner of ShowcaseMarch! Meet former winners Arif Nurhakim, Audrey Kwok, Chris Caliman and Jasmin Kaemmerer. And keep your eye on the Missions tab in the EyeEm app (iOS and Android) or on the blog for the chance to get your work featured.