You came up with a strong concept for this project. Can you explain it to us in a few words?
Elinchrom’s desire was to demonstrate the arrival of this new line of softboxes with a fashion shoot. Consequently, it was evident that the light would be the real subject. I had a real desire to portray “living light”, literally. For a long time, in the back of my mind, I’ve had the idea to make a series dealing with time, which is one of the basic components of the photographic act. I wanted to play with the path of the sun on a giant sundial.
It all makes sense: the light shapes the model who at the same time becomes an indicator of time.
During your shooting, what was your impression of the Indirect Litemotiv products?
Unfortunately I didn’t really had the time to analyze my feelings about the equipment during the shooting, everything went too fast.
That said, I was still able to appreciate the stability and the maneuverability of these softboxes. It was great to be able to use the Octa with precision at 6 m above the ground at the end of a platform. As for the light itself, I really appreciated the character of its brightness and the way it responded to the sunlight.
Describe your use of light, your approach.
Light fascinates me… Finding the model and the intensity that would be true to the soul of the project was clearly an integral part of the creative process. For me, light should sometimes graze and embrace the subject to emphasize her body, but sometimes also become flatter or more even, depending on the subject that you want to evoke. One original way of thinking about light that I love is Matthieu Gafsou’s "Sacred" series, which presents a clergyman on the ground. It’s as if he is being crushed by the (divine) light of the flash. It’s amazing! I am looking for shades and the relationship that can be established between light and subject. I should say that in general, I’m not a big fan of Speedlights ;-)