The Ethnic Photography of Laurent Auxietre
By Lee Milthorpe on August 24, 2009
Born and raised in Paris, Laurent Auxietre is an up and coming photographer with a keen interest in shooting ethnic portraits. We caught up with Laurent just before he embarked on a motorbike journey through the desert, to ask him a few questions about his work and get an insight into his world of photography.
Clearly you have a talent for portrait photography, how do you decide who will make a good subject to photgraph?
Well, it’s the whole thing, it’s a vibe. If I see interesting scenery around an interesting subject, I will not hesitate to get the camera ready for a shoot. As you can see on my website or my blog, I am mainly shooting tribes, and I get to the point that most native people are interesting to shoot. When I’m on location, there are photo opportunities at every corner, so I actually try to focus on what would come out best on my photos.
Many of your portrait subjects are of different ethnic origins, do you find the language barrier hinders you when taking the photographs and have you had any situations where someone objected to you taking their picture?
The body language always transcends our respective languages or dialects. Of course it’s better to have a guide to travel with, especially in those exotic places. I’ve faced many situations when people didn’t want to have their photo taken, especially women. So it is a bit frustrating at that moment but I quickly get over it if I get a good shot soon after with another person.
You manage to get fantastic lighting in each of your shots, is this a matter of positioning your subjects favourably in daylight or do you create your own soft lighting with a flash system?
I never use artificial light when it comes to ethnic photography. I manage the light the best way I can by positioning the subjects in favorable places. My only extra tool is a reflector as it sometimes helps to catch more light if needed.
What equipment do you have in your kit and what is the most important piece of equipment to you?
Well the most important piece of equipment is probably the sun. If manged properly, it gives you a light that no artificial light can give. The reflector is a good help too.
What advice would you give to photographers who are just starting out?
Most experienced photographers would say one thing: To keep shooting as much as possible. However, I personally don’t think that shooting all the time is a must do thing to learn properly. My advice is to get inspired by other photographers and try to come up with a personal style at the end. It is important to observe, or participate in some workshops if needed, and definitely try to understand photography in the true sense of the word rather than shooting all day long.
You can see more of Laurent’s work by following the links below:
Website: http://www.laurentauxietre.com
Blog: http://laurentauxietre.wordpress.com
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