When did photography first captivate you? With which camera did you begin this journey, and does your first photo series still resonate with you today?
Photography first captivated me when I was about 12 years old. After holding a big DSLR and being allowed to play with it for the first time, I truly loved pressing the shutter and felt a real connection with the camera. After that, I started learning the basics, like the exposure triangle, and just loved taking pictures of everything all the time. I think there is one old series that still resonates with me: the photos I shot in China in 2017. Quite recent, but the ones before resonate less with me. That series, despite its drastic color modifications, kind of is the basis of my style today.
Which destination stands out as the most inspiring or meaningful among your travels?
Until now, the most meaningful is Korea. I have been there 4 times, totaling about 1 and a half years spent there. I love it there because the streets are so different than in France. Every building seems different. You can be at a big modern skyscraper, walk 20 meters, and find an old temple, walk again, and find a very small, abandoned street, and it just goes on like that. I need to explore more of Korea’s cities as, for now, I mainly explored Seoul, but despite that, I still find inspiration in that city as it is so gigantic and diverse!
The faces in your work are essential—are they friends, strangers, or curated collaborations? What’s your process for finding them?
That’s a question I get asked a lot; I don’t have one specific method. Some models are friends, some come from agencies, some I find on Instagram, and others contact me directly to book a shoot. Since my photoshoots often involve hours of walking and talking, it naturally creates connections as we have plenty of time to share and discuss various topics.
Are there trusted stylists/makeup artists and so on your return, or is your process more fluid, welcoming new collaborators often?
I don’t work with teams often. I mainly choose people whose style is already there, and who know how to do their makeup and outfits. Even though I like having the freedom to bring my ideas to light, that’s why I style my models sometimes with some of my clothes. One thing is sure: if I need to call stylists of outstanding quality someday, I’ll ask CHERI and Nara Kim first, as they’re talented in that domain and super sweet. As for makeup artists, I may call Lili Choi, as I heard lots of good things about her work.
Where do you find inspiration, and what are you doing when you are not photographing?
To find good places to shoot, I find inspiration just by walking around and exploring. I don’t plan my spots, so everything comes to me when I’m walking around with my models. I just scan my surroundings and try to visualize my framing.
Most of my ideas tend to come to me late at night, when I’m tired and just relaxing on the couch, listening to music. As a result, I’ve collected a lot of small ideas in my notes that I hope to bring to life someday. Scrolling aimlessly through Instagram also inspires me, as I follow many talented artists. However, I try not to overdo it, as I want to keep my work as authentic as possible and not let others’ creations influence me too much. When I’m not photographing, you’ll likely find me watching TV shows or anime, playing video games, or simply listening to music.
But to be honest, photography is in my head most of the time, so even during those activities, ideas come, and I write them down.
I heard you also walk around with your camera. How spontaneous are you when capturing street scenes?
I used to always have a camera with me; these days, not as often. But when I do, I’m not looking too hard to capture scenes; I have my camera in case something catches my eye. So, I think it can be very spontaneous. However, a lot of the films from those random moments still haven’t been developed, and some haven’t been scanned because I’m not impatient to see the images.
What makes a picture a „great“ picture? In your eyes, what elevates a photograph from just good to unforgettable?
I try never to press the shutter if I don’t like what’s in the viewfinder. But there are still times when I like what I see even more. Often it is when there is lots of mess in the frame, lots of details, and elements of the environment that I use to frame my models. Those instances often become pictures that I like. However, my „great“ pictures are often unexpected. I shoot them thinking they’re good but not shockingly so, and after scanning I discover an image that I love. The unforgettable images would be the ones that combine clean composition with bright punchy sweet colors and good color separation.
What projects are you currently working on?
I have a bunch of ideas written down, but I need to save some money to shoot some of them. But what I can say is I want to get more into conceptual photoshoots. I did some already, but I want to do more. I also want to do more photos without faces. I feel like printing them big would look great, while having someone you don’t know (or even someone you know actually) printed big on your wall would be weird. While if there are no faces it may be better. One main idea I have is to shoot photos with around 10 to 30 people and play with the composition, amusingly hiding their faces.
Matthieu Quatravaux – www.matthieuqua.com, www.instagram.com/matthieu.qua/