Exclusive Interview with Camille Vivier

After recently posting about Camille Vivier’s personal works here, I decided I wanted to know more about the French Photographer. Shooting campaigns for fashion brands including Isabelle Marant and Stella McCartney, editorial for magazines such as Self Service and Purple Fashion, her client list is extensive. Camille’s personal work is stunning and if that all wasn’t enough, she makes beautiful videos for the likes of Maison Martin Margiela. I managed to get in touch with Camille and get an exclusive interview with AnyOneGirl!  So here it is, enjoy!

i love the way your images feel as if they could be a still from a moving picture, with a possibility of before and after moments surrounding the still image. do you think by being able to do both moving and still images successfully that they lend to each other?

I like the narrative potential of a photograph but it’s not directly connected to film making, they are two different mediums and contexts, but yes, photography has a strong relationship with time, the ambiguity of photography regarding the truth of the event gives a real litterary/narrative potential to photography.

when did you start working with moving picture?

5 years ago,I had the opportunity to direct a music video for a Berlin based electro band called Sex in Dallas.

do you feel it is necessary for a photographer to be able to do both moving and still image works in today’s industry?

No

is there a different process you take when using moving image footage as apposed to still image?

It is totally different, film deals with time and sounds, it hasn’t the same goal than still image, personally I use film as a sensual medium; a chain of affects, photography is more quiet, more abstract and intellectual in a way.

how important do you feel the use of internet is in todays world as an artist? how often would you use it each working day?

I first didn’t realize how important internet would be to have a certain visibility, it’s a worldwide tool of communication, a way to be connected to other creative people, it’s exciting because the effect of it is immediate, but it’s just a side of the work, photography can’t exist without prints, paper, books, exhibitions where you can really experiment and make your work live vividly, a concrete frame is important to give a direction to the understanding of your work, it is also more unique.

you studied at three different schools. did they each offer you something different? do you feel this was a purposeful action in your training?

I didn’t stay long in any of these school, but it was definitely three different experiences, three different places and moment in my life but it wasn’t on purpose, I was just searching myself and didn’t feel very well at school.

do you have any words or images or ideals that you like to stick by when working towards always achieving a signature style through various client briefs?

A good light, if possible and a specific universe.

how do you balance client works and personal works?

Let’s say fifty-fifity but I’m now focusing more and more on my personal work.

who do you most like to sit down with and bounce ideas off for your work? any mentors or teachers or other artists that have really influenced you and your work?

I really trust my husband and two really good friends I have who also work in art and photography. Working as an editorial assistant at Purple magazine when I was 18 built my early taste but my parents gave me the love of photography and image in general. Many artists, writers, directors have influenced me some are obvious and some are not, I am not focused on one type of imagery and I’m still very porous to things I like, quoting is also a part of my work.

what cameras do you most like to work with?

A Nikon FM2

what do you think about the current art world?

Nothing in particular but more exciting than many other fields.

where do you live and what do you love to do in your city?

I live in Paris. I love bookshops, old coffee shops and restaurants. I love to walk in Paris by night, I love the litterary, confidential and romantic aspect of the city. Now I rediscover Paris through my children’s eyes, we go to gardens like the Jardin des Plantes, Parc Montsouris, and we hang around in Chinatown.

Interviewed by Yasmine Ganley. Thanks to Bird Production.

See more of Camille Vivier’s works here.