Interview: Photographer Joss Peix Foto (France)

[if !supportLists]Let’s talk about you[endif]

My name is Joss. I am 45 years old and I live in Paris.

I have different hobbies such as travel, cooking and art in general. Before practising photography I was a painter, then a musician (guitarist) and an amateur theatre actor.

[if !supportLists][endif]How and when have you started photography ?

I started silver photography 25 years ago. At that time I took pictures of my close relatives (family). Thats’ how I learn to take pictures, doing a lot of portraits.

Very young I was inspired by the 20th century humanist photographers : Sabine Weiss, Willy Ronis, Robert Doisneau… Black and white was then bindingly obvious for me !

There were 3 turning points in my photographic evolution :

[if !supportLists]✓ [endif]the exploration of Sebastiao Salgado’s work. What a shock !

[if !supportLists]✓ [endif]the change from silver photography to digital photography was a big turning point. At the beginning, I was very reluctant, as I was fond of silver photography : the moment, the paper photo (versus the picture) and discovering one’s photos developed. Digital photography enabled me to take more photos and thus learn faster and discover more various thematics.

[if !supportLists]✓ [endif]the fashion and model photo since 2 years.

After explorating Salgado’s work I stopped the family portrait photogaphy and started the street photo. Capturing a stranger’s look, this is authenticity, truth emotion of a lived moment, that remain, with the passing of time, as a testimony for ever.

Then model photography came as a challenge. In fashion photography, you prepare, create, with places, material, lights, attitudes, but at the end you freeze the « pose ». I like this creation process, but my challenge was to do it with my photographic soul, a different view, bringing to fashion photography my experience of street photographer who captures the moment.

[if !supportLists][endif]What is your goal in photography ?

First of all, my goal is to transmit captured moments throughout the ages, emotions that will remain as a testimony of a time, a period and all that this represents in sociological terms ! My only goal is thus to move people.

With fashion photography I have obviously others goals such as dreaming of working for magazines and fashion creators. But I want to dot it with my one style. In fashion you create more than you capture the moments, but I think that I can manage to merge both styles : create and move people !

[if !supportLists][endif]What represents for you photography ?

I can define photography in 3 words : emotions, authenticity and temporality !

To be moved by a picture, it must be true. One can’t trick with emotions ! When a picture is true, it gives you a bundle of emotions forever !

There is a close link between emotion, authenticity and temporality. Photography remains a time, a moment, if it moves people, that’s a intertemporal moment !

[if !supportLists][endif]How do you manage to differentiate from other photographers ?

I think that my work is different from others as I managed to do the splits : to capture moments in the street with strangers and do posed, worked and prepared in advance fashion photography.

Evidently I place a high priority on technic, on light, but the human aspect, the moment, the captured look remain my preference !! Whatever the artistic creation in fashion, I want that the model performs with emotions, with a true look, her look !

[if !supportLists][endif]What are your inspirations ?

As I say before, my main inspirations were the 20th century humanist photographers and especially Sebastiao Salgado.

In fashion, my preferred photographer is Peter Lindbergh, for his black and white pictures and for his true work.

But the phographer, who has inspired mostly my artistic work in the way to frame and build a photo, is Jean-Loup Sieff.

[if !supportLists]Do you prepare your pictures in advance ?

I always prepare my shootings with models, with inspirations, ideas.

But I let myself be guided at the moment by the human aspect, how the artistic relation with the model forms and develops during the shooting time. And sometimes it happens that the shooting is very different from what I had planned.

But that is the way I like to work, at the moment, to listen at each other !

[if !supportLists]Do you work on your photos and can you describe your post production activity ?

What an annoying question ! I am in theorical way, against too much retouch on photography, as I am a big fan of Peter Lindbergh’s and Sebastian Salgado’s work and the true captured photography.

Nevertheless, fashion photography is very sophisticated. So now, I do post production. I use Lightroom (for the Raw treatment, changing the picture to black and white) and Photoshop to the skin non destructive process production (split frequency).

[if !supportLists][endif]What do you prefer: rental or studio ?

I prefer mostly to do my shootings outside as you can capture more the moment.

But I do a lot of shootings in my own studio too.

[if !supportLists][endif]What are the most interesting places and subjects for you ?

For fashion photos I am fulfilled in Paris.

Paris streets are always inspiring me ! I like textile material too, I try to work with fashion creators, stylists to develop this theme.

[if !supportLists]What would you shoot absolutely ?

This is difficult to answer !

If we talk about photography in general, I’d like to do a photo story on minorities in the world. As Salgado did in Genesis.

If we talk about fashion, of course work with famous fashion creators would be a dream.

[if !supportLists]What is the most important thing you have learned over the years ?

Don’t get a swelled head and work with your heart.

Generosity is sometimes difficult to live in this environment and I have often some doubts and questionning, but that’s what makes my artistic soul.

I always work with my heart and when I start a new shooting I start it as it was the first one.

[if !supportLists][endif]What are your short and long-term projects ?

In the near future my project is to make my photographic work known to a wider public and to work on more magazine editorials, like you.

For the future I would like to become a professionnal photographer but I dont want to become it by the ease as a self declared free-lance basis. I wish that this project would be the result of my work, and so its recognition !

That is my way of keeping my artistic truth and soul. I trust that one day a magazine or an agency might call me to work with them.

[if !supportLists] [endif]What do you expect from your models ?

I only ask my models one thing : to be serious and respectful as I am, to have a good time during the shooting, and to be true, themselves, and the rest follows.

[if !supportLists]What do you think about our new magazine ?

Congralutations. It is wonderful !

[if !supportLists]Have you got a message for your models ?

Yes ! In French « Modèle » comes from « Mode » (which means fashion). Let’s bear in mind that posing for fashion photos is a work !!

Don’t do it to feel beautiful. Post production will never replace the inner beauty from yourself.

site : www.josspeixphoto.com instragram (only fashion) : www.instagram.com/josspeixphoto Facebook : www.facebook.com/josspeixphoto

Model Anna Wolosz

Model Tatiana Masilevich

Model Tiphaine Choblet

Model Stephanie Faure - MUA Anna Solovyeva

Model Sazze

Model Lucie Cerna

Model Lapis Lazuli

Model Karolina Latoszewska

Model Karine Sanzalone

Model Amelie Malhomme

Model Kawai Von Tierisch

Model Kevin Letoile