Julie Gauthier

What an exciting and lively portfolio! Your statement and your images are very bubbly and your level is extremely consistent. Your photographs are unique, a little crazy, in a very good way - extravagant - and I can see that indeed you choose the environment according to your subject, which makes for very special portraits. I think most of your images are very strong.

I am particularly drawn to the craziest photo - or is it the craziest looking subject matter - photo number 4. As obvious as it is – it could be a very bad picture, too obvious or too anecdotic is not always attractive or successful – it works fantastically. Your distance is ideal, and obviously the lines are perfect, adding folly to the craziness of the man. It is a very striking image. Image 5 is also very powerful; it is asking a question, just like the previous one. Looking at it you can’t help but wonder what and who you are looking at. The composition is also excellent, as well as the distance.

I think overall you have the perfect relationship to your models, a perfect dosage of respect and humor that makes for very intelligent portraits. Image 7 is also one of my favorite for this reason – the wit, the good use of the subject and his environment. The combination of the two results in a very pleasant and amusing scene, almost a cartoon, or a piece of contemporary art - a good one, not too conceptual – some sort of Magritte- like poetry. Image 8 is also very poetic, a Banksy, images within the images, and a very spontaneous subject that doesn’t seem too self-aware.

This is also one aspect that I love about your work: the playfulness of your subject – you are obviously interacting with them, giving them space to forget, to be themselves, to play with you and forget that they are being photographed. Image number 2 is very moving, perhaps the most sensitive and melancholy of your portraits. And image 1 is a fantastic portrait, lyrical, very well composed – the line in the back is a wonderful element, adding depth to it, and a cartoon-esque dimension to it as well.

The weakest images, to me, are the ones that are perhaps a little too “paused”, less spontaneous, like image 9, that “screams” too much for my taste. Image 10 could have been good, but I feel like the subject is not strong enough – I cannot really see what I am looking at, and I can see the effort of the composition too much: the search for the perfect pause and the environment is too obvious, not spontaneous enough.

Perhaps a close-up would have made it work better. Image 6 is fun but too confusing for me, although I like the fact that it is a color photo that looks like a black and white. Image 5 is a little too blend for my taste, it lacks the punch of your greater images, but it is a good portrait, somehow a good portrait for a fashion magazine or an album cover. Same with image 3: “cool”, but not as strong as your best photos.

I really loved your portfolio and congratulate you on your excellent skills and brilliant imagination. It is a beautiful visual and human universe you took me into, a poetic world made of unique characters shot in very unique ways. I would love to see more of your portraits in the future.