Leo Piastra: It started when my dad first introduced me to analog photography, and it became something that we bonded over. He gave me a medium-format film camera with which I took photographs of my nephew. That day, he started passing on to me the patience for framing and shutter speed. Photographers have a rather special relationship with their camera’s shutter release. There is something very powerful about medium-format film cameras. After those first photographs, we carried on in the darkroom to develop the film and print the portrait of my nephew.
My second experience consisted in getting to know the equipment, and I discovered digital cameras with all their pros and cons. I set some goals for myself to understand the techniques of photography. My father gave me my first digital camera which had rather low-quality optics, so I decided to retrofit analog lenses on it. It was a fully manual learning process and thanks to this constraint, I was forced to understand how the camera worked. I obtained an analog feel with the benefits of digital photography. It meant I could mess up, I could directly see if the photo was good. I love learning by myself and I need to understand how things work before I can properly use an object. After that came practice. Whenever I went out, I would take a prime lens with me and take many pictures on the streets. Photography has always been there and helped me grow every step of the way. I cannot spend one day without taking a photo. It is an obsession. For example, I love cooking and I always have a camera in my head that inspires me to make great images, I always have this desire to freeze a moment in time and bring out a material or an atmosphere. It all started almost 10 years ago.
The first time I had the opportunity to have a photo shoot was with Maison Mauban, 3 years ago. Edouard Quichon and I built Mauban’s image together. We got along very well and we both wanted to highlight the details of his products while also conveying the background story and context that are essential to share an emotion. After that, things just naturally unfolded, and I started meeting other brands.
It is above all about highlighting the manufacture and material of the product to really capture this sense of touching the material, so that viewers can already picture themselves with the product. It is also about presenting the product in a context of use and creating a story around it. I think a great deal lies in the details. Take plastic for example, there are several nuances of this material, so I try to bring out the differences for people to be able to touch the material with their eyes. I find the fusion of the manufacture and material very interesting.
Shoes move me. I try to sublimate the material as much as possible and to translate a sense of touch. Leather is an incredible material and I want my pictures to show that. I am responsible for highlighting a handcrafted item that amounts to several hours of work from several craftsmen. I want my pictures to show all the work there is behind each pair of shoes. That’s why I focus on the details of their manufacture, because it may seem insignificant but a seam on leather is something beautiful, regular, it requires specific skills. Yes, leather is a material that fascinates me, because it is alive.
Oh, I was dreading this question! I draw inspiration from so many different things, in different fields. I spend a lot of time looking at pictures without knowing who took them, I feel bad about it but I’m trying to get better. I try to feed my imagination with as many images as possible, through travel books or some photographer’s Instagram accounts. I find inspiration everywhere, every day. I am inspired by my passions, because I am compulsively passionate about many things.
I am passionate about too many things: motorbikes, coffee, design, just to name a few. Anything related to materials. Sometimes during a photo shoot, something that I have experienced or seen before will resurface, inspired by one of my passions. I might be volatile, but I try to translate in my images the things that life brings me every day.
Oh yes, cities are beautiful at night! I mostly live at night. I’m discovering Paris through my Parisian night walks. I take more photos at night than during the day. It is a way of discovering the city for me because I did not grow up in Paris. Paris by night is another city. The pace of life is different, there is always life, no matter where you go. Places shine under a different light. I often go out at night by myself, I find Paris more fascinating at night.
All neighborhoods are beautiful, they’re all different, singular. The night often hides things that are not very beautiful in the daylight. I struggle to find the right words, that’s probably why I take pictures instead. Sometimes there is no need for words. Taking pictures is easier, I guess this way I avoid putting things into words.
The most beautiful walks I’ve experienced in Paris involved a good pair of shoes, a camera and a cigar. And I always go on my own.
The Eiffel Tower is always incredible. Even if you see her daily, she will remain fascinating. Her structure is amazing, mesmerizing. I always feel very small when I stand at the bottom. When I’m riding my motorbike and driving past, there is an amazing movement when you look at her from the ground, and the scale changes as you drive past. It’s a very tricky thing to capture through photography.
Two years ago, I had the opportunity to go up to take a few shots. Once again, I focused on a few parts of the Eiffel Tower to highlight the whole structure. And it was very important to me to take a picture of every single bolt on this monument, because it is a crazy material. She is exhilarating. When you stand at the top of this huge monument, there is no escaping the fact that humans are really small. You can see the Eiffel Tower from up close or from afar, because she gives a lot.
Yes, they are very important to me. Context is key. I recently took photographs for foldable ballet flats, but once again it was not just about the pictures – it was above all a meeting, a feeling. I need to know the background story to understand how the artisan gave everything for their product. What matters to me is to show that the craftsman or designer spent a lot of time to reach perfection. I think stories are built through details.
I am a bit OCD, I don’t like overloaded pictures. I love simplicity. I have this desire to create something very sober, without any frills. Purified is close to elegant. They are related.
It would be an interesting challenge! Everything is tied to the atmosphere; you can say anything you want about a product. But once more, simplicity is the first step towards elegance and I’m always striving to achieve it. I like the raw state of things; it only requires the essential. Back to the photo shoot for Maison Mauban: it took place in a dusty apartment under construction and we used those surroundings to sublimate tailored shoes. A raw product in a raw context – it was perfect. The apartment gave us a lot to work with, a very beautiful light, and I think we managed to create something elegant in a surprising context.
Unfortunately, I don’t have role models. I came to fashion photography by default and I am very bad at remembering names. Once again, words and photography do not go together! I am so obsessed by the final image that I forget some characteristics. But I feel bad about it. I don’t want to specialize in one field, though. It’s my jack-of-all-trades side. I know that one can’t be good at everything, but one experience will influence another, so I need all these worlds. A trip to Iceland will influence my work with brands, just like the simplicity and elegance of a product photograph has influenced my travel pictures. I think not specializing in a field can create a signature. But it might also sometimes cause me to drift. But I keep a very critical eye on my work, and I am very open to criticism.
I would make sure that I manage to reproduce the emotion one might have when they see the product, in every single picture. The emotion of a passerby is not palpable, and that’s a good thing. I strive to convey this emotion. Every time I go out to take pictures, I’m working on improving my work. I also give time to time. Photography takes patience. And I had to work on myself to become patient.
I look at the pictures from a photo shoot two or three days later, because I capture with my camera and I photograph with my eyes. When I look at my pictures five days later, I need to be able to match the two visions. The quicker I process the pictures, the less I like the result. I want to convey this feeling, so I need some rest time to translate what I felt at the time. I am also obsessed with time; days are too short, and I need a lot of time. I need time to leave things to rest and come back to them later to try and find out what happened. I think this is the quest of any photographer. I try to take a step back to fulfill myself. It is the opposite of my job as a digital photographer, where everything is
