[b 1968] Magnum photographer
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I don’t like rigid categories. Sometime there is art in journalism and journalism in art. Conscience, heart, beauty, balance and loss of balance are essentials for me.
I can make friends and I have my own political opinions. But I try to keep this away from photography. I don't try to give explanations with my work because photography cannot tell everything. It can show, it can translate emotions. I prefer pictures that provoke questions [to those that offer opinions]. I want people to form their ideas themselves.
On the question: Do you identify with the struggles of the people you photograph?
Yes, there are some things that we need to talk about in the industry. I hate post-production work that’s done to make a bad picture look nice. Any post-production editing I do is about making my pictures look more neutral and closer to reality, because a digital shot is sometimes too sharp and too artificial-looking.
Be severe and demanding with yourself doing the selection of images.
Sharing some advice on preparing a photographic portfolio for review
..I totally believe in sequences in stories. It's a bit like music: when you compose music, you have some slow moments, then moments of tension – and I try to do the same with my photo series. I always think in terms of series. I'm always looking for a story, not one single picture.
Some people who consider themselves purists say pictures must be uncropped and not staged. That doesn’t matter for me. What matters to me is the honesty of the photographer – if you stage your photography then OK, but you have to tell people. If you stage photography and make people believe it’s real, then that’s a problem. But fiction in photography can be a very powerful way to tell stories.
