Words From The Girls Behind The Lens: Arielle

Ever since I became a #girlgazeproject ambassador, I've been exposed to an enourmous amount of incredible female photographers. This is the first installation of a series of interviews I'll be posting of amazing women behind the lens. Hope you enjoy it. 

How did you get into photography? 

I have always been very artsy. My older sister came home with her first Vogue magazine when I was 12 and there was an editorial with different models wearing different high fashion brands, photographed all differently. Their expressions, their makeup, their poses and the editing made the editorial so beautiful. I remember looking at the photos and thinking, "That's what I want to do." My parents got me a small camera for Christmas a year later and I always carried it with me in my bag. I used to only photograph landscapes until I started to become absolutely in love with photographing people, especially women.

You spend a lot of time between France and the US. In what way fo you think both places have influenced the way you photograph? 

I haven't been to the States in a long time, I am from both France and the US though. My photography has significantly changed since Trump's election and particularly since I've become a Girlgaze Ambassador. I rarely photograph landscapes now and I try to focus on girls, women, marches, causes for which I stand for. I try to use my photography effectively and efficiently. I use it as a way to voice my opinion one social media. 

I think my American side has given me more focus and awareness of the inequalities between men, women and different races, as in France, feminism isn't as prominent as it is in the States yet. 

In what way do you think female photographers capture the world differently than other people? 

Most photographers I know of are men and, I suppose, photograph how men picture women. As a woman I have a different approach when it comes to photographing women. There is so much more understanding, a connection I'd say when a woman photographs another woman. She immediately understands her body, her angles, how to photograph her and put her in the right light. It's really hard to put in words, it's so obvious though when you compare two pictures, one taken by a man and another taken by a woman.

Who are some of your favorite photographers? 

Mario Testino is my hero, I got to see him during the Vogue Fashion Festival, it was absolutely amazing to hear him talk about photography and fashion in general. I absolutely love Inez and Vinoodh and Peter Lindbergh's work. Mario Sorrenti, Steven Meisel and Toni Frissell's work are remarkable as well. But Mario Testino is by far my favorite photographer. Photo editing is so important as well in a photographer's job, and Pascal Dangin's edits are gorgeous and make the Balmain campaigns so beautiful. 

If you could photograph one person dead or alive who would it be? 

This is such a difficult question! There are so many people I would love to photograph, I love people who have particular traits, but in this case, I'd love to go back in time and photograph my mother when she was young. She was absolutely beautiful, and I love her presence in her old modelling photographs. She seems so alive and present and strong in her photos, I've never really seen a model pose that way in editorials today. She definitely had that "extra thing" that made her look absolutely beautiful. 

Everyone go follow Arielle on Instagram to check out more of her photography!