Les Halles, Saturday, 17h
A motorcycle, a 1950s sidecar, a red curtain and music: Stan Guigui is having a good time. He’s even providing helmets, sunglasses and leather jackets for everyone coming to have their pictures taken. Stan is very comfortable with people, and the families let themselves go, regardless of the 40 people waiting in line for their turn. When it’s time to leave, children cry and roll on the floor. Of course.
As the photographer himself says:
“The atmosphere has been great these two days, even though it was a little intense. It’s interesting, very different from the professional milieu. I rarely photograph in studios. I mainly shoot on location for stories. Something that’s alive. I need something to strike me before I take a photo. Here I was trying to avoid that ‘frozen’ look. I usually do very few commissions, just enough to keep my freedom.”
What’s left its mark on him?
“What I like here is the contact I have with people. They’re happy! Yesterday somebody thanked me at least ten times for their portrait. It was very touching. Everybody plays along, too, even if it’s crowded. There’s a genuine exchange that takes place. No one has been uptight.”
“I don’t consider myself a portraitist. The portrait is difficult, perhaps the most difficult, along with still life. It’s a reflection of the soul, so when there are seven people… You have to find that magical moment in mundane, everyday life. That means you have to be alert and keep your eyes and ears open. Taking a picture of somebody is somehow an act of generosity. You have to make people look nice in them. I would gladly do it again!”
Stan Guigui was born in 1969 in Paris. A member of the Agence VU’, he lives in Paris.
Juliette Deschodt
