Karine Paoli : A silent look
Karine Paoli’s photography is characterized by a deeply humanistic and introspective approach, where each image becomes a space for silent dialogue between the artist’s gaze and that of the viewer. Her work interrogates the representation of the feminine and the intimate, privileging accuracy and sincerity over pure aesthetics. Paoli’s portraits do not merely capture appearances: they explore interiority, the nuances of emotion, and the authentic presence of her subjects, revealing truths that are often silenced or invisible.
Her style, at the crossroads of documentary and poetic art, is distinguished by mastery of natural light, precise framing, and the ability to translate movement and spontaneity into powerful and moving images. Technique here is never an end in itself: it serves the emotion, narrative, and critical thought that Paoli infuses into each image.
Beyond her individual work, her commitment through the Objectif FEMMES festival reflects an ethical vision of photography: making women’s creative work visible, documenting unseen realities, and bridging aesthetic sensitivity with social awareness. Her oeuvre examines photography as a tool of memory, resistance, and transmission, embodying a dialogue between reality and interpretation, between the intimate and the universal.
Website : www.karinepaoli.com / www.objectif-femmes.art
Instagram : @karinepaoliphotographe / @objectiffemmes
Your first photographic trigger?
Karine Paoli : The desire to give a voice to looks too often silenced. For 10 years, the Objectif FEMMES festival team and I have been committed to this.
A photographic memory from your childhood?
K.P. : An image of a strong, silent woman: my Parisian grandmother.
The camera of your childhood?
K.P. : A fascinating object, a symbol of freedom (a Polaroid); I was 11/12 years old.
The one you use today?
K.P. : A Nikon Z8, powerful and precise, but light enough to leave room for emotion. 😉
The man or woman in an image who inspired you?
K.P. : All those who framed the world differently.
The image you would have liked to create?
K.P. : Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother and one of Peter Lindbergh’s portraits showcasing women without artifice.
The image that moved you the most?
K.P. : Certainly a soft focus portrait by Sarah Moon.
And the one that made you angry?
K.P. : Those that use female body without respect.
Which photo changed the world?
K.P. : It hasn’t been taken yet, because the world hasn’t changed… or at least not in the way we dream of.
And which photo changed your world?
K.P. : If I had to choose not one but two, they would be: the first portrait of the HUG ME Concept and the first photo I took of my son at his birth.
A key image in your personal pantheon?
K.P. : An image of me running and laughing after my 2-year-old son on a pier at Lake Geneva. Movement, transmission, the joy of being a woman and a mother in the same light.
What interests you most in an image?
K.P. : What it reveals about the gaze of the one who frames it.
What details do you look for in a face, a landscape, or an object?
K.P. : A sign of genuine presence.
Elliott Erwitt said: “Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.” Do you agree?
K.P. : Yes. I would add: the female gaze transcends both.
In your opinion, can technique sometimes take precedence over emotion in photography?
K.P. : Emotion comes first. Technique only honors it.
Is beauty in photography purely aesthetic for you?
K.P. : No. It resides in accuracy, not perfection.
What elements can make silence visible in a photograph?
K.P. : Modesty. The absence of demonstration.
Does the uniqueness of a photograph come from the moment or the staging? Can a photograph be truer than reality?
K.P. : It is unique when it reveals what reality conceals.
Can a photograph change our perception of an event?
K.P. : Yes, especially when carried by a sincere and committed gaze.
Is photography a testimony or a form of manipulation?
K.P. : It is a choice of perspective, therefore a responsibility.
What makes a good photo?
K.P. : Its ability to make us think, not just dream.
In your opinion, what quality is necessary to be a good photographer?
K.P. : Listening to the world and putting your ego aside (thank you ;)).
How do you choose your projects?
K.P. : I choose those that come from the heart, guided by my deep intuition.
How would you describe your creative process?
K.P. : My creative process starts from an idea that makes me dream, which I project into time, and then nourish through exchange, encounters, and shared joy.
An upcoming project close to your heart?
K.P. : Continuing to expand Objectif FEMMES, to make women’s creativity ever more visible.
A person you would love to photograph?
K.P. : I would have loved to photograph Dr. Jane Goodall in South Africa during my last trip.
Someone you would like to be photographed by?
K.P. : A woman who sees beyond appearances; I have many names in mind and won’t mention just one to not forget the others. 😉
An essential photography book?
K.P. : The Objectif FEMMES 2025 catalog, because it reminds me how it all began.
The last photo you took?
K.P. : From my office window, a rainbow after the rain with a view of Montmartre.
On social media, are you more Instagram, Facebook, TikTok—and why?
K.P. : Instagram. A visual space to share the light of women.
What has changed in photography since social media became popular?
K.P. : The gaze has become collective, even if it is sometimes too fast and ephemeral, also copied, but more accessible to discover new talents.
An Instagram account to follow without fail?
K.P. : Of course, Objectif FEMMES (@objectiffemmes).
Your view on AI?
K.P. : A fascinating tool that saves time. BUT humans must remain at the center (for as long as possible).
Color or black and white?
K.P. : Both.
Natural light or artificial light?
K.P. : Natural light, always more sincere.
The city that seems most photogenic to you?
K.P. : It hasn’t been built yet…
The city, country, or culture you dream of discovering?
K.P. : Any culture where respect, transmission, and beauty are the main axes of life.
A place you never tire of?
K.P. : Corsica.
The image representing the current state of the world for you?
K.P. : A crowd of gazes seeking each other’s gaze (lift your faces from your phones and look at each other kindly; real life is here!!!).
In your opinion, what is missing in today’s world?
K.P. : Patience and PEACE.
If God existed, would you ask Him to pose for you, or would you take a selfie with Him?
K.P. : I would ask Him to pose for me, to try to understand the gaze He has on us.
Your favorite drug?
K.P. : Creation. A new idea or project: Go!
Your best way to disconnect?
K.P. : Walking, observing, listening, drawing, writing, laughing, and dancing.
Your last folly?
K.P. : Editing my first novel…
Your greatest professional extravagance?
K.P. : Believing that an “enlightened” gaze can change a life.
A job you would not have liked to do?
K.P. : One that imposes silence.
Which question confuses you the most?
K.P. : “Why a festival dedicated to women?” as if the answers weren’t obvious.
The last thing you did for the first time?
K.P. : Answering this questionnaire.
Your biggest regret?
K.P. : Not having hugged someone I loved… The HUG ME Concept was born from that. So no more regret.
If you had to start over?
K.P. : I would do it again, but sooner.
If I could organize your ideal dinner, who would be at the table?
K.P. : Women who dare, and a few men who listen and share their views with respect, leaving egos and personal interests aside, truly thinking “collective.”
What do you like people to say about you… afterward?
K.P. : That I did what I loved, with the energy that was the “KarinePaoliTouch”! (laugh)
The one thing people must know about you?
K.P. : If you can read my eyes, you’ll know… (or not)
A final word?
K.P. : Not just one: Transmit through kindness and Art.
