KALTBLUT: Hi Renaud. When did you start taking pictures?
Renaud: I always loved taking pictures. In secondary school I would take photos of my friends all the time, mostly with disposable cameras and I kept on doing it in highschool. I stopped some times when I moved to Paris, 13 years ago and my passion caught up with me when I started clubbing. I reconnected my disposable cameras and constantly shot what was happening. 3 years ago, I bought myself an analog Reflex camera in a flea market which I had no idea how to use. I started to grow as a photographer, to be more careful with light, poses, and it’s been a year now that I take portraits of boys.
KALTBLUT: So you’ve never been in photography school ?
Renaud: No, I never learned how to take pictures, it came to me naturally, so to speak. A friend once told me how to get the settings of my camera right. But that’s about it.
KALTBLUT: The male model is central in your work. What makes a model better than another? Are you looking for specifics body type?
Renaud: Yes, but only recently. I was obsessed by a boy for a while and I had to photograph him but he was never available. I also wanted to take a nude portrait of him. I wanted to know how I would react in front of this naked man that I desired but could only touch with my camera. In the end, it all went smoothly, I really enjoyed the experience and I wanted to do it again (and I haven’t touched him, haha!). I do focus on boys who I essentially like, physically that is. That’s why there’s a certain cohesion in the portraits I take. That said, there are not only smooth-chinned young boys in my work. What makes a difference and what is decisive is the look of the model. You can instantly know whether he is at ease by the way he looks.
KALTBLUT: How do you find your models?
Renaud: Mostly on hook-up networks like Gayromeo. But it’s actually really fun to see how the guys who expose themselves the most are usually the ones who refuse to do it for “the art”. Otherwise Facebook is a good research tool as well.
KALTBLUT: Is it easy to convince people to get naked for the pictures?
Renaud: Honestly, no. Most guys aren’t confident with the way they look. At first, when I had no work to present, I had to find boys who weren’t shy, or boys who would do it because they liked me. Some of them got naked for the first time of their lives, ahah. When I had work to show, lots of the boys were ok to do soft portraits with not too much revealing. Some are ok to be naked as long as we can’t see their faces. Others are very confident, sometimes they are exhibitionists… The approach is very different with each and every model. But I never force anyone to do what they don’t want to.
KALTBLUT: I like the way your pictures looks so “real” , so “on the moment”. The light is also amazing. Do you plan ahead or do you shoot spontaneously?
Renaud: A bit of both. I usually organize the shooting at a certain hour so I can have the best light there is for the atmosphere I want to create. It is very important as I only use natural light. I’m using film camera so there has to be posing to avoid blur. I can’t also use a burst mode, I only have 36 poses.
KALTBLUT: I also guess that this feeling comes from the fact that you do not use post production. By the way, what’s your opinion on the subject: post production in photography.
Renaud: That’s right, there’s no retouching in my work (probably cause I wouldn’t know how to do it either, ahah). But seriously, I love this raw, instant side of it. Seeing imperfections in the models and in the photographs is more interesting to me. I like to leave them alone, those specks of dust, stark lights, blurs and grains… I do think that photo retouching is necessary though, for certain pictures, to sell a product for instance. Artistically, it can also be interesting to bring out more colors and such, but to over use it is not good in my opinion. We all know the criticism this causes in the fashion industry.
KALTBLUT: Looking through your work, it makes me sometime think to Jürgen Teller/ Nan Goldin direction. Do you have any mentors, artists, that inspires you?
Renaud: Wow! Thanx, it’s very nice of you! I really enjoy both of their work even though I only know so much of it. I love looking at pictures but I rarely deal with this in depth. I may have been influenced by artists unconsciously but to be honest I hardly have any references.
KALTBLUT: You’re not only a photographer but also a dj and to say so the man behind the “House of Moda” party. What is the spirit of “House of Moda”?
Renaud: “House Of Moda” is “the party which awakens the diva in each and everyone of you”, it’s filled with exuberance and incredible looks, it’s queer, there’s quality music… Each party has its own theme (such as Nude, Tomboy, Witchcraft, the last one was Bucolic) and we encourage people to come dressed up according to the theme. My partner in crime is Crame. Without him, we wouldn’t have all the amazing deejays who plays at the party and the clubbers would have to endure my tacky eurodance obsession (private joke)….!
KALTBLUT: Did the music went first or was it the photography?
Renaud: Hard to say, but music did have a bigger place in my life before photography. I do not make a living of my photography but my parties help me buy some cookies!
KALTBLUT: What’s your favourite part about living in Paris?
Renaud: The fact that I’m near so many things, culturally or materially. I love to wander around when the sun is out, sit down and observe.
KALTBLUT: Your favourite adresse in the capital?
Renaud: I’d have to say la Java, in Belleville. It’s the club where we organize “House Of Moda” at. It’s a very atypical place filled with memories. The bosses are super friendly, the crowd is fantastic, the scenery is nicely obsolete, drinks are cheap… and even when it gets seriously hot in here and the line is overwhelming, the bouncers are a bit rough, we always have the most wonderful time!
Interview by Nicolas Simoneau, Translation by Valentin Plessy.
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