Underwater Portraits

Water portraiture is an art form that fuses the liquid element with human representation. This artistic photographic technique explores the complex relationship between water and people, creating images imbued with a unique depth and fluidity. Whether it's in a swimming pool, where I can set the scene, or in the sea, which offers a rich natural space, water portraiture offers me an artistic perspective that goes beyond traditional conventions. Using reflections, undulating movements and the changing luminosity of water, I capture unique moments of bodily expression in the liquid element. Each image becomes a story subtly woven between the model and the water.

Light plays an essential and fascinating role in water portraits, creating unique and captivating visual and emotional effects. Because of the way light propagates and reflects in water, water portraits have distinct characteristics compared to traditional land portraits. I use sunlight at different times when the shoot is outdoors (pool, sea or lake), but also underwater flashes, continuous underwater lights and cinema lights out of the water. While the equipment appears to be the same, the water has unique effects on the final image:

• Reflections and Refractions: Water acts like a distorting mirror, creating reflections and refractions that add depth and complexity.
• Changing luminosity: Sunlight behaves differently in water, creating variations in brightness and shadow. Shades of light filtering through ripples or ripples in the water can add an unreal, poetic atmosphere.
• Depth and Dimension: The play of light in water can create a sense of depth and dimension through variations in luminosity between the upper and lower parts of the water.
• Movement and Energy: Light can also capture the movement of water, be it waves, eddies or suspended bubbles.
• Emotional ambience: scenes bathed in soft light can evoke serenity, while stronger light effects can evoke sensations of action or mystery.

In short, light is a fundamental element in creating captivating aquatic portraits. It's by playing with reflections, refractions and variations in luminosity that I bring to life images that transform terrestrial reality and plunge viewers into a world of emotion and aquatic aesthetics very different from traditional portraits.