From Make Up to Photography

Francois Nars started as a make up artist, continued to starting his own brand, then turned to photography. I found an interview that Francois did with Stephen Kamifuji for the Genlux Magazine where he asked him about how he got into photography. 

The first question was Why photography? Nars explained how when he first started his brand, the company didn't have enough money to pay for a photographer to take photos of the products and adverts / campaings so he took the camera and started shooting. As a make up artist he worked with some of the best photographers so he had expirienced everything first hand, and learned a lot about how to have a dialogue with the models, the lighting, etc. Fashion photography, along with architecture, are Francois' biggest passions so everything came to him pretty naturally. 
He said: "I’ve loved photography from when I was a kid, but I ended up being more focused on makeup. The important thing for me was doing great makeup for photo shoots with Richard Avedon and Steven Meiseland Irving Penn. Maybe subconsciously I was thinking, ‘one day I’ll take photos,’ but it was never an obsession."

Francois admires a lot of fashion photographers starting from Guy Bourdin, to May Ray, Brassaï and the ones he worked with were R. Avedon, I. Penn, and Helmut Newton. The first cover he ever did for Vogue was with Avedon in 1985, Renee Simonsen was the model.

He told Kamufiji that there's one specific camera that he uses which is the Deardorff 8x10 - because Avedon used it. He said: "I was fascinated by it. I loved the fact that you’re standing next to the camera to direct the subject. There’s such an incredible sense of drama and strength to shoot like that." . That was the camera he used to shoot his first book - XRAY (1999) and Faery Lands: Tahiti (2013), but now he shoots with digital cameras mostly. 

Here are some photographs from the Faery Lands: Tahiti book which I loved, the filters make it look very mysterious and he captured the true beauty of the islands and the people that live there.

Faery Lands: Tahiti 

(2013)

Tahiti Rizzoli

Photographer: Francois Nars

(source: http://blankdigital.com/work/tahiti-book

Accessed: Feb 7 2016)

Faery Lands: Tahiti 

(2013)

Tahiti Rizzoli

Photographer: Francois Nars

(source: http://blankdigital.com/work/tahiti-book

Accessed: Feb 7 2016)

Faery Lands: Tahiti 

(2013)

Tahiti Rizzoli

Photographer: Francois Nars

(source: http://blankdigital.com/work/tahiti-book

Accessed: Feb 7 2016)

His favourite face to make up was Linda Evangelista, he said her face inspired him because she was (still is) so perfectly beautiful and had a great personality on and off camera and she brought his make up to life. Toni Garrn and Daria Strokous are his favourite models now - he worked with Toni a lot for Vogue magazines which he shot, and Daria often models for his make up campaigns and collections. The reason why these two models fascinate him is because they remind him of the 70's models which he would see in the magazines growing up, Dayle Haddon for example. 

Lastly, when asked about future goals and plans are he said a book of celebrity portraits - which is out now and titled: Celebrity Makeovers (2009).
Here's one of the images from the book that I found most interesting. The model was Marc Jacobs who let Nars put nailvarnish, red lipstick and false lashes on. The photgraph was inspired by one Avedon took of China Machado for Harper's Bazaar in 1959. 

Marc Jacobs

Celebrity Makeovers - Francois Nars

Posted by: Elle Magazine website

Article: Celebrity Makeovers by Francois Nars

Author: Long A. 

Date: Oct 26 2009

(source: http://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/tips/g1829/celebrity-makeovers-by-francois-nars-383883/?slide=2

Accessed: Feb 7 2016)

Harper's Bazaar US

Feb 1959

Model: China Machado

Photographer: Richard Avedon

Posted by: Neil Seeto

Blogger

Blog post title: Channeling China

Date: Jan 3 2013

(source: http://www.inoubliablemodelarmy.com/2013/01/channelling-china.html

Accessed: Feb 7 2016)

At uni we learn how to do both make up and photography. I am not a great photographer and I have a lot to learn about it, but if Nars did both, so can I. The more I practice the more I learn and I believe I can create some good shots for this project. 

Long A. (Oct 2009) Celebrity Makeovers by Francois Nars, Elle Magazine http://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/tips/g1829/celebrity-makeovers-by-francois-nars-383883/?slide=2 (Accessed: Feb 8 2016)

Kamifuji S. (no date) Exploring Nars - Francois Nars Interview, Genlux Magazine http://www.genlux.com/exclusive-interview-francois-nars/ (Accessed: Feb 8 2016)