Mélanie Elbaz – Photographer

Her Story

With a stylist father, Mélanie Elbaz has been working side by side with the world of creation and fashion. Initiated to photography by her uncle, she chooses at 14 years of making this passion his trade. It’s propelled, without ambitions, on the parades of great creators such as Vivienne Westwood, Jean-Paul Gautlier, Yohji Yamamoto. At the age of 16, she studied at the Higher National School of Photography in Arles and attended, in parallel, famous photographers: Eiichiro Sakata, Max Vadukul, Sarah Moon, Ferdinando Scianna. She then settled in Paris, rising without knowing it, the first step of a promising career.

Her universe

Mélanie Elbaz, very close to the musical world, has photographed a large number of artists: The XX, Soko, MGMT, Moby, Jane Birkin, Air, Kwamie Liv, Singtank. She made her book trough the music. His specialty is the portrait; A natural portrait, untouched, undisguised, which captures the soul of its characters. It captures the moment and makes cliches that express the emotion of the encounter. It includes fashion in his portrait, leaving priority above all to the energy of the subject photographed.

Her values

The photographer loves the sensation of freedom as much for her as for her model. The subjects don’t make a pose but let themselves go quietly, the time of a discussion. Mélanie does not forget, nevertheless, its objective: a spontaneous result, photos closest to the real, never retouched, and this particular grain specific to the work in silver camera. A choice that requires patience and rigor !

Her desires

She’s currently preparing a book containing her personal and professional images: 25 years of photography and hundreds of portraits of artists contained in a few pages. An ambitious project that should soon see the light of day.

Her advice to future photographers

Mélanie Elbaz has a taste for risk and effort. Continually evolving, its always open to new projects and collaborations. She knew how to adapt and remain herself, at times taking the opposite of the trend. It’s a question of finding a balance between passion and work. Without a doubt, is this the secret of a recipe that works !

Her world in pictures