The best of Laetitia Casta

 Patrick Demarchelier

Laetitia Marie Laure Casta

05/11/1978 at Pont-Audemer, France

1,69 m

Laetitia Casta was a model before to become an actress what explains she did some beautiful photographies with renowned photographers. After a hard selection, I give you her best of.

"When I began as a model, everybody tried to remold me: I was too fat, too little they tried to re-shape my teeth. I am very proud that I have stayed as I was."

Sylvie Lancrenon

For ELLE France

Mario Testino

For Vogue Paris 2012

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley ?

Dominique Issermann

Patrick Demarchelier

Matthew Brookes

Albert Watson

Mario Sorrenti

For Lui Magazine

Photographers not found

For Lui Magazine

For Victoria's Secret

Erik Flak's moments

I have known Erik Flak (Phydeau on deviantArt) since I joined dA in June 2008 and we have become online friends and collaborators - we are both involved with the dA group Fine Art-Photography and the one I recently founded with Iris Dassault, Models-Photographers.

Erik has been taking photographs for some years and I have particularly admired his underwater nudes, one of which was recently awarded a Daily Deviation (a DD as it is known) on dA.

Abandon

I have asked Erik to tell us a little about himself and his work.

"My name is Eric Flak, and I'm currently located in North Carolina.  I've been doing photography since I was 11 after winning a cheap toy camera in a contest.  There really wasn't much I could do with that camera, so my parents got me an SLR and a tripod that Christmas, along with some books on photography.

I took pictures until I went to college, at which point I was required to pay for my own film and developing.  I slowed down a lot after that.  Later, point-and shoot digital cameras came along, and I gave up on the SLR all together.  Point-and-shoot cameras aren't bad - I managed to get the occasional good shot - but they really just don't have the control of an SLR.

Lush love

During those years, my main artistic outlet was through drawing.  I liked to draw people, and in particular nudes.  A friend introduced me to deviantART in 2006 so I could show off my drawings.  I quickly became addicted to the site.  I had no idea there were that many talented artists in the world.  dA changed my view toward photographic artistic nudes.  I didn't know there were that many people doing that, either.  It was the first time I got involved in a discussion of art vs. pornography.  Until then, I had made the assumption that with very rare exceptions most photographic nudes were of the prurient variety.  I changed that way of thinking quickly.  The artistic nude gallery is probably the reason my interest in photography was renewed.

My most popular deviation at the time was actually not a drawing, but a composite image I made by morphing 32 faces together.  I did 3 of those, using the same celebrities at 3 different angles.

I decided that I wanted to do the project again, only with more control of the variables as opposed to the random weirdness I got from internet searches.  While I was at it, I thought it might be a good idea to do it full-torso.

I asked for volunteers, and the only responses I got were all along the lines of, "Eh, seems like you just want girls to send you naked pictures."  There's a dozen reasons why that was ridiculous, but I didn't argue with them.  I just said to myself, "Well.  I guess I'm going to have to do it myself.  And that's when it hit me like a ton of bricks:  "Why the hell am I NOT a nude photographer?"  I decided that moment to finally break down and buy a DSLR.

Home

I didn't just jump into it, though.  I spent almost 2 years learning to use the camera well, and practicing hard.  Sometimes I used myself as a model.

My biggest challenge is money.  I can't afford to hire models, and the bible belt isn't exactly crawling with models willing to work for trade.  Thankfully, my main model, Cassandra, has been kind to me a few times.  What they say is true.  The more times you work with a model the easier it gets.  We're more like friends than just photographer and model, now.

Lush

I'd like to eventually broaden the types of models I work with.  Different ages, weights, ethnicities, and not just women.

My favorite photograph is one of the first I ever took of a model.  I knew I wanted a specific look, but I wasn't able to articulate what exactly that was.  I had her positioned on the edge of the bathtub for over ten minutes trying to get it.  Finally, there was this moment.  I suspect she was running out of ideas of how to pose in such a confined way, and for a second she stopped posing.  That brief moment when she was in her own head was what I wanted.

The Moment

I titled the piece "The moment" not just for that reason, but because it was the turning point for me.  Until then, I thought I wasn't going to hack it as a photographer.  I was worried that I   was wasting her time, and that I'd be percieved as the "GWC".  After that shot, I felt unstoppable, and the rest of the shoot went beautifully.  It was my moment, too"

Thank you Erik, for sharing that moment with us.

Kate Moss by Albert Watson and...

Peter Lindbergh

Jul 9, 2015

Katherine Ann Moss
16 January 1974, Croydon, Greater London, England

"At a shoot, I'm really aware of everything. When they do makeup, sometimes I can't see what they're doing, but I can feel it. I know what I look like, even when I can't see what they've done. I know how to compose myself."

Albert Watson

'Kate Moss, Marrakech', 1993

The photographs from the session in Morocco by Albert Watson are some of the most celebrated images of Kate Moss; they are also among her personal favorites.


The story behind the images of Kate Moss
Written by: Clare Gillsäter

"It was 5:00 p.m. on January 16, 1993. We were on a rooftop in Marrakech, illuminated by the warm late afternoon sun. The brief called for a focus on beauty and skin, hence the nude shot to emphasize Kate's grace. Albert's signature simplicity came into play while he was planning the lighting. He used only natural sunlight to shape the image, which brings its own challenges – it shifts constantly. You need to have good intuition and be capable of quickly adjusting to the light's changing brightness and nuances. The whole production exuded natural vibes. Kate’s hair fell freely and her makeup was minimal, so there was little prepping.

There were no outfits to arrange. Albert could focus on a successful shot without waiting for hairdressers, make-up artists and stylists to put together the whole look.

Albert took her out of herself: “You look like a wood nymph or a fairy in the woods.” He asked her to visualize herself “crouching down, and you’re a bit nervous looking for something.”

Take a closer look at the image. Kate is leaning slightly forward, with a wistful look in her eyes. And as she does so, her body captures that late afternoon sun, the light moulding her.

This second shot of Kate taken from behind shows the perfect curvature of her spine. That he created the same mood in this image, although it was taken indoors with studio-style lighting, is a credit to Albert and his conception of light. He managed to replicate natural light and its soft effect.

Albert worked with her all day, 14 hours from start to finish. They took about 25 shots, and Albert said she was fantastic, not complaining even once. At the end of the day she turned to him and said, “I just want you to know one thing. Today is my birthday.” She had just turned 19."

Mario Sorrenti

For Calvin Klein Obsession

The daguerreotypes of Chuck Close

Mario Testino

1997

Rankin

Nick Knight

Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott

For Interview magazine

Mert Alas

For Love magazine n°3

Lady Gaga by Inez and Vinoodh

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
March 28, 1986, New York City, New York, U.S.

1,55 m

Lady Gaga at 27th for V Magazine n°85, fall 2013, by Inez and Vinoodh:

"When I shot with Inez and Vinoodh, it was the same thing. You have to stare at the image, you have to stare at the work. You have to have an intense connection with it all the way to its core, and then push, push, push yourself and then say Okay, and you have that instant adrenaline feeling of Let’s go."

Inez and Vinoodh

Fashion: Brandon Maxwell
Location: New York, US

They took the time to do 4 different series. 

The 1st :

The 2nd, more provocative, stronger :

The 3rd :

The 4th :



Extracts of her long interview by Marina Abramovic :

Marina Abramovic: I’ve been looking at these four covers of V Magazine and I can tell you that they really work. My favorite is the one with the black hair.

Lady Gaga: That’s my favorite too, Marina! 

It’s kind of a touch of something from the old days of Patti Smith. There’s some kind of innocence, but then you also go for it, a real warrior.

That look was very hard for me because that is how I looked when I was 19 until I was 21 years old… Maybe longer.