An Interview With Photographer: Ludovic Nortier

LEFAIR: How important is Instagram as far getting work in LA?

LN: I can find work but I can also reach out to models. I can find them online. I don’t think it’s more powerful than word of mouth but at some point when you get like 500K followers, it will bring you work. And then the work doesn’t just come from LA. It starts coming from anyone in the world who sees your work.

LEFAIR: Where do you see yourself in five years?

LN: I am sure I will have many more campaigns. I want to start writing and directing movies. I just did my first short movie. We are working on the editing right now. I have so many ideas. Sometimes you meet people who inspire you with their stories and you want to tell this story because it’s so compelling. I see myself as a photographer but also as a storyteller.

LEFAIR: What is one thing that surprised you during the development of your career?

LN: I thought when I went into advertising that I would do everything but there’s always such a big team. Personally, I like to do everything — shooting, retouching, editing…

LEFAIR: Which photographers do you emulate? 

LN: I like Peter Lindbergh. I have watched a lot of behind the scenes footage to see how he works. His images are never too much or over the top. I love Annie Leibovitz. The post-production that she does is amazing. It’s so beautiful. She says she is not a technical photographer and that she just focuses on the person and the composition. She is great at composition. In an interview I read, she said that if she had to define herself as a photographer, that she is a portrait photographer and that she likes stealing moments of people’s lives. Her mom was her first muse. She was always shooting her family in the beginning.

“PEOPLE DON’T BUY WHAT YOU’RE DOING. THEY BUY WHY YOU’RE DOING IT.”