Spreading awareness through photography

Philippe Echaroux is renowned for his brightly lit street portraits. Much of his style is achieved with help from a Rotalux Octabox.

In this project, Philippe worked with the Abbé-Pierre Foundation to spread awareness for homelessness.

During the chilly festive season, we too often forget the homeless who have to fight to survive on the streets. The famous Abbé-Pierre Foundation recently asked our ambassador Philippe Echaroux for help with its latest awareness campaign.

The Abbé-Pierre Foundation aims to give everyone in need access to decent housing and a life of dignity.

For Philippe, who has previously taught the disadvantaged, it is a huge honour to be part of such a project:

“When they called me to suggest it, I jumped for joy! For once, it’s an advertising campaign that isn’t trying to get you to buy.”

Real Stories

“We shot the campaign as if I were shooting “real” people on the streets. I just had a flash and a camera body: it was very simple. I used the ELB 500 TTL and my loyal Rotalux Deep Octabox 70cm.”

Although the setup and lighting are simple, they have a big impact, with the Deep Octabox 45 degrees offset from the subject to achieve a Rembrandt lighting effect.

Rembrandt’s Style

Rembrandt’s lighting is characterised by an illuminated triangle under the subject’s eye and on the less illuminated side of their face. It is easy to achieve with a torch and an accessory 45 degrees offset from the subject.

This is a popular style as it produces natural-looking and powerful images with minimum equipment.

All the finesse comes from the subject’s attitude. Someone who died in the street in 2019 is shown, but they are brightly lit and smiling.

Instinct Prevails

Once all this had been explained to the model, Philippe continued as he would if photographing “real” people on the streets. “I rarely guide people. In fact, I prefer to let naturalness and instinct reign.”

This may seem simplistic, but in such a situation there is a whole team behind the photographer: agency, client, assistants, etc. The photographer tries to filter out all the hustle and bustle and focus their attention on the subject.

At times like this, instinct prevails. This is Philippe’s great strength: he lets things happen naturally until the desired effect is achieved.

Instinct and simplicity, the ultimate combination for poignant and sincere results.