Florian Pascual / Members Interview
Totally self-taught, he had to overcome his eye condition by learning RGB and hexadecimal codes of common colors so that he could achieve accuracy and consistency in his work. Florian has been published internationally on numerous occasions and also won several local photography competitions. He’s now followed by more than fifty thousand people on social media platforms
Montpellier, France
https://www.photographytalk.com/profile/109240-florianpascual
What inspired you to become a photographer?
First of all, I have always liked the beauty of things. One day, a friend of mine on Facebook was looking for a male model for a project with her photography school. I was like “Oh great, I need to change my profile picture haha!”. This is my first contact with photography, as a model. I also had the chance to model on several occasions after that until one day when I had a very special session, but the photographer messed up the post-processing. So I did it myself on Gimp and I really enjoyed it! The idea of going to the other side of the lens was already running in my head since a few weeks. I then gathered enough money over the following months to buy a Nikon D90 and a 50mm f/1,8 and got started.
Tell us about your first photo that really validated your interest as a photographer.
I think this was the 9th of November, 2014. I was making my fourth or fifth photo shoot when I took a really nice picture. I named it at first “Bonjour.” Then I gave it another go this year (because my Photoshop/Lightroom skills had improved). Now this photo is called “Old Sweet Memories” and this is one of the most liked picture on 500px so far this year.
Back when you were just starting out, what was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome that?
I think that my biggest challenge was to convince my friends and family about my abilities to make great pictures considering the fact I’m color blind. I only see 25 000 shades of color while a normal person could see about one million. But with time and hard work, I think I have managed to change their thoughts about my future in photography. Learning by heart a lot of rgb/hex codes of common subjects in photography helped me a lot (the most important one being the skin tones, seeing that I am mainly a portraitist) or also, having a girlfriend who was telling me during the process if I do well or not.
What do you enjoy photographing the most?
This is a hard thing to say. I do love portraits because of the social aspect, sharing time with strangers and having fun outside during two or three hours or also creating something with a great mood and emotional scope.
I love also nightscapes for the fact of being alone in the middle of nowhere with just myself, my camera and the stars.
And I’m also into macro and wildlife photography, so it’s hard to narrow down to just a single theme.
.
What has been your proudest moment as a photographer?
My hometown is around a big pond and every year we have a photography competition where photographers in the surrounding cities can participate. This is quite a well-known contest here and I grew up with my mother and friends who were always talking about it. Last year, the competition featured three different categories: “landscapes around the lake”, “macrophotography of tiny things in the region” and “urban photographs of cities around the pond.” However, being specialized in portraits I tried my luck anyway with macro photography. I was then invited to the award ceremony, my father came with me and I actually won the competition! That was really important to me to have my father by my side so that he could see that I was having some success in photography.
Tell us about time in your photographic journey where you failed at something and how did you pivot to overcome this?
There was a short period of time last year when I lost all the confidence I had in my work. I was doing a lot of color mistakes and I was like “Fuck it, I’m going to give up on photography because of my color blindness!”. Eventually, thanks to my “supporters” I did another shooting where I had great results and my self-confidence went back. And the two following shootings went even better. It got me out of that hole.
Everyone go through downs, and it’s important to have support around you. Otherwise, you drown.
We all have weaknesses, what is yours relating to photography?
My main weakness could be my colorblindness but I managed to overcome it through technical means.
On the other side, I think I am giving too much importance to my creations. When someone tells me he doesn't like my photograph, it totally crushes my heart haha. This is why I think I need to get some perspective over my works and it doesn't really matter if there are people who don't like it.
Finding time to get out and shoot is another challenge for many. How do you find the time in your busy schedule to get out there behind your camera?
I am a French student, currently following university courses. My schedule is quite flexible and it is easy to find some free time to shoot. But I am not shooting that much, really. Maybe once a week, sometimes less.
Nailing a composite right can be a challenge. What do you think the trick is to mastering composition?
It is really important to not stay focused on only one element of your image when you are taking the photograph (e.g only a model for a portrait or a deer for a wildlife photograph).
You have to understand that in a photo, all the details are important and a single subject doesn't make a great photograph by itself. It is a whole. There are those « forgotten parts » of your image that will bring the mood you desire.
There are many photographers starting out, who don't have the money to buy the camera gear they want. What advice can you give to them?
They can try to save a bit of money just like I did and buy a cheap DSLR with a basic and versatile lens (e.g. 50mm). I even think you can get started with a smartphone. When you feel that you like your creations but your image is not as sharp as you’d like and it becomes a limitation for your post-processing work, this is when you should think about upgrading your gear.
On the other hand, there are great hybrid cameras which are usually less expensive than DSLRs.
They can be a good alternative for lower budgets.
How do you feel photography has impacted the way you see the world?
Photography gave me a lot of self-confidence and thanks to it I feel I’m getting more purpose in my life and it makes me become a nicer person. This has been the best therapy I could find.
What do you see photographers doing today, that if done differently tomorrow would improve their success?
First thing I have in mind is skin processing. Even really great photographers process the skin too much and I have the feeling that over processed skin is becoming widely accepted… Moreover, there is this kind of trend I’ve seen lately: enlarging the model's eyes. I find this really ugly and strange. If you are doing this to your model, stop it now! Really! This is quite easy to see if eyes are wider than usual. And this wrecks the natural side of your portrait.
To get your creative eye focused, where do you draw your inspiration from?
I have always been visiting websites like 500px, Facebook pages, Instagram, Viewbug. Because I have accounts there and at the same time it allows me to keep an eye on photographers I really like such as TJ Drysdale, Ruslan Lobanov, Benjamin Von Wong … They are really inspiring.
What is your best photography related tip?
I think this is being well organized in your work. When I started setting up my workflow straight, it became so much easier and faster to find the best photo I made.
What would you like for people take away from your work?
Eye contact. Definitely. I give a great importance to the eyes due to my colourblindness. Unconsciously, I think this is why I am always looking for new projects where I can make the eyes the center of attention.
What are some ‘must have’ items in your camera bag?
None haha. I even don't have enough money to buy a camera bag! I just have my old Eastpack schoolbag where I put my camera and one or two lenses wrapped in shirts to protect them. I don't have any tripod, remote control, filters, flashlights, reflectors etc. When I leave home to shoot I am feeling like Bear Grills you know. I have nothing with me but I always figure out how to make things work.
If you were stuck on a deserted island, what is the ONE photography book you would want to have with you?
I don't care about which book it is, I’d burn it to make a distress signal fire to get out of that island. Definitely.
Final question, and it’s a fun one: Life has been found on another planet and none other than Sir Richard Branson is piloting Virgin Galactic and has put together a team of engineers, scientist, doctors and has asked you to come along to document the journey. The challenge is you can only bring two lenses and one camera body and two other items. What would you bring?
I think I should take something like a Samyang 14mm f/2,8 with a 70-200 f/2,8 from Nikon and a Nikon D810. Then a little toy to make the journey and the photographs funnier and also, I’d probably bring a cute kitten. Because everybody loves kittens.
One email every two weeks
Are you interested to receive our members interviews?
We want you to be in the middle of the conversation.
Do you want to share your story
YES, I WANT TO SHARE MY STORY