The Cannes Film Festival – the film industries most popular event in cinema and an important photographic moment. We asked three photographers to share their views on the festival with us. Discover the work of Frédéric Stucin, Fabrice Dall’anese, and Olivier Anrigo.
Festival de Cannes, The Cannes Festival, founded in 1946 is considered the most prestigious film festival in the world. The invitation-only festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. But what’s it like being a photographer there? We talked to three photographers about their experience.
Frédéric Stucin
Frédéric Stucin is a photographer, specialized in portraits for press and was on a commission for the newspaper Liberation. In addition to his commissioned work, he had a dedicated page on his Instagram working as a festival diary.
“With the limited a mouth of time I had, you really have to tell a story. I want each reader to create an imagery. I try to tell something about the personalities on the scene here in Cannes, much similar to a film sequence,” says Frédéric.
To capture the look he was going for, Frédéric used two Profoto B1 Off-Camera Flashes, a RFi Octa 3′, an OCF Softbox 2×3′, an Umbrella Deep Silver S and a Softlight Reflector, also known as beauty dish. In his work, he mainly uses the beauty dish and the umbrella, which he appreciates for the easy and fast implementation.
“When I’m working on the scene, I quickly have to scan the place and choose a context. What can I create with this person, what story to I want to tell? 5 minutes after it is over. If I can, I also provides a classic portrait, with a plain background. “
Frédéric used the B1, due to its speed and the lack to cables: “I probably would have found a way to get by, but the kit allows me to go where I want, to tell the story I have in mind.”
Find the work of Frédéric on his website.
Fabrice Dall’anese
Fabrice Dall’anese is a French-Italian portraitist. He started of as a law student i Paris, London and Munich, and did not see his destiny as a photographer. Suddenly efterything changed when he came back from a vacation with a few images and was spotted and exposed to the Spanish cultural institute. He was recruited for a five month mission around the planet which changed his outlook on life completely. Since that day, he has devoted himself to photography.
His passion for film led him to specialize in celebrity portraits and he now works with the largest companies in the media industry, including Vanity Fair USA and Italy. His look and feel is a glamorous vision that nourishes the glittery fantasy surrounding the festival. He creates true cinematic scenes.
Fabrice likes to travel light. He left home with a B2 Off-Camera Flash kit, an OCF Softbox 2′ Octa and an OCF Softbox 1.3 x 1.3 with the OCF Softgrid 50° 1,3×1,3′.
“The system always provided me with enough power to light my subjects as I wanted.”
Find the complete series on vanityfair.com
Find the work of Fabrice on his website.
Follow him on Instagram.
Olivier Anrigo
Olivier Anrigo is a professional photographer, working for news agencies. He has worked several years for Reuters. Oliver, formed into photography by his father, has done numerous expeditions around the world, focusing on ecology and wildlife. Topics which he holds close to heart.
Working for news agencies has made him specialized in sports and news. He is used to long lenses and natural light, so bringing flash to the festival was not the obvious choice from the start. And yet he left with a B2 Off-Camera Flash and a flash bracket. Along with him he also brought the OCF Grid Kit and the standard Zoom Reflector.
The portability of the B2 Off-Camera Flash allowed Olivier to slip into the photographic pool and separate his subject from the background, without ever disturbing his colleagues next to him.
“My fellow photographers in front of me on the red carpet were also very happy because thanks to be B2, they got a pretty powerful halo which was great for their images as well”, says Olivier.
The power of B2 allowed him to shoot further and have greater control over his environment: “The TTL mode works great, the exposure is calculated for a very fair power output and the images have demanded very little editing.”