About Olivier Valsecchi
Olivier Valsecchi is a fine art photographer in nude photography genre. He liked music as a teenager, but became passionate about photography when creating cover art for his record sleeves.
He spent ten years taking portraits before enrolling in ETPA photography school to perfect his technical skills.
His work focuses on the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth in nature and is often dark and mysterious. Instead of focusing on the physical body, Valsecchi sees it as an empty vessel to express his own emotions and create self-portraits that do not necessarily feature himself.
He works based on personal instinct, from visualizing an image to capturing the moment. With his striking black and white images, Valsecchi captures beauty and character in aspects of life that are often overlooked.
Let’s Begin The Interview
Q. Having transitioned from music to photography, do you find that your musical background influences the rhythm and composition of your photographic work? If so, in what ways?
Answer. Yes, of course. First of all, I compose my photographic series like music albums, i.e. between 10 and 15 photos, alternating more obvious and strong photos that I can use to promote this new work, and others that contribute to the atmosphere and dynamics and bring in other connotations and influences. It can also happen that certain songs obsess me and accompany me during the creation of a photographic series, and that they probably infuse the images with a certain energy and atmosphere.
Q. What first inspired you to pick up a camera?
Answer. I remember when I was a teenager, my father had just shown me the technique of overprinting and how to do it with his old Chinon camera. Had a lot of fun with it, making self-portraits, playing with proportions and creating illusions. I was already expressing a duality, creating a slightly distorted universe, I wasn’t photographing reality.
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Q. What does a typical day in your life look like?
Answer. Coffee in front of my computer for an hour, it’s a very creative moment when I have lots of ideas, then I get on with my day’s work, when I get home I do an hour of sport while listening to music, I try to dance a little everyday too, then I cook the evening meal and watch a series. In the end, it’s a very ordinary day.
Q. What are some of the biggest challenges you face when working on intricate body compositions?
Answer.The composition has to be legible; when you make images with several bodies, it can be messy. You still need to be able to understand the image immediately. At the same time, if you don’t want to redo what’s already been done, you have to be prepared to make mistakes and look for something a bit new for a long time. The sessions can be very long and demanding for the models.
Q. How do you relax or recharge after an intense creative project?
Answer. I have so many ideas that I could do one project after another without stopping, but I can’t. I need to experience emotions to feed my photos. So the way to regenerate myself is simply to take away the pressure to produce more and more and let myself live.
Q. If you had to describe your body of work in three words, what would they be and why?
Answer. One of a kind. Four words
Q. Do you have a favorite quote that has stuck with you?
Answer. « Be yourself, everyone else is already taken » (Oscar Wilde)
Q. How do you see fine art photography evolving in an era dominated by social media?
Answer. There are several ways of looking at this. On the one hand, from a strictly commercial point of view, social networks force you to produce and post new images regularly to keep your page visible. So it’s obvious that this is changing the way we produce. Taking your time means taking a risk. Social networks have gradually replaced exhibitions and festivals, which are suffering from budget cuts. There’s also the fact that some artists are rarely invited to exhibit their work in beautiful spaces, and that popularity on the internet compensates a little and justifies the production of images. You can’t work without something in return. The problem is that it’s difficult to combine quantity and quality. So authors have to make choices.
From an artistic point of view, social networks make authors easily accessible, so you can discover new works every day without having to go to the library or to exhibitions. This contributes to an abundance of creativity, and probably encourages a lot of people to start creating, by giving them ideas.
Q. Have your personal experiences shaped the themes in your photography?
Answer. Yes, of course. Each series captures an experience in my life, an emotion I felt at a particular moment, a desire, a phase I went through, a turning point in my life. What we experience is the starting point for what we create. But the interesting thing is that what we create sometimes has an impact on what we experience, so it’s a virtuous circle. What I mean is that we sometimes create without knowing exactly where we’re going or the story we’re telling, and this creation reflects something which, if you pay attention to it, can have an effect on you.
Q. With your work being exhibited worldwide, from Korea to New York, do you find that different cultures interpret your art differently?
Answer. It’s very funny and revealing of a culture and a mentality to see that certain countries have embraced some of my series more than others. For example, the Klecksography series, which is very methodical and a bit harsh, was well received in Germany and Korea, but very poorly received in France. The Drifting series, which is very painterly, was well received in the Nordic countries.
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Q. What’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
Answer. As I reveal more of my darker side in my work, I’m not sure people know that I’m also quite a funny person, that I have a dark sense of humour, that I like to party, that I like to dance, that I’m very much alive. But as I also like to preserve my private life, I know how to remain discreet about many aspects of my life.
Q. Are there any future projects or artistic experiments you want to explore?
Answer. At the moment I’m exploring another way of telling stories, incorporating landscape photography, which I love doing but have never shown before. I’ll probably come back to self-portraits, which I haven’t done for a long time. I’m still driven by this desire to put music and dance into my photos, and I want this to permeate my work more, in a more explosive way.
Q. How do you see AI and digital art influencing the future of photography?
Answer. If you ask me, now that we’ve been able to see a certain number of images made with AI, we can find a common DNA in these images, and confuse them less with real photographs, even if it is sometimes bluffing. This means that AI is a new category of art, a new genre, halfway between digital art and photography. And if it can be considered a new genre, then AI will become part of the virtuous circle of creation and will have the same influence as the genres that already exist, drawing, digital art, painting: they will be possible inspirations for photography.
Q. Lastly, What advice would you give to emerging photographers?
Answer. Do I have any relevant advice to give young photographers about, for example, new technological advances such as AI? Or am I the one who could benefit from their advice? I’d say, taking account of the AI revolution, it might not be a bad idea to have 2 jobs. Honestly, let’s face it, we don’t know the future of photography nor the impact of AI. I’m starting to see AI-based advertising, which means less and less commission for photographers. So, you know, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Conclusion
Olivier’s work as a fine art photographer is truly inspiring. His creative eye and unique perspective have resulted in successful and captivating projects that serve as examples for both aspiring and professional photographers. His talent serves as a reminder of the emotional and artistic potential of nude photography and what can be achieved with the right vision and creative approach.
Thank you, Olivier, for sharing your gifts with the world and for inspiring others to explore this powerful and expressive art form.
Don’t forget to check out more work by Olivier Valsecchi here!
