Confucius once said, “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”, in the fashion industry it is something that is slightly similar some are preferred than the others. But, now, amazing photographer Simon Duhamel will help us appreciate and show us the beauty in diversity of every skin tones.

I was approached by Chromatic festival to exhibit a project in Paris under the theme of colour. At a certain point in my career, I realized I was mostly shooting caucasians. I was already addressing the situation as I was casting more people from various origins in order to have a more representative group of people in my work. The idea for the project came from that reflexion. So we casted people from different nationalities and decided to shoot them in order to take away their natural skin tone in order to focus on who they are rather than the colour of their skin. We shot the subjects using different recipes of coloured gels to create a different feel for each one of them. By adding coloured light to their natural skin tone, we change the percevable colour of their skin. By taking away the perception of their natural skin tone, we can focus on the physiognomy, which is what we have left to differentiate each other. The idea was to appreciate these differences, rendering the concept of the colour of skin obsolete.
-Simon Duhamel

There's always a visual or conceptual twist to my imagery. I believe my style to be very clean and graphic. I focus a lot on composition, on the relation to all the elements composing the shot. I also work a lot on colours, creating colour palettes for each one of my projects. As for subjects, I like to address the subject of identity and displacement. I try to set the scenes I create in an alternate reality, to be slightly off from our reality.
-Simon Duhamel

Define your style and create for the sake of creating. Only then can you set yourself apart and have a better understanding of who you are as an artist. People will also have a better idea of who you are and what you stand for creatively.
-Simon Duhamel

I either shoot with a Canon 5Ds with prime L-series lenses or medium format with a PhaseOne IQ260 with Schneider Kreuznach lenses. I work with Profoto lighting equipment. I have four D1s and a Pro7A pack with several heads. I’ve built up a powerful laptop and use an Apple display and keep a second display available for the team of stylists, decor crew and makeup artists so everyone can work closely together, keeping an eye on the details. I work on a 9’ Manfrotto camera stand to ensure a perfect camera lock when compositing shots. In terms of software, I rock Photoshop like no other with a Wacom graphic tablet, capture images with CaptureOne and sometimes DragonFrame for more specific use or when shooting stop motion animation. Also love using Capture Pilot to send the shoot straight to the client’s iPad, making sure everyone’s involved!
-Simon Duhamel

About Simon Duhamel

Somewhere between photography and illustration, influenced by cinema and pop culture, Simon Duhamel’s visuals register in a modern approach to photography. Photographer, retoucher and director of photography, Duhamel knows how to create unique scenes and ambience for each of his realizations, providing each project with a distinct visual signature. His style is defined by his use of color, graphic compositions and constructed visuals. He recently started integrating CGI to his work to expand the possibilities, creating a reality of his own. His personal work tends to be more introspective and expresses his concern with identity and the feeling of displacement. See more of his works on Behance or his website.