Laetitia Vancon was born in Toulouse, France, 1979. From an early age, due to her father’s service in the French Air Force, she led the restless childhood life of an “army brat”.
In 2003, after completing her studies as a Chemical Engineer she spent 6 years working within France and South Africa in a chemical firm manufacturing artificial flavor enhancers. The pressure, the feeling of insignificance convinced her to leave this life for something more unconventional. In 2009, she gave up her career, and while travelling throughout Australia and South East Asia, used photography to help her reconnect with herself and her environment.
In 2014, Vancon completed studies at the Danish Photojournalism School in Aarhus, specialising in Visual Storytelling. In November 2012, she received an award in Creative Journalism for her project “The Time goes by, Bruno stays” by Emaho Magazine.“The Top will Fall” was selected for the Sony World Photography Awards 2014, and she was short-listed for the RPS (Royal Photographic Society) International Print Exhibition. Her latest documentary “My Home, My Prison” was selected as favorite by l’ANI, at VISA POUR L’IMAGE September, 2014.
Vancon has further developed and defined her distinctive, interactive approach to Documentary Photography. She places importance on connecting with her projects not to search for the latest scoop or hot news but to undertake them based on necessity. Adapting to more extensive, long term projects helps her create a more honest method of respectfully documenting peoples thoughts, emotions and place within society. By using this precise approach towards storytelling. Vancon hopes to confirm her values and belief in the importance of morality within today’s journalism.
She is relevant to contemporary documentary photojournalism and documentary debates. In addition, she moves fluidly between commercial, editorial and journalistic practice with a distinct style. She works well with natural light and has covered a range of issues I am interested in which is why I have chosen her for my study. She covers gentrification in Turkey in Life Carries On, as a personal project.
Below are my 3 key images for visual analysis.
Image 1
- The lighting in this image focuses on the child in the foreground as well as the 2 children in the background, these subjects work well together and do not detract from each other.
- The main focal point is the child and her environment. The child, the graffiti’d wall behind her, the children behind her , help tell the story which is probably a justification for not blurring out the child’s background.
- The light in this image appears to be artificial – there is a difference in the light distribution between the girl in the pink t shirt and her surroundings. This could however, be a result of the girl sitting where the sun was. The light enhances the message this photograph is sending.
- This is a typical image by the photographer and lends itself heavily to her creative approach to photojournalism/using photography as a tool for societal change.
- I think it is a successful image with the subject matter clearly indicated by what is in the image (a child, surrounded by children and the architectural environment).
- The composition of this image is quite interesting. Without the slanted angle of the pavement and the children in the background the message of this image would not be as strong.
- In addition, the whole image in focus and the foreground and background being filled adds to the narrative. These composition choices appear to be intentional.
- This image tells a story, the story is stronger as a series.
Image 2
- The lighting in this image is quite dramatic. The lighting on the lower left hand sides adds more of a dynamic than an evenly lit photography would. The subject matter is clear – residential building demolition.
- The main focal point is the shadow. The whole picture (the parts of the building still standing and the people in it), are part of this urban environment and this is justification for not blurring out the background.
- The light in this image appears to be natural – there is a difference in the light distribution between the foreground and background but this is a result of the shadow the sunlight was casting. The light enhances the message this photograph is sending.
- This is a typical image by the photographer and lends itself heavily to her creative approach to photojournalism.
- I think it is a successful image with the subject matter clearly indicated by what is in the image (changes to an architectural environment – a building being demolished).
- The composition of this image is quite interesting. Without the shadow of the building in the foreground as opposed to background the message of this image would not be as strong.
- In addition, the whole image in focus with the foreground and background being filled adds to the narrative. These composition choices appear to be intentional.
- This image tells a story, the story is strong as a series and on its own.
Image 3
- This is my favourite image. I took an image similar to this one before I had discovered Vancon.
- The lighting in this image is quite beautiful. The lighting in the centre frames the child beautifully more so than an evenly lit photography would. The subject matter is clear -a child’s sense of wander as all she has ever known comes into question.
- The main focal point is the girl. The whole picture (the details of the sofa) plus the little girl, form part of this her familial environment and this is justification for not blurring out the background.
- The light in this image appears to be natural – coming straight from the window. The light enhances the message this photograph is sending.
- This is a typical image by the photographer and lends itself heavily to her creative approach to photojournalism.
- I think it is a successful image with the subject matter clearly indicated by what is in the image (a child trying to process what sudden changes mean – where will she live, what is happening to her friends, can she look out of this window or sit in this sofa anymore?).
- The composition of this image is quite interesting – an off centre rule of thirds approach has been taken. Without the light illuminating the girl, the message of this image would not be as strong.
- In addition, the whole image in focus with the foreground and background being filled adds to the narrative. These composition choices appear to be intentional.
- This image tells a story, the story is strong as a series and on its own.
Artist materials and processes
Vancon works both in black and white and in colour. Based on some of her work, I can assume that she uses a Canon DSLR or digital medium format for her work. Connection to her subjects is the priority which implies that she can live in places where she is working for extensive periods of time. Her photographs were taken in 2013 but the reportage was realised 2 years later. She is also aware of producing photographs for a variety of mediums. For example, newspapers (broadsheets), books and magazines.
Long term documentary photography projects where one is required to live in an environment other than their own, means a change in access to amenities such as electricity (important for photography battery charging). This implies, that it is more practical to complete such a project on film photography. Vancon has however, gone against this norm. She also combines interviews and collaborates with writers to add text to the online galleries where her personal projects are held. This adds context and an extra dynamic.
Key elements taken for my own practise
As a result of looking at Life Carries On, I will:
- Become a bit more creative in the edit I produce of analogue styled black and white work which contains portraits with detail of the subject’s environment
- Combine other elements into the final story besides photographs – such as statistics/text which can be used to represent the societal issue in question
- Consider which other publications – besides a book, can used to present the story of the people represented and initiate a positive change
BIOGRAPHY (no date) Available at: http://www.vanconlaetitia.com/biography/ (Accessed: 11 December 2016).
PERSONAL PROJECTS (no date) Available at: http://www.vanconlaetitia.com/#/lifecarrieson/ (Accessed: 10 December 2016).
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