Theo Gosselin, a photographer named Wild!

I went on a date a few days ago Theo Gosselin. A photographer with hilly roads, let’s not just say “wild”. We love it for its wild life, nature, unfiltered and at the same time poetic taste. Thirst for travel, the adventure that takes place in his work, as timeless.

Be careful: When did you want to take pictures?

Theo Gosselin : “In the end it came quite late. I grew up in the countryside, then I came to Le Havre to find my friends who were into music or skateboarding. I was 16-17 years old at that time. Because of that, I got into photography, and when I wasn’t skateboarding, I was doing photography. I was trying to take pictures of musicians passing by during my friends’ concerts, etc. After a while, I got tired of photographing people at work and thought to myself that now it’s up to me to diversify my projects.
So it went.

Portrait by Theo Gosselin

Then in 2009 I went to Amiens to study graphic design. I was 18 years old then. I actually took a lot of photos back then, like reports, let’s say.
I photographed my friends, my lovers, everything that happened. In the end, I didn’t really decide to become a photographer, more people did for me by posting my pictures online – we were in Facebook’s infancy then. As soon as I started posting these pictures of my friends and my first trips, brands started contacting me and asking me if I could do the same thing in a more professional project with the limitations involved. . That’s when I realized I could get paid to do what I love doing the most on earth.

This is the origin of my creativity. I never wanted to be a photographer, especially since I was doing music on the side. At the base I wanted to be an illustrator, then I realized that I didn’t want to spend my life behind a desktop drawing and I wanted to take pictures with my friends, enjoy my crazy youth and continue drawing.

I then started having a blog Skyblog then a fan page on Facebook to showcase my work. At that time, social networks were still in their infancy, so there was a lot of room for photographers. Later this model was saturated because there were many artists using it. This is what allowed me to take the first step and stand out. I’m totally into Instagram now.
However, I will admit that I miss this time because the pictures are a little less lost. Also, those were the times when you would sit on your computer, in your chair and look for pictures, it didn’t have the same appeal.

I have dedicated my work to advertising for 10 years now.
I started with a shoe brand called Shmuv, then there were bigger brands and that’s why I stopped studying Art.

Now I focus on both advertising and editorial photography, as well as my books, exhibitions, personal work with my girlfriend Maud Chalard, travels, etc. I do a little more artistic work that I prepare. “.

Bare on The Roll — Getting naked on The Roll

Be careful: Your universe in 3 words?

Theo: “I think there is cinema, freedom and madness. A bit on the wild side, let’s say, though. And there’s a lot of music.”

Be careful: Would you like to make a movie?

Theo: “ My original goal was to practice photography for ten years, to gain confidence before cinema.
The picture made me believe, to know what I really wanted, and my belief then was to create fiction. That’s why I make more music videos now. This is a longer uphill task that you need to be extremely serious about.
I like the unexpected things that I can come across in photography that I don’t have in videography. »

Be careful: Want to keep the “wild” DNA in your photos?

Theo : “Yes, as we said before, we can influence even if it is with the Internet. I know that things that shine like music, nature, friendship, LOVE, travel, fun are timeless and will always find an audience that shares these values. My universe sometimes deals with nostalgia and poetry. This is what drives me and makes me very happy. »

Be careful: what makes you daydream and flood your work?

Theo: “ It is photography that helps me overcome my shyness, meet others, travel. At the time, I sent messages to people saying, “I’m taking pictures and I’d like to take pictures of your universe. »

Watch out for: The collaborations that caught your attention the most?

Theo : “It’s not really a collaboration, it’s more about going on an adventure on a trip with photographer friends (Emanuel Rosario, Brice Portolano and of course Maud).

I have been in a relationship with Maud Chalard for 10 years, she is also a photographer and I have many photographer friends. We each created our own universe and learned a lot from each other. I work in advertising to earn money and it is also a great source of incredible meetings, I have the chance to live from my passion and work with great teams in 4 corners of the world, sometimes in extreme weather, but always a great challenge and rewarding moments. »

Consider: What artists or muses would you like to draw?

Theo: ” Adam Driver, Shia Leboeuf, Dave Grole (drummer of Nirvana, Foo Fighters). »

Attention: Can you tell us a few words about your next projects?

Theo : “The new year begins, I want to rediscover my first loves: adventure/crashing with friends and very cinematic images. Last year I shot a lot of editorials and female nudes for a book project, but I realize that I really miss the adventure and the meetings. »

Note: On the exhibition side?

Theo: “I just released my 4th book, Roll, which was published at the end of 2021. It covers 6 years of my life, the first edition “sold out”, so we republished it with a few minor changes.
My book reflects everything that happened in my life between 2015 and 2021, travel, poetry, music, love, but also the most difficult moments of my life, especially my transition to adulthood between mourning. I hope that a big exhibition dedicated to this book will be organized this year, as well as new shots taken in the coming months. »