Antoine Doyen

The way I got to shooting this year’s Virgin Radio & RFM radio hosts is worth telling! It might rise some interest among those of you starting in the business, I guess. Back in November 2008, the guy below emailed me about my work. I didn’t know this would shape the following year.

Get your work out!

Le Monde had assigned me to shoot TF1’s Laurent Storch. Eventually, they didn’t publish it. I wrote a note about it, though. Next thing I know, Sam Zniber (photo), RFM & Virgin Radio’s program director, founds out about it, writes me a couple of lines about how he likes some of my pictures, how we might work together some times. This was November 2008. Answered him right away, of course… I was having my first interesting gigs (Le Monde, Challenges, etc.), but I knew I also needed corporate assignment to pay for my equipment and stuffs.

No news for a few months. I was about to forget it when I received a call from Virgin Radio’s press office in February: I was asked to shoot & follow radio host Cauet during a special event in Strasbourg! Sure, why not?

This assignment gave me more confidence. Not only did I land a few other jobs with them before actually shooting their radio hosts, but I happened to be a little more straight-forward when meeting press photo editors. The whole thing got me on the rails, indeed.

Of course, I’m now a tad less shy when it comes to letting my work out. It seems unpublished photographs can help you having published ones! Now, if you excuse me, I must get my stuffs together to meet more & more press…

Done! I must admit there are still a few series from Cannes I still haven’t fully processed… aka those Metro didn’t publish.

Souleymane Cissé’s portrait, along with those of his actors Alou Badra Sissoko, Sokona Gakou and Assane Kouyaté are available on my photoshelter account. If you wish to use them, please contact me.