Maëlle André

Who are you ?


My name is Maëlle André, I'm 25 years old, born in Brussels, Los Angeles lover. I'm a freelance photographer since 2010, mostly into fashion photography, for magazines, models, agencies and private clients. Also I'm working for the Belgian radio Pure FM since 2011 and every summer I'm busy taking pictures at music festivals where I have load of fun. 
About my upbringing, I studied art in high school, I got a lot of art history courses and I started to use Photoshop in 2005 for my projects. Then I did a year in fashion design at Francisco Ferrer in Brussels, then 3 years of graphic design at Erg in Brussels, after all I did a training at Cepegra Brussels and got graduated of Adobe Creative Suite. So the truth is that I never took a photography lesson... I learned all by myself, I've always been self-taught and very curious to learn new things. 

I started to shoot my entourage for fun, when I realized that I was really enjoying it! I did a photo project about tattooed people during a year, which helped me to meet a lot of new people and to get myself talked about. I got my first contract in 2010 when I was discovered by a French singer Medi (drummer of Charlie Winston) which allowed me to travel in Los Angeles to shoot his music album pictures. After that I decided to start doing photography seriously and I got new contracts. I've been really lucky because a few magazines, webzines and blogs started talking about me and publishing my work (like Inked Girls Magazine based in NYC which was a great publicity and Victoire Magazine here in Belgium) I've build my portfolio over the years and gain experience. At the same time I was still traveling in California very often; I definitely felt in love with the US and this year I've decided to get a visa and to move there, it's my main goal for 2013! Beside my photography job and regular clients; I started producing, filming and editing music videos, it's another way to express my creativity and I'm looking to do more productions in thefuture.


What are your Influences ?


Well of course the US mentality and the California atmosphere are really representative of what I like in many ways. I love the light, the sun, the nature, the vibrancy of colors, the empty spaces far from the crowed city, I don't like busy environment that much, that's why I love California because it's warm and sunny (so I don't have to worry about the weather because I mostly work outdoor with natural light, I can shoot every day without complaining about rain or snow),  it's big and nature is everywhere (so I can find nice empty locations easily). Also I'm seeking inside peace of mind, I pay attention about my health and over there I've found many people with the same state of mind; there is no stress and negativity as in here, people are friendly and relax. 
I'm influenced by everything that's around me, that's why it's important to get surrounded by good people! My world is full of positive thoughts, of karma, of hopes, of dreams, of creativity, of nature, of music, of sun, of fashion, of beautiful images that are waiting to become real!



Tell us about your pictures ?


I love my pictures to be the reflection of my mind; I want them full of colors, of light, of femininity, I like them to be like a fresh breath for people. I'd like to make people dream more, to give them happy  thoughts. It's the way I found to touch the world around me and to give a message; it's the role of every artist so I want mine to be a positive one. 
I like to work with females models because I think women are fascinating! Girls can express a story just with the look of their eyes, their body and their attitude. Maybe it's because I'm a girl too, but I imagine the model like an actress, she can play every role in every situation. I love to work outdoor because I love using natural light, I'm much skilled with it than any artificial light which I really don't like to use. I love it cause it's going out of my limits, letting fate playing his role, I always have my idea when I start shooting but I always respect what will happened on set, random is part of the process, magic happened outside your comfort zone so I consider every shoot as a new challenge. 





What is the role of Fashion ?


I've always been obsessed with fashion since my young age, reading Vogue with fascinated eyes. That's why I started fashion design studies, cause I thought that was my thing. Finally I'm glad I've took the way of photography cause I can still be in the fashion industry but in another way. I love to work with stylist and fashion designer, style is really important in the construction of my pictures. I'm aiming to become a high fashion photographer so I need to be focused on the styling. I always try to do better and better, to propose new things, to surprise with aesthetic details and originality. By now, I'm obsessed with amount of jewelry, accessories, patterns diversity, crazy colored hair, flowers and colors mix! 



Can you describe your style ? 


My style is a mix of street wear and hippie rock type of clothing. I wear many rings and gemstones necklaces. I wear classic black vans shoes or leather boots most of the time. I don't wear heels which is cool cause I'm tall. I like comfy clothes! I wear mostly large t shirts and over sized sweaters with legging pants, beanies, large denim or leather jacket (I like to wear music bands tee and old fashioned ones with wolfs and motorbikes on them!).



Any addiction ? 


My phone, rings, crystals and stones, nails, my lipbalm, MAC & NARS lipsticks, coffee...

What are you listening to at this moment ? 
Currently in my playlist : HAIM, Grimes, A$AP Rocky, MS MR, Widowspeak, The Weeknd, Drake, Kendrick Lamar...



Any beauty trick ?


A fresh lemon juice every morning. Hydrating creme every day & every night! I wear MAC & NARS cosmetics and my daily makeup is based on BBcreme + pink blush + black mascara + red or pink lipstick + neat manicure & my Chanel "Coco Mademoiselle" perfume.



Your books ? 


Currently reading "No Steak" from Aymeric Caron and a book about "Sacred Geometry". 



What can we found in your bag ?

 
Makeup case, phone, headphone, business cards, "Rescue" pastilles, nail polish, gemstones, tissues, beanie, sunglasses, lip balm, essential oil...



Your movies ?


Mostly Sci-fi and Romantic Comedy : "Star Trek", "Sunshine", "Lord Of the Ring", "Wayne's World", "Truman Show", "Drive", "500 days of Summer", "Pretty Woman", "The Note Book"...



Some cool spots in Brussels ?


Shopping : I do mostly online shopping; Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, Joyrich, H&M, Vans... 
Restos : I don't eat outside, I'm vegetarian so I like to cook my food myself but you can find me at Starbucks, Sushishop, Exki, Lilycup, Mamaroma and Fontainas...
Sorties : I don't go out very much, I'm more a "home lover" type of person.



What are your icons ?


Kate Moss, Chloe Norgaard, Charlotte Free, Vanessa Paradis, Karl Lagerfeld, Gwen Stefani, Audrey Kitching...



What about your favorite artists ?

 
Guy Bourdin, Lina Tesch, Zoey Grossman, Lara Jade, Tim Walker, Bettina Rheims, Neil Krug, Caitlin Bellah, Manish Arora... 



Links :


website : www.maelleandre.com


facebook : facebook.com/maelleandrephotography


twitter : twitter.com/_MaelleAndre_


instagram : maelleandre
tumblr : http://maelleandre.tumblr.com/


behance : behance.net/maelleandre


pinterest: pinterest.com/maelleandre


flickr : flickr.com/photos/_maelle_/