5MINS with Vivienne Mok
Vivienne Mok is a designer and photographer who featured her beautifully captured romantic fashion images in Issue 14. Read on for our conversation with Vivienne, talking in depth on approaches, concepts and inspirations.
Hello Vivienne, could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello, my name is Vivienne Mok, I was born in NYC but grew up between Paris and Hong Kong, and I am a self-taught photographer currently living between Paris and Switzerland. I studied Fashion Design at Parsons and worked as a designer in a French fashion house for a few years. I discovered and fell in love with photography during that time and decided to pursue this path since then.
How did you get into photography and how would you sum up your style?
My partner encouraged me to pick up my camera and do pictures, we spent a lot of time together photographing landscapes and situations and I also had the opportunity to do backstage pictures during fashion week at work. Another important factor was that on the side and in my free time after work I was making clothes for myself or friends. I would imagine how those garments could look like in certain situations and settings, a sort of story. So that's how I started my first 'fashion' pictures... I love being able to express myself, find beauty, tell a story and meet people through photography, and to be able to create my own world. I would describe my style as feminine, dreamy, romantic, personal and out of time.
Your work was featured with us in Issue 14, how did you approach the concept for this piece?
The pictures featured in issue 14 were a selection of some of my past work from my portfolio. They are all issued from different shootings and they are some of my favourite images.
Throughout your work we can see that it has a soft and tranquil feel, what elements of you focus on to recreate the same feel perfectly in each image?
Yes that is true, in most of my work there is a feeling of tranquility and comfort. I think that it is due to a combination of elements: the poses that I ask the models to take (often lying or sitting indoors, looking out of a window, sometimes walking outdoors...), the use of soft natural light, the dreamy atmosphere and pastel tones, the use of soft fabrics and the 'bedroom' sets I create, etc...
My particular favourite photograph is the one used for the cover of the ‘Photographers' Companion Magazine (China). The use of natural light creates such a serene and beautiful image, do you use natural lighting for most shoots or is studio light used also?
Thank you! Yes I use natural lighting most of the time. And at times ambient available light when I have to shoot in certain locations where the lighting is already set a certain way (i.e: restaurants etc). But I have very recently just started experimenting with a simple studio light as sometimes it is impossible to finish a job in time with just natural daylight and it is good to have this option and it can still look like natural daylight. But it is something that I am just discovering now so I have to work on that.
Do you use film or digital for your work and why?
I shoot digital, for me it is most convenient and I haven't really tried doing anything with film so far, maybe one day...
Who / what inspired you to photograph these romantic and feminine photographs?
I guess it is a combination of elements. It is very natural for me to do these kinds of images. I am not even really sure why I am doing it this way and why I am so drawn to this particular aesthetic. I guess it has a lot to do with my personality: I like calm tranquil atmosphere and a cozy home, nature, flowers, books, and I have been collecting since a young age all sorts of vintage or antique decorative objects and clothes. I am also inspired by intriguing faces, things from my daily environment, light, nature, beautiful landscapes, pretty old things that have a tell a story, classic paintings, fairytales, moody movies, colours, victorian clothing, ballet, flowers, the bohemian 70's, beautiful and kind people, etc...
The colour palette in your work is soft and subtle, how do you go about capturing this?
The light in my pictures is very soft, I try to avoid harsh sunlight if I can, and I usually like to create “tone on tone” images so that the background, the model and her clothes are all coordinated harmoniously.
What do you look for in regards to backgrounds and locations?
A big part of my pictures are shot in my home, in a bedroom which has become my “studio”. It has a big window which is very convenient. And there I can change the backdrop the way I want, sometimes I want a lavish decoration and I use a lot of soft fabrics and old props for my sets, sometimes I want something simple then I just use a simple fabric or the wall as the backdrop. Outdoors I like to shoot in nature, I love trees full of blossoms in the spring, and shooting by the water, or in he woods, I look for places which can look romantic or mysterious. Shooting indoors I can compose the way I want and shooting outdoors is more about adapting to the situation and composing with the landscape.
What are your plans for your photographic work for the future?
I realise that my life has really changed and evolved since I first started photography, it has been full of surprises and I have met many interesting people. I have also made mistakes and learned from them, and like this I keep advancing and also evolve as a person. So I prefer not to make plans that are too rigid, you never know how things go in your life, so I am hoping for the best and am happy to learn each day from what I am doing. I know that not everyone has this opportunity and I
am grateful that I am able to do what I love each day. And I am excited for what's to come and hope to learn and try out some new things...!
