(c) Kris Gautier

Kris has always been a solo artist and has not, like many photographers, learnt his trade assisting others. However he does take inspiration from other photographers and is a big fan of Pierre et Gilles, Jean-Paul Goude and Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
Kris likes all aspects of photography. He loves colour and movement, make up and hairdressing, high heels and glamour and has fun with his sets : "Sometimes the reality of life is just too harsh and grey. I like to take down taboos and learn to laugh at life. People shouldn't take themselves too seriously. Fashion is a game about changing images, it's child's play — dressing up ! " Kris' photos are a lot of fun and are, he feels, a team effort. "It's like conducting an orchestra. There are lots of people involved and by respecting all the people you create a sort of exchange. It's about creating a really fun moment so that you get something special back from the people you are photographing. " One model Kris loves photographing is Michelle Norkett. " She is more than a model. She has the perfect body and hardly needs any retouching, she's 6'3" which some people may find intimidating, but not me! She's my muse. She's incredibly motivated and is like an actress the way she has so much intelligence and sensitivity on my shoots. " And it was Q's very own Natalie Kates who pushed Kris towards doing test shoots with model agencies and experimenting with different people and characters in his photos. His favourite make up artists are Topolino, Fred Farrugia and Marmotte ; his favourite hairdressers are Barnabé and Rita Dell'orco.