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Portfolio Review: Photographer Cedric Viollet Explains His Favorite Fashion and Editorial Portraits

Telling the stories behind his favorite commercial and fine art commissions.

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Photographer Cedric Viollet grew up skateboarding, painting, studying art history, and traveling, all the while discovering his passion for and style of photography. Between his fashion and editorial work, he's been commissioned by Kenzo, Nike, Sonia Rykiel, Jalouse, GQ, Pigalle, Romain Gavras, M.I.A., and others, who admire the raw, intimate quality of his images. We asked Cedric to share 12 of his favorite photographs with us and tell the stories behind them in this week's Portfolio Review installment.

Portfolio Review: Photographer Cedric Viollet Explains His Favorite Fashion and Editorial Portraits

Cedric Viollett 12

"This was taken between two shots while we were in the studio. Another freezing, rainy day in Paris. I got my camera to capture Alex Yuryeva smoking a cigarette behind the window."

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Cedric Viollett 11

"I met Johnny Harrington for a job. He is a really cool guy from England, with strong, piercing eyes. It was freezing cold with mist everywhere. All he had to do was to look through the lenses, and that was it."

Cedric Viollett 10

"I was off on holiday in Etretat, Normandy. I was walking on the beach and taking pictures, like always, and I bumped into this. I love accidental encounters!"

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Cedric Viollett 09

"This is my first and almost last test for a model agency. We were in Park Des Buttes Chaumont in Paris with my Hasselblad and two rolls. Karolin and I walked around to find a spot, and I honestly had no idea what to do. I remember I saw how beautiful the light was on her body, and it all came together."

Cedric Viollett 08

"Those two kids were on the shoot with M.I.A. They were posing like pros! They were my favorites guys. If you forget about the context, this is image reminds me of a war photographer's images, no?"

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Cedric Viollett 07

"M.I.A. was shooting in collaboration with Romain Gavras. We were in a castle in southeast Paris. Romain was doing his story using cinematographic light, whilst I was doing my story with a rawer feel. It was epic and great fun as well."

Cedric Viollett 06

"Alice Dellal and his tom boy bag at Chanel's HQ in Rue Cambon. This photo looks almost spontaneous, surprisingly spontaneous, because there were almost 10 people looking at us! Sometimes images don't really relate to reality."

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Cedric Viollett 05

"This was a project for Levi's. The concept was to take some portraits of beautiful girls who are also very relevant in the music scene. We only got thirty minutes with Alix Brown, and we had to have both hair and makeup and the photo shoot during that time. She was very natural and sexy, as always. After 10 shots, we got the shot we wanted."

Cedric Viollett 04

"This is a shot from Kenzo's lookbook that I did in March 2012. It was right at the moment when Kenzo was about to change, so it was really exciting."

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Cedric Viollett 03

"We spent the whole day in a museum. Haley was really fun and charismatic. Doing this story for Jalouse was like a walk in the park."

Cedric Viollett 02

"Three years ago, I was on a skateboard tour with Lucien Clarke. He landed a few tricks so we decided to chill for a bit. I snapped him very quick, without him even noticing."

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Cedric Viollett 01

"This is my very first commission with Olympia LeTan. I was really honored to shoot her first collection last year."

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