François Coquerel

PHOTOGRAPHER

Working with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Architectural Digest, WSJ Magazine and Aesop, in between personal projects, has instilled a refined sensibility into the visuals François Coquerel produces behind the lens. After 14 years shooting all manner of still-life and interior images — including a Paris home designed by architect Marine Bonnefoy for this issue (page 114) — the Paris-based photographer has found that there is a certain satisfaction producing a curated few instead of giving into excess. “My ideal process, which doesn’t occur that much, is to be alone, sit and start playing with the things around me,” he says. “The less photographs I shoot, the happier I feel.” For Coquerel, who lives just outside of Paris in Versailles, the hardest part of this shoot, was “not stealing the chairs to bring back home!” His next project speaks true to this desire for simplicity: a book documenting teenagers spending weekends in the forest, slated to be out in September. @francoiscoquerel