So proud to be finally sharing about this wonderful collaboration with talented illustrator and author Sophie Grangerat and renowned Beiruth-based book publisher Samir.
Sophie's latest children book recently went on sale and it has been an honor to be part of this project. Titled "A l'ombre du cerisier", the book tells the sensible tale of a brother and a sister who get to find fullfillment each at their own pace. With a cherry tree as a backdrop to the story and a witness to the passing of time, the book explores in a poetic and moving way the complexity of sibling relationships as well as the topics of illness and coping.
The book features original texts by the artist and her colourful, finelly detailed drawings and intricate collages.
The artist's original work is created on large canvas of paper. I was commissioned to take care of capturing these large formats in camera and producing high quality, high resolution digital files that would allow the creative team at Samir to resize the illustrations to the book's desired dimensions and assemble the various book assets. The goal was also to achieve maximum tone and colour fidelity, detail and texture so the final product could stay true to the artist's delicate and colourful artwork.
There were two main facets about this work. First, being on top of all technical and methodological aspects including proper studio setup and lighting, and a well defined workflow from artwork setup to digital capture to post-processing. This was necessary in order to ensure accuracy, consistency and efficiency.
Second, even more importantly, being engaged with and listening to the artist and the publisher's editorial and creative team in order to best serve their objectives and needs. Understanding the fine balancing act implied here and delivering files that would stay true to the artist's original vision and execution while meeting the vision of the creative director and the art director for the finalized book.
I am so grateful to have been associated with this wonderful project.
Originally written in French, the book is also available in Arabic at the time of first publication. Find it at your favourite bookstore.
See the project's page for more. Also, for more on my photography work, head over to the dedicated section on this website.
