We recently connected with Antoine Didienne and have shared our conversation below.

Antoine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

I am a portrait, wedding, and family photographer but I consider myself a documentary photographer first. I always come to photography with that point of view in mind. It’s because of that frame of mind that I decided to take on a long-form documentary/storytelling project such as Portraits Of My Father. I wanted to stretch my skills, and take on something ambitious. As a father of 2 girls and the son of 1, I have pondered what fatherhood is many times so that’s why I thought tackling this on visually would be a great way to give my thoughts on my role as a father. When novelists and scriptwriters talk about writing what they know, I wanted to tell the story I knew most, and that of being a dad made the most sense. I also did not see much representation in the media of modern fatherhood. My experience as the son of a baby boomer and my personal story of fatherhood is very different so I wanted to explore that.

After 2 test sessions, I knew I had found something interesting so I set myself the ambitious goal of photographing 50 fathers for the project to paint a modern portrait of fatherhood. It was hefty endeavor.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Antoine Didienne, I am a French/American photographer living in San Diego, CA. I came to photography in my mid-30s (i.e. late to the party) but quickly discovered an obsession that turned into a new career a few years later. I consider myself a documentary photographer that photographs weddings, families, portraits, etc. I think what sets me apart from most photographers is that the relationship I create and develop with my clients comes first and the photography second. Because I strive to establish trust and a certain intimacy with my clients, it creates very emotionally relatable photos. I also specialize in black and white photography. I really believe that the monochrome tones force you to pay attention to light, shadows, expressions, and emotions rather than other more distracting elements in the frame. I also intentionally work with very simple equipment in the studio. Working simply allows me to direct all of my attention to my clients.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

When I work on personal projects, I am most interested in telling stories surrounding the idea of “identity”. What makes us who we are and how do we identify ourselves. I want to challenge my own experience and knowledge and I love having a conversation with a stranger. Following the Portraits Of My Father series, I have several ideas but the 2 main ones is that I am planning on working with is the transgender community and the blind community… on 2 different projects of course.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I started photography because I co-founded an e-commerce company in 2012 with a couple of friends of mine. They took care of the backend and I took care of the website, marketing, etc. We bootstrapped everything obviously and I bought a camera so that I could take photos of the products we retailed online… and I had to learn how to use a camera. My passion for photography steadily grew over the next few years as a hobby but my focus was still directed 100% toward my company. All that changed when my second child was born. There was a mental shift in my mind and decided to step away (with no plan B) from the company I helped create. While thinking over what my next step would be in my career, I realized that photography was staring me in the face. It seemed to make crystal clear sense to me. I barely had “pro” level lenses and a camera body; I had no clients to speak of and I did not know anything about the industry but I was utterly convinced it was the right decision for my life.

I’m 6 years in and still absolutely adore what I do every single day.

Contact Info:

• Website: antoinedidiennephoto.com
• Instagram: antoine_didienne
• Facebook: Antoine Didienne
• Linkedin: Antoine Didienne