Eric Leleu / Photographer / Shanghai / China

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Welcome

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Shanghai-based photographer Eric Leleu specializes in creative portrait photography for editorial, corporate and advertising clients.

Along with commissioned work, he develops a personal photography navigating between documentary and conceptual art.

Click on next project at the top of this page to have an overview of his work in 15 projects.

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Mark Kitto, writer

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The Bund

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Mark Kitto, former media mogul (That's Shanghai) ousted by a government-controlled publisher. Now first-time author with "China Cuckoo", retreated in Moganshan mountains with his family... His life made me think of a famous book by Herman Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of an Indian man named Siddhartha during the time of the Buddha.

You can view more editorial portraits by downloading the PDF here.

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Granny guitar ad

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Soul Hotel

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Advertising campaign for a new hotel based in Suzhou, close to Shanghai (China). Client wanted to play with the idea that you would have special experiences in their hotel... Probably the craziest shooting ever for me.

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Instants Décisifs

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Personal work

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Instants décisifs is a photographic project presenting reality-like digitally-composed Images.

Solo show at Art Labor (Shanghai, 2009). Solo show at Epson Photo Expert (Paris, 2010). 1st prize of PHOTO magazine competition (Paris), (speed and movement category).

Make sure to view the video clip of the project: i like people

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Shanghai 696 - Portrait series

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iLook

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A series of portraits of the artists of Shanghai 696 Art Center. I wanted to build a memory of the place before it disappears. I asked them to close eyes to be a metaphor of the closing of the place and also to be a "gateway" to their imagination/dreams... The series was published on 21 pages in iLook magazine, more info on blog.ericleleu.com.

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Alain Ducasse, chef of the chefs

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The Bund

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Alain Ducasse is the only chef in the world to run three "3-stars Michelin" restaurants, all in all he collects 29 michelin stars… As a person I met, I would say he is quite chill-out. Very playful. The shooting itself lasted 3 minutes all in all, efficient.

You can view more editorial portraits by downloading the PDF here.

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Martin Parr, photographer

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Time Out

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British photographer Martin Parr has long been my main inspiration source. Magnum member, he makes the frontier between documentary photography and fine-art photography disappearing. On those 2 photos I like a lot, one of them is shot in the "Parr' style" (the one with flash from the back). The other one is maybe a bit of "Leleu' style" ;) a bit more conceptual, with its own auto-portraits book hiding his face...
More photos on blog.ericleleu.com.

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Xi'an Sport University

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Mangazine

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I was assigned the city of Xi'an (China) famous for its Terracotta warriors to describe the beauty of the Chinese woman. To me, Chinese women are like an iron hand in a velvet glove. Soft outside, strong inside...

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Day Dreamers

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Personal work

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About Chinese people sleeping in public spaces during the day. Shot between 2004 and 2008.

Exhibited at photo festivals in Angkor (Cambodia), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Lianzhou (China), Beijing (China), Rangoon (Myanmar), Kaunas (Lituania), Arles (France), Beauvais (France). More infos and photos on my blog.

For print enquiries, feel free to drop me an email.

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Entrepreneurs - Portraits series

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iLook

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Series of portraits about French entrepreneurs in Shanghai (China). The idea was to 'clone' the subject inside the same image to emphasize their multi-activities.

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Hector Nanquette, movie director

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The Bund

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Hector is a crazy guy. He is also a movie director. His place was a mess at first, he then renovated it to be both his apartment and art showroom. And then, not long after finishing the renovation, the place burned by accident...

You can view more editorial portraits by downloading the PDF here.

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CEO portraits

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Various clients

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They belong to an MBA world I decided to leave. They were shirts and ties in usually dark tones suits. The conventional attitude to their position is to be serious. But still, I believe there is room to bring life in this exercice de style that is corporate photography... You can view more corporate portraits by downloading the pdf.

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Incorporated

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Personal work

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Undergoing work about Capitalism.

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I want to buy a Porsche

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Porsche

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Porsche has been sending me all around China for the last 4 years, shooting documentary photos on various of their events.

Here is a more personal selection of mine. You can view or download the full story I want to buy a Porsche (pdf, 5 Mo).

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C(o)C(o)TV

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Personal work

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One morning, as i was going to my studio, i saw my neighbor watching a colorful show on TV, door open. Not before asking, i joined him, sharing his sofa. After one hour of watching intensely, seeing mostly tanks parading on Tiananmen, i asked him if he knew the iconic 1989 black-and-white photo of the "tankman". He answered negatively and i started to realize we were actually not watching the same show even though we were on the same sofa… I then decided to record the TV show with my phone camera to embody this vision.

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Xi'an - Fashion series

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Mangazine

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View more of my Fashion portfolio here (pdf, under-construction).

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Jackie Chan, kunfu actor

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Die Zeit

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From wikipedia:

Jackie Chan is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts. Jackie Chan has been acting since the 1960s and has appeared in over 100 films.

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Anne Fontaine, fashion designer

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Anne Fontaine

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Anne Fontaine designed her first collection made only of white shirts. Simple. Her brand has now grown into a lifestyle brand with 80 boutiques worldwide. Her ideas are about lightness, healthiness, simplicity, sustainability... I have been shooting her for 4 years every time she came to Shanghai for press/media conferences. I like her style and ideas. Reminds me a lot of Chanel.

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Noriko Daishima, designer

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The Bund

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Noriko is kind of a secret person. When I asked her to shoot her portrait she first refused. As I insisted, she agreed on 2 conditions: shooting her from her back and using analog film camera... I accepted her 2 conditions. Over the years, she made me discover another "beauty": simple, minimal, white, small...

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Shanghai nights

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Personal work

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Shanghai is a night cat. Since its first days in the early 19th century. I see the nights of Shanghai as a synthesis of what this city is about: glamour, money, power and above all women-men relations… You can view more images from this project by downloading the entire Shanghai nights story (pdf).

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Porsche China Golf Cup

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Porsche

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Shot on a 36-holes golf course in Shenzhen China. Photos mostly aimed at being used in the 1st catalog for the Porsche China Golf Cup program.

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'Untitled' series

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Personal work

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Single photos from a bit everywhere. About energy or not, about happiness or not, about colors or not. 1999-ongoing