Six years ago, Francois Dourlen was just a history teacher. Then he became interested in photography. This was around the same time his daughter, Hannah, was born.
But Dourlen, born in Cherbourg and raised in Normandy, had a different view of creativity - literally. What started as a joke with friends, Dourlen took the influences of everything he saw and turned his skills a consistent hobby. He kept the teacher job, but added a little picture-taking to his after-class hours.
"For me, the photography is not a job. It doesn’t have to be, I prefer to see that like a hobby and keeping pleasure with that…Now I am learning videography."
Dourlen stakes stills from multiple movies and tv shoes, and sometimes even people current events, and places said photo into a real live image.
Depending on the day, Dourlen could have a photo ready to use and will search for the perfect background, or the complete reverse.
With many creative people, the ideas are most important. Then comes the image and the ability to flush out something to entertain a crowd. Dourlen places an iPhone in front of a live image to create his thoughts. If he cannot at the moment, there are other ways to create his ideas into reality.
"It depends, sometimes when I can’t go outside or when I don’t have my camera, I have to take the picture with my phone and photoshop the scene…" Dourlen states.
"The most important for me is the idea, not the picture."
Since his first creation, Dourlen has received a lot of positive press. His creativity and hilarious images have landed him collaboration gigs with Netflix, Playstation, Audi, and more.
Netflix, thus far, has given him his favorite memories. "My best memories are the travels I made all around Europe and in California for Netflix."
It's been more than half a decade since Dourlen's interest in photography sparked, and his images continue to capture the eyes of many. He now has a following of 160k on Instagram and over 74k people have enjoyed his Facebook page.
Aside from teaching and photography, Dourlen fancies himself a sailor and musician. When asked about his feelings on chasing their dreams, Dourlen cut to the chase.
"Have fun and keep your child's eyes on the world!"
Check out more of Francois Dourlen's art on his website.
You can follow him for his constant updates on Instagram @francouisdourlen
