There’s one thing magical a couple of fantastically captured style second. The right lighting, an sudden motion, a dramatic soundtrack, and instantly, what might have been a fleeting movie star sighting turns into a cinematic masterpiece. It’s the form of content material that makes you cease scrolling, watch twice, and surprise: Who shot that?
Enter Mohamed Zalloufi, professionally generally known as Mohtohsoh, the Paris-born photographer and videographer whose fascinating Style Week protection has been making waves on social media.
From cinematic moments that includes Zendaya and her longtime stylist Regulation Roach to footage of Porsha Williams and different modern faces, Mohtohsoh has developed a watch for reworking movie star appearances into visible storytelling.
His current Paris Style Week protection was amongst Style Bomb Every day’s highest-performing Instagram content material, prompting us to be taught extra concerning the inventive expertise behind the digicam.
However because it seems, there’s rather more to Mohtohsoh than his viral style movies.
From Michael Jackson Music Movies to Style Week
Born in Paris and raised between France and Morocco, Zalloufi credit his multicultural upbringing with shaping his creative perspective. Though he at the moment resides in Toronto, his profession often takes him between Toronto, Paris, and New York.
His fascination with visible storytelling started lengthy earlier than he ever attended a style present.
“My love for visuals began after I was round 10 years outdated,” he recollects.
After Michael Jackson’s passing in 2009, a younger Zalloufi started immersing himself within the King of Pop’s iconic music movies. His curiosity quickly expanded to Woman Gaga, Beyoncé, and the visible album period, when artists more and more used elaborate imagery to create immersive worlds round their music.
He was fascinated by the connection between music, style, and widespread tradition, and the way a couple of minutes of video might go away an enduring impression.
In 2017, he started producing French-language YouTube movies about music and popular culture. Two years later, he bought his first skilled digicam, a Sony A7 III, and formally started providing videography companies.
And not using a conventional introduction to the style business, he began experimenting with idea movies alongside mates in Paris, drawing inspiration from modern creators like Cole Walliser, recognized for his glamorous slow-motion Glambot movies.
These early experiments helped him develop his visible language whereas constructing a portfolio that might appeal to shoppers.
In 2022, he made a pivotal determination: attend New York Style Week and give attention to style video protection.
It was a leap of religion that may ultimately change his profession.
Constructing a Profession, One Style Second at a Time
Whereas social media audiences could also be discovering Mohtohsoh by his current Style Week footage, his résumé contains a formidable roster of leisure personalities, luxurious manufacturers, and publications.
One in all his earliest breakthroughs got here in 2019, when he created a speculative commercial for French division retailer Galeries Lafayette. The mission attracted consideration from each the retailer and Chanel France, offering encouragement at a vital stage in his profession.
That very same 12 months, by Artistic Lab Company, he labored on inside video initiatives for Guerlain and Christian Louboutin.
By 2023, his work had taken him into leisure, together with initiatives with Issa Rae throughout her Viarae wine press tour and protection of French famous person Aya Nakamura’s London live performance.
In 2024, he labored with Bella Thorne for Marie Claire and Nicole Ari Parker for City & Nation in collaboration with Michael Kors.
However one second stands above the remainder.
In February 2024, Beyoncé made a shock look at LUAR’s Fall/Winter 2024 runway present throughout New York Style Week, sending the style world right into a frenzy.
For Mohtohsoh, who had spent his childhood finding out Beyoncé’s music movies, documenting the famous person was greater than one other task. It was the belief of a childhood dream.
“Beyoncé has been such an enormous a part of my visible inspiration since childhood,” he explains.
The expertise was a robust reminder that the artists who first impressed his creativity have been now showing in entrance of his personal lens.
His profession reached one other milestone in 2026 when he photographed his first journal cowl, that includes R&B artist Odeal for French publication Shimmya Magazine.
The task introduced his inventive journey full circle, combining his love of music along with his rising experience in pictures and editorial storytelling.
Extra Than a Avenue-Fashion Videographer
Regardless of his success, Mohtohsoh is candid concerning the challenges of working in style.
One of many greatest? Being positioned right into a inventive field.
When folks see him photographing celebrities outdoors runway reveals, they usually assume he’s completely a street-style photographer or paparazzo.
Whereas he respects each professions and acknowledges the alternatives street-style pictures has afforded him, his ambitions prolong far past documenting arrivals and departures.
He needs to create editorial campaigns, collaborate straight with artists, and develop extra intimate visible narratives.
“Typically you need to discover your personal means right into a room earlier than you’ll be able to present folks what else you’re able to,” he says.
It’s a sentiment that can resonate with many rising creatives navigating an business the place entry and relationships may be simply as necessary as expertise.
He additionally factors to the problem of convincing manufacturers and public relations businesses to acknowledge the skilled worth of impartial creators.
Producing distinctive content material requires costly tools, preparation, inventive experience, and numerous hours of labor. But creators are typically anticipated to supply their companies with out compensation just because an occasion includes a celeb.
For Mohtohsoh, studying to advocate for himself and set up the worth of his work has develop into a necessary a part of his skilled development.
The Artwork of Making Ladies Look Stunning
Maybe one of the vital compelling facets of Mohtohsoh’s inventive philosophy is his dedication to thoughtfully representing Black girls and ladies of colour.
He explains that rising up round Black girls deeply influenced his perspective and the duty he feels when photographing his topics.
For him, lovely imagery goes past selecting a flattering angle.
It means understanding pores and skin tones, mastering lighting, fastidiously contemplating colour grading, and making certain that the particular person being photographed feels authentically represented.
“I need folks to acknowledge themselves in my work and be ok with how they’re portrayed,” he shares.
That focus to element is especially vital in an business the place girls of colour haven’t at all times obtained the identical consideration in pictures, lighting, and visible manufacturing.
His strategy is rooted in celebrating magnificence whereas respecting the individuality of the folks standing earlier than his digicam.
And maybe that’s a part of what makes his Style Week protection so fascinating: he isn’t merely recording an outfit. He’s fascinated by the particular person sporting it, the cultural second surrounding it, and the emotion the ultimate picture ought to talk.
What’s Subsequent for Mohtohsoh?
Though his work behind the digicam continues to draw consideration, Mohtohsoh has aspirations to ultimately step in entrance of it.
Over the following 5 years, he hopes to construct a profession that mixes interviewing, pictures, leisure, and cultural commentary.
He cites Claire Sulmers, Zane Lowe, and Nardwuar as inspirations, admiring their means to attach with artists by considerate questions, cultural information, and distinct personalities.
His objective is to create conversations that transcend predictable red-carpet sound bites.
He needs celebrities and artists to really feel comfy sufficient to share their experiences and reveal facets of themselves that audiences hardly ever see.
Finally, he envisions constructing a platform that brings collectively every thing he loves: music, style, filmmaking, pictures, and popular culture.
“I don’t simply wish to seize the tradition. I wish to take part within the conversations that form it.”
Apparently, his inventive ambitions are supported by a completely totally different educational background. Mohtohsoh holds a grasp’s diploma in Finance and Accounting and has expertise in advertising.
His mom inspired his creative pursuits, even when he selected to observe a much less conventional skilled path.
That mixture of enterprise information and creative ardour has helped him perceive each the inventive and industrial sides of his business.
His Recommendation for Aspiring Style Creatives
For anybody hoping to interrupt into style pictures or videography, Mohtohsoh provides refreshingly sensible recommendation.
“Be taught the Style Week calendar, e-book a flight, and go.”
He acknowledges that the primary season may be intimidating, notably once you don’t have established connections or entry to coveted runway reveals.
However he believes that displaying up, assembly folks, and persistently producing high quality work can ultimately open doorways.
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For these unable to journey internationally, he suggests connecting with native designers, stylists, make-up artists, and different creatives to provide collaborative initiatives.
Slightly than ready for somebody to supply a chance, he encourages aspiring professionals to create their very own.
He additionally stresses the significance of understanding your worth and getting paid.
Constructing a portfolio might require occasional inventive collaborations, however working totally free shouldn’t develop into a everlasting enterprise mannequin.
Above all, he emphasizes consistency, endurance, and the significance of nurturing relationships.
As his personal journey demonstrates, an experimental video filmed with mates in Paris can ultimately result in a profession documenting among the world’s most recognizable stars.
From Michael Jackson music movies to Beyoncé’s unforgettable Style Week look, and now to cinematic moments that includes in the present day’s most trendy celebrities, Mohtohsoh is proof that inventive curiosity can evolve into a robust profession.
And whereas tens of millions of individuals might acknowledge the well-known faces showing in his movies, it’s time to acknowledge the expertise behind the lens.
Bear in mind the title: Mohtohsoh.
