Astonishing and unique, the art of the iris comes to Béziers

Sébastien Alquier dans son magasin Puls’art à Béziers, autour de quelques réalisations concernant l’art de l’iris. Rémy Rugiero

Little known to the general public, this recent photography technique is available in Béziers, where Sébastien Alquier runs his own tattoo and piercing shop. The art of the iris consists of enlarging the eye, and then performing fine and precise retouching work.

Very close to the town hall of Béziers, in one of the streets adjacent to the building, is the Puls’Art store owned by Sébastien Alquier for a few years. Dedicated to tattoos and piercings, the owner of the place has diversified his range, by offering a rather revolutionary photographic technique. The art of the iris, as titled in his services, is open to the curious wishing to offer themselves an unusual and rare moment. "I developed a passion for body art. I found it nice to bring an evolution to the world of tattooing and piercing. The environment was quite stagnant in my opinion, and so iris photography was a must. I discovered the process during a trip to Carcassonne and I immediately jumped at the idea."

A photo for everyone

With a specific device for this achievement, the boss of Puls’Art has equipped himself with cutting-edge equipment to achieve ever more intense shots:"I use a macro camera. In use, it is generally used to capture insects, jewelry, anything that is in the realm of the small. It is therefore with a large zoom that we operate, with an enlargement of the order of one times 100, looking for the tiniest details of the iris to capture the slightest particularity of the moment." Everything is done so that the photographic capture is as accomplished as possible, in optimal conditions in order to tend towards a result that is as faithful as possible.

During the appointment at the store, the customer sits in front of the lens, a few minutes are enough to have the number of photos necessary for the operation. “The person is facing us, we wedge them using a light device to support the chin. Then, we make sure to adjust the zoom, sharpness and a whole bunch of parameters as necessary in order to capture the best image. It is absolutely not painful. Everyone can do it, there is no age, except for some children under 5 years old, who generally, except in rare exceptions, do not have the patience to remain still for the duration of the photograph."

"The emotion when seeing the result is very strong"

In a constant effort to renew a classic offer, Sébastien Alquier decided to explore other particularities of the profession, by addressing a wide audience. “Mainly, this is intended for families who want to have memories, or couples to anchor their intimacy a little more. They concern 80% of our clientele. The photo will last over time, and the shot will remain unique even twenty years later. The emotion that this ultimately provides is very common, it is a real pleasure to offer this new technique. I have ideas for additions around the photo, to dress the iris differently by incorporating other sources. In the meantime, I followed a specific training in photography, then as an autodidact, I perfected myself in this field.”Julie, who works at the shop and accompanies him, has taken more than 1,000 photos with him since this art was marketed.

Since April 2024, Sébastien Alquier has begun to specialize in the art of the iris. From April to June last year in the Béziers store, then all summer in another location in Valras-Plage until resuming service today in the rue des Anciens Combattants in Béziers where the premises are located. The only business to offer the technique in the Béziers region. For the cost, “30 € for the first iris, 20 € for each additional iris for the photographic part. The client receives the retouched photo by email. Then we have the print. The price will vary depending on the size requested, the 20cm by 20cm square will cost 20 euros, 30cm by 30cm, 30 euros, and so on.”

Puls’art Boutique, 13 rue des anciens combattantes, 34500 Béziers. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11am-6pm 30pm Contact: 0786 06 17 16 _title”>A fashion that is spreading

Importé by a photographer from Lyon, Hélène Villaire, after a trip to Australia in the city of Melbourne, the art of the iris is becoming more and more democratic in France. Since 2022, the technique has taken off remarkably, attracting the curiosity of people looking for the unusual. Safe to handle, fast and very trendy, the multiple variations of the iris allow photography to explore other unique concepts of its kind.

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