A reward for photographer Laurent Gilliéron

Being elected Photographer of the Year 2024 by “Swiss journalist», a professional magazine appearing only in German, is quite an honor for Vaudois Laurent Gilliéron. “It’s doubly flattering, because I am the only French-speaking citizen rewarded during this edition, and because this award is the result of a vote of journalists,” appreciates this resident of Daillens. But it’s also funny, because it’s been a long time since I took as few photos as I did this year!”

Since last winter, Laurent Gilliéron has been acting visual co-editor-in-chief at the Keystone-ATS agency. A function which, in passing, probably made him gain notoriety on the other side of the Sarine. This award does not reward a particular shot – like those who won him the title of Swiss photographer of the year in 2005 and 2013 –, but rather an entire career.

“My work consists of thinking about the added value that an image can bring to a subject. Our photos must present a difference in quality compared to what the reader-reporters provide,” explains the man who had notably taken striking photos during of the dramatic bus accident in a tunnel in Sierre in 2012 or during the Switzerland-Serbia match in 2018, where Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri mimed the eagle of the Albanian flag.

From FC Renens to the North Pole

Introduced to football photography by his dad – “at 12 years old, he installed me behind the FC Renens goalkeeper’s cage with the mission of pressing the shutter as soon as a ball arrived” –, Laurent Gilliéron marvels at what his thirty years of photojournalism have allowed him to experience. “I went to the North Pole with Mike Horn. It was very, very cold, but we couldn’t see anything at all. As a result, it looked a lot like Échallens on a foggy day!”

The joke does not prevent him from taking his job very seriously. “It’s our duty to show things, because sometimes an image arouses stronger emotions than a text,” he explains, citing the image as an example. of the body of little Aylan on a beach in Türkiye in 2015which highlighted the migration crisis. “But it is also very important to respect the existing ethical framework.”

The reward announced a few days ago is finally for him a great demonstration of the daily work of his press agency colleagues. “Although we do the same work as the 24-hour team, we usually remain in the shadows. Readers read us and see our photos, but don’t know us!”

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Sylvain Muller has been a journalist for the Vaudoise section since 2005. He is responsible for the Echallens office and as such covers news from the Gros-de-Vaud district.More info

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