When Luca Khouri received the call that he had won the Jamaican leg of an international photography competition mounted by the Alliance Francaise de la Jamaique, his initial response was utter disbelief. “I wasn’t expecting to win, to be honest,” the 16-year-old shared with SO, post-winning announcement. “I was really happy but shocked.” Khouri was adjudged the best from a field of 20 entrants, who were asked to submit two photos representing how they saw women in their culture under the theme ‘Planet Women’. The teenager’s two entries were striking black-and-white images: one titled Belles Du Noir, is a bust-level shot that shows three gazelle-like models with penetrating eyes; the other, titled Arms, portrays a woman cradling a child while a man walks nonchalantly in the background.

Explaining to SO the story behind the pictures, Khouri said he snapped Belles “when I was hanging out at Pulse Investments Limited and I pulled aside three girls who particularly caught my eye”. He was drawn to their distinctive features, but more so their stares. “Each girl had a different story in her eyes — somewhat eerie but appealing nevertheless… the three women together represents unity in a Jamaican community.”

Speaking about Arms, the budding professional photographer, who recalled getting his first three megapixel camera at age 11, said the photo was unplanned. “It was my second choice because there was so much symbolic reference in it,” the young photog explained. “The hopeful woman in the front represented the strength of Jamaican women, while the man in the background represented to me how so many women in Jamaican society are left alone but still stand strong.”

Currently attending the American International School of Kingston, Khouri has his sights set on studying photography at art school in New York when he graduates. “I hope to someday work as a fashion and celebrity photographer for global magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair,” he divulged, noting that he’s a fan of the work of highly regarded photogs Mario Testino and Arthur Elgort. “Lately, I’ve been obsessing about Annie Leibovitz’s work. She is the kind of photographer I want to be. She photographs all her subjects in such a cinematic way where not only do you see beauty, but you feel it too.”

Khouri’s winning entry, which will represent Jamaica, now advances to compete alongside scores of entries from other countries where Alliance Francaise is operational. Last year, the inaugural staging of the amateur international photography competition hosted by the Fondation Alliance Francaise in partnership with the magazine Courrier International, saw over 1,300 submissions from more than 120 Alliance institutions in 60 countries under the theme I Am 20 Years Old In My Country. Tsveta Haydarova from Bulgaria emerged as the competition’s first winner.

According to Amandine Poret, director of the Alliance Francaise de la Jamaique, who has been serving in the position since June, Jamaica is a new entrant to the two-year-old competition. “It would be a great success if Jamaica were to win,” she told SO. “The competition provides good exposure and it’s a great opportunity to meet influential persons in the French photography, art, and fashion industries.” True words indeed, as the jury members of the Fondation Alliance Francaise are a prestigious set that includes fashion designer Agnès B; Louis Vuitton director Marie-Ange Moulonguet; director of Marie Claire magazine Christine Leiritz; artistic director of Courrier International Sophie-Anne Delhomme; photographer Anne de Henning; gallery owner Taisiya Saychuk; Fondation Alliance Francaise member Candice du Chayla; executive director of Picto Phillipe Gassman; and director of the famous de Magnum agency Diane Dufour.