Ultra- trailers compete at sunrise on September 2, 2017 in Courmayeur, Italy, during the 15 th edition of the Mount Blanc Ultra Trail (UTMB), a 170 km race around the Mont Blanc crossing France, Italy and Switzerland. The 15 th Ultra- Trail du Mont- Blanc (UTMB) is a mountain ultramarathon with numerous passages in high altitude (>2500 m) and in difficult weather conditions (night, wind, cold, rain or snow). (Photo by Jeff Pachoud/AFP Photo)

People are seen near a Christmas decoration installed on city Square for the upcoming New Year and Christmas season in Skopje, Macedonia December 23, 2016. (Photo by Ognen Teofilvovski/Reuters)

An athlete dressed as a clown jumps into the Mediterranean sea as he takes part in the Copa Nadal in the Spanish port of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, December 25, 2016. The Copa Nadal (Christmas Cup) is a traditional swimming competition that takes place in Barcelona every December 25th, where participants swim 200 meters in the open sea in the port of Barcelona. (Photo by Manu Fernandez/AP Photo)

A woman walks up the steps decorated ahead of the Chinese New Year festival in Beijing, China, Thursday, January 12, 2017. The Chinese Lunar New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese and hundreds of millions are expected to return to their hometown to spend the new year with their family and relatives. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

People watch police destroy confiscated illegal firecrackers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China, January 29, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

The Villarrica Volcano is seen at night in Chile, April 16, 2016. Villarrica is one of Chile's most active volcanoes. Picture taken with long exposure. (Photo by Cristobal Saavedra/Reuters)

A mechanical horse-dragon made of wood and steel is presented to the public in Nantes, western France on August 26, 2014. This horse-dragon, created by the French artist Francois Delaroziere of “Les Machines de l'île” (The Machines of the Isle), is the hero of the show "Long Ma" which will be presented in Beijing on October 17, 2014 as part of the fiftieth anniversary of the relationship between France and China. (Photo by Jean-Sebastien Evrard/AFP Photo)

French photographer and director Romain Laurent started making portrait-based GIFs as a way to produce work outside his commercial jobs, a spontaneous project that would encourage him to produce consistently for himself rather than clients.