Lake Como : the perfect place to get married

Bridal editorial in Lake Como

Lake Como is truly the dream place for elopements and intimate weddings. Its gorgeous light whether at sunrise or sunset will surely make your day a magical one. The combination of mountains, water and greenery make of Lake Como a unique place to get married. I've been blown away by the beauty of this Italian region and it became one of my favorite place to shoot now! So if you're looking for your wedding photographer in Lake Como, let's get in touch ! :)

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PHOTOGRAPHY CELINE CHHUON | STYLING & PLANNING SCENT OF ORCHID | FLOWERS MADNESS FLOWERS | HAIRSTYLIST PATRICIA SOPER | MAKEUP ARTIST MEL KINSMAN | DRESS LEANNE MARSHALL | BRIDAL BOUTIQUE HEART AFLUTTER | HEADPIECE & VEIL SIBO DESIGNS | RING MYRTILLE BECK | SILKRIBBONS MAISON SABBEN

Paris Boudoir Photographer | A warm summer morning

 

Capturing a delicate morning boudoir session. Waking up in a Parisian apartment bathed by the summer sun.

If you want to see the behind the scene of this shoot, here are some footage captured by the amazing Claire of Image Clairity

Lingerie : The Lace Atelier

Robe / Lace kimono : The Lace Atelier / Violette Tannenbaum

Ring : Myrtille Beck

Film Lab : Carmencita Film Lab

Video : Image Clairity

The carefree bride in Provence - Domaine des Grillons

Provence is probably one of the most beautiful and one of my favorite regions. I love how being a wedding photographer in France helps me discover little gems. Not only in terms of location but also in terms of persons. I've met Morgane of  Big Day Events and  Violette Tannenbaum few months ago as we worked together for the Love Etc. wedding fair. We clicked instantaneously. I love how Morgane is able to turn a vision into reality, how she is able to reflect elegance and simplicity, raw and authenticity into her styling. And I'm in love with Violette's dresses, soft, delicate, modern and romantic at the same time. After we met, we knew we wanted to work together on some projects. When Morgane told me about this gorgeous location at Domaine des grillons, I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Surrounded by fields of poppies, olive trees, woods, and hills, it was the perfect place for this bridal inspiration. Actually Provence might just be the perfect place for a wedding in France to my opinion...

When I saw the poppy fields, it reminded me of Monet's painting : Coquelicots. 

We wanted to create something romantic but quite wild at the same time as the location entices you to do. An elegant bride but carefree at the same time, you know. Here is how we turned our vision into reality. Would love to hear your thoughts about it folks !

Styling and flower arrangement : Big Day Events | Lace robe and dress : Violette Tannenbaum | Make up : Diamond Heart Make Up | Hair : Agnès Caneri | Silk ribbons and table runner : Orchidée de Soie | Calligraphy : Nice Plume | Chain Ring : Myrtille Beck

Location : Domaine des grillons | Film Lab : Carmencita Film Lab |

Love is light

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

- Martin Luther King

This quote has run through my mind on and off for a while now, especially after the horrific attacks in Paris, Brussels and around the world. I've quite pondered about how my work, how my passion for love stories and for the beauty of life in general could, in some ways, bring light in others' lives, or a breath of life to the lifeless minds who are driven by hate. Tough question, I know right ? To date, I don't have a clear answer to it. But the project I wanted to share with you today was a sort of revelation to me, a sort of glimpse of how light, love and art can do when they're put together. A few weeks ago, my friend Nick from Greece showed me some pictures of an amazing place called Tatoi, I booked my flights straight away because I knew I wanted to shoot there. It used to be a Royal Palace (you can read more about it here and see some pictures of how it used to be here). But it's now completely abandoned and what used to be a magnificent Palace is now turning into ruins. It's quite an amazing experience to walk through these abandoned buildings and imagined how life was back then...Some buildings still have some furniture, old cars and wine barrels are still left there. The fate of this Royal estate is both sad and mesmerizing at the same time. I couldn't help but compare it to Versailles, imagine how it would be to see it abandoned and turn to ruins ?! 

So our aim was to kind of bring back to life this lifeless place. To bring the light of love within this complete chaos of ruins. To see life and motion where you think it wouldn't be anymore. Here are the pictures:

White dress : Violette Tannenbaum | Lilac Dress : Shopgossamer | MUHA : Frantzeska Koukoula | Headpiece and Silk runner & ribbons : Orchidée de Soie | Calligraphy : Nice Plume Calligraphies | Bespoke rings : Myrtille Beck | Film Lab : Carmencita Film Lab

On experimenting and the creative process

I believe all artists face the same issues when it comes to inspiration and creativity. Sometimes, we beat ourselves up because we found our work deprived of any creativity or inspiration, we tend to stick to what we know how to do well. We can also get stuck in over thinking the creative process, about what we should be creating, what others will think about it, and what they would say about our work (like I've explained HERE)... The truth is, we get so caught up in thinking about others that we don't even create anymore, and the irony is :

"We all spend our twenties and thirties trying so hard to be perfect, because we’re so worried about what people will think of us. Then we get into our forties and fifties, and we finally start to be free, because we decide that we don’t give a damn what anyone thinks of us. But you won’t be completely free until you reach your sixties and seventies, when you finally realize this liberating truth—nobody was ever thinking about you, anyhow.’  They aren’t. They weren’t. They never were…People don’t have time to worry about what you’re doing, or how well you’re doing it, because they’re all caught up in their own dramas. People’s attention may be drawn to you for a moment (if you succeed or fail spectacularly and publicly, for instance), but that attention will soon enough revert right back to where it’s always been—on themselves….You are free, because everyone is too busy fussing over themselves to worry all that much about you.

Go be whomever you want to be, then.

Do whatever you want to do.

Create whatever you want to create—and let it be stupendously imperfect, because it’s exceedingly likely that nobody will even notice.

And that’s awesome”  (Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert)

 Last year, I had the chance the meet Sofia and André from Branco Prata, an amazingly talented duo that taught me how to push myself out of my comfort zone and EXPERIMENT. It was one of the most insightful experiences of my life as an artist. We shot on the top floor of the amazing Galeria de Paris where we had big windows with gorgeous light coming in. It was the perfect conditions, especially when you shoot on film. However, the aim wasn't to shoot gorgeous images, the aim was to experiment. So they closed all the shutters of all the windows! *gasp* and left just one - ajar. I decided to push the experiment even further by shooting mainly in black and white, something I rarely do. (T-Max 400, for the photo geeks out there!).  Ever since this experience, I know that experimenting is key in my creative process and most of the time, it's when we experiment that we come up with our best piece of work. It's the only to expand our limited view as an artist.

Shot during the Carmencita Meets Porto, on Mamiya 645 AFD, Kodak T-Max 400 and Portra 400 | Dev and Scans by Carmencita FIlm Lab