The Barefoot Bride

Do you want to get married barefeet ? Do it ! Just do it ! :) It's your wedding and you're allowed to do whatever you feel like. But do it only because this is you, because it is how you feel the most comfortable and beautiful. Don't do it because it is trendy or because you've seen it so many times on Pinterest, Instagram, etc. As Oscar Wilde said it so well :

"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken"

And I believe that this applies for every part of our life, not only on a wedding day. How many times have I tried to live a life to fit into what people's had in mind for me... By doing so, we only deem our own light, not allowing our true self to shine. And like I always say, life is short, so we better live it to the fullest and do things that matter to us. And it's never too late to start living the life your dream of and become the person you want to be. It took me 32 years to start carving my own path and start doing things that matter to me. I love this quote : 

“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world.”

- R.L Stephenson

So start today, be yourself and fulfill your life purpose of being happy, not only will it serve you but also everyone around you!  And "always remember that where you are is the result of who you were, but where you go depends entirely on who you choose to be, from this moment on". (H. Elrod)

Now enough of talking, let's take a barefoot walk together in the woods :

Shot at Domaine de Patras, Light workshop

Dress by Jenny Packham | Styled by Made in you | Flowers by Laetitia C.Fleurs D'Atelier | Calligraphy by Nice Plume Calligraphies | Make up by Charles Gillman Cosmetics | Hair by Ciara Coiffure | Film lab : Richard photo lab

Less is more | How many pictures should I have for my wedding day?

Before we dig into numbers and figures, I want to share with you about the WHYs I'm a photographer, as this probably differs from one photographer to another and might or might not fit your vision of what a photographer is. And if it doesn't fit your vision then maybe I'm not the right photographer for you. But hey that's fine, I still love you.

Recently, I've been reflecting a lot about why I am a photographer and what meaning it brings into my life and to others. Because let's face it, saying : because it makes me happy and I want to make people happy is surely true but doesn't quite fill a life purpose. One motive that drives me is Beauty; I want people to see beauty in their everyday lives, I want people to stop starring at TV news, insipid reality shows, and their race for sensationalism that make us lose hope in humanity, believe that the world is ugly and others are bad. I want people's social media feed to be flooded with images of beauty. Why is it easier for us to share bad news than beauty? I want people to see  beauty instead of articles about how a baby dolphin got killed because of selfies, or about political non-sense on immigration, or anything that keep raising hate and fear of the other, easy short-cuts, ignorance and ultimately make us indulge in navel-gazing because we think that we are better than the outside world that is so ugly. Friends, the world is VAST and it's beautiful, if you have doubts, have a look here . I'm not saying there's no bad and ugly out there, I'm just saying we don't have to focus on it to solve world's problems! Only with a positive mind and a joyful soul must we overcome the life's struggles. And what more than beauty can bring joy to the heart ?

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.
-John Keats

The other thing that drives me is the speed with which life passes by. Life is short. But we only notice it when it's almost gone. Being a photographer enables me to freeze a moment in time, that smile, that tear of joy, that first step, that first look, that "I do", that vow.  I want to create heirloom, memories you'll pass onto your children, when they'll be teenagers and think you're so uncool... Show them the pictures of your wedding, of your love, of your youth, of your beauty. Or even to your older self when you'll feel like life has passed too fast,  and your children are all gone from home, look at the pictures we took of them when they came into your life, the joy you felt. It's still there. Rekindle it.

Or when you'll have your first argument or first crisis in your marriage, I want you to pick up your album or your photo box and go through them again, remembering the unconditional love you promised each other to have for one another, through the good and bad. That is: even when your toddler is crying out loud when all you want is sleep, even when he forgets to clean up the dish washer, even when she's on a hormonal roller coaster, even when you feel like the fire is gone. It's not. And I want you to look at those pictures to rekindle it.

I don't have pictures of my parents' wedding as they didn't hire a photographer but I have these pictures of them and I can't tell you how amazing they make me feel. I can feel so much through these two pictures only.

Mum and Dad in Paris - Trocadéro, Springtime (cherry blossom  ♥ ) Aren't they the most stylish ?!

Mum and Dad, Normandy - Ok, my mum is definitely the coolest...

They were taken a couple of years after they arrived in France when they fled the war in Indochina. Coming into a foreign country wasn't easy, they didn't speak the language, they didn't have a job, nor place to stay at first. But I can tell by these pictures how happy they were. I can feel the love, the joy, the freedom and the hope. Can you ? I'm sure you can too even though these two persons are strangers to you. And that is the purpose of my work. Make you feel that. Make your children feel that. Make your parents feel that, whenever they will look at your wedding pictures.

Do you need 2,000 pictures to feel the emotions of your wedding day? No you don't. What you need is someone who will be able to reflect faithfully the essence of your wedding day. All the emotions you've been through during that day, captured and reflected on a tangible printed photograph : from morning preparations, butterflies in your stomach, the awe in your mum's eyes when you put on that dress, the wait in anticipation before the first look, the heartbeat walking the aisle, the shaking voice uttering the vows, the burst of joy at the "I do", the warm love of friends that came from the other side of the world that day, the soothing embrace on your first dance, the feeling of being on the first chapter of a life-long love letter. That is the mission that we have as photographers documenting a sacred moment of people's life, be it a wedding, a love session or a family session. 

Of course, I'm not saying 2 pictures of your wedding day would be enough but you don't need thousands of them (I usually deliver around 400-600 photos), just like you don't need the videographer to give you a 12hr-long footage of your wedding. Would you ever sit 12 hours - t.w.e.l.v.e - in your couch watching that film? Would you?? No you wouldn't. Let me just ask : would you rather go to the movies and watch a 1hr-movie that made you feel like an emotional roller-coaster, it made you have butterflies in your stomach, it made you giggle, laugh out loud, tear, cry out loud... or would you prefer a 4hr-movie that bored you to death and that you won't remember a single detail of, after watching it ?

Now let me hear about your love and how you want us to create memories together ! Reach out to me, I can't wait to be inspired by your story! 

"We keep this love in a photograph

We made these memories for ourselves

Where our eyes are never closing

Hearts are never broken

And time's forever frozen still"

-Ed Sheeran

Download on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/x-itunesdlx Listen on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/stream.photograph Directed by Emil Nava Subscribe to Ed's channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToEdSheeran Follow Ed on...

A fun family session in Bali

Hello beauties ! As it's freezing cold in Paris nowadays, I wanted to bring a little bit of warmth and sunshine into your screen today ! :)

So sharing with you a family session I had the chance to shoot in Bali with Aslinda and her beautiful family. I met Aslinda a few years ago through work before she decided to quit and do the most beautiful and hardest jobs in the world : being a full time mum (by the way : Kudos to all the mums in the world, you are an inspiration to me!) and I straight away fell in love with her class and kindness. She's one of those girls you know, who is unaware of how gorgeous and talented she is and that makes her even more beautiful. I wanted to shoot her and her family in a very fun and relaxed way so we just planned it as a normal family Sunday, had breakfast together, played by the pool, had the goûter (french equivalent of 'after-school snack') with the Bonne Maman biscuits that I brought from France and were about to end up with a yummy dinner all together. But when Aslinda shyly told me that she recently designed her own clothing brand named Solei,  I asked to see some of the clothes and I absolutely adored the whole line she created even though she told me it was only the beginning and it was only sold in a few selected shops in Bali. I told her we NEED to shoot these ! and you MUST wear them, because I mean, look at her, isn't she gorgeous? I secretly dream of being that beautiful after 2 kids ! So to the family shoot we added a small fun fashion shoot showing her designs. Keep an eye open for Solei, I think you'll see more of it soon !

I had so much fun shooting this, combining my love for family portraits and fashion, I couldn't ask for more ! :) I feel so grateful for all the amazing and talented people I get to meet through my work. I hope to meet you too who are reading these lines right now. Let's get in touch, drop me a line HERE and tell me about your story, I'd love to hear!

Thank you Aslinda, Andrew, Paris and Helio, you made my stay in Bali such a beautiful one !

Clothing : Beige dress by Magali Pascal | Kimonos and other dresses by Solei

Accesories and jewelry by Tulola

Film shots are processed by Carmencita Film Lab.

Bohemian & Chic Wedding gowns by Rembo Styling

Last month, I had the chance to meet a wonderful team of amazing vendors during the Carmencita Meets in Porto organized by Branco Prata and Carmencita Film Lab. Wandering in the streets of Porto and exchanging with a bunch of talented photographers was one of the most enriching and humbling experiences I've had. During this trip, I also had a chance to shoot dresses from Rembo Styling in one of the most gorgeous places in Portugal : the hills of Serra Da Freita. As the sun was setting, the golden light was gently enveloping our brides, I loved how the light combined with the delicate yet modern style of the dresses created these dreamy images.

If you're a bride-to-be and still looking for the perfect dress, combining bohemian and chic spirit, have a look at Rembo Styling dresses, you won't be disappointed ! And follow me on Instagram and Facebook to discover more amazing designers and be the gorgeous bride you deserve to be on your wedding day!

Dresses : Enchantment and Esprit by Rembo Styling

Makeup By  Bárbara Brandão
 Hair by João Pereira Hairdressing

Shot on Mamiya 645 | Portra 400 | Film processing by Carmencita Film Lab

French Cliffs Lilac Bridal Shoot

 

Have you ever felt at peace whenever you come close to the sea or nature in general ? I have. I feel that being surrounded by the nature, brings us back to the essence of beauty and that's why it resonates so deep within us. But living in a busy city such as Paris doesn't always make it easy for us to reconnect with nature. Luckily, not far from there, we have amazing places like these amazing Cliffs of Etretat, Normandy. This shooting was inspired by this quote :

”When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused"

-Rainer Maria Rilke

Tell me about your "peace place". Where  is it ? How does it make you feel ? I want to hear about it! We should even go there together and capture the beauty of your soul feeling at peace. Let's connect HERE !

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Film Processing by Carmencita Film Lab |  Vintage Dress by Gossamer | Headpiece and Belt by Orchidée de Soie | Stationery by Nice Plume Calligraphy

This shoot was published on Style Me Pretty