Wedding photographer
in Saint-Herblain
I grew up in Loire-Atlantique, near Nantes. I left the region for my studies and my professional life. My reconversion to wedding photography now allows me to return to the region as part of my job to accompany the future bride and groom.
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I first tell the bride and groom about my three main formulas of respectively 6h, 9h and 12h of presence on the wedding day. When the couples wish it, I can also adapt these formulas for a customized service, including one or more sessions, a longer duration of reportage, etc.
I usually deliver the wedding photos two to three weeks after the event, depending on the number of weddings I have to work on during this period. The photos are delivered to the bride and groom through an online gallery that I create for each event. The bride and groom also receive a personalized box containing a few prints of their wedding and a USB key on which I copy the entire reportage.
Once the reportage is given to the bride and groom, I systematically wait for their approval to post pictures of the wedding on my website or my social networks. Of course, communication is my best publicity, but the relationship of trust that I try to build with each couple also requires good communication and respect of their desires regarding their wedding photographies.
My approach to wedding photography
I obviously sell to my clients, before anything else, my technical competence in photography. My role is to provide them with a quality and harmonious reportage that best reflects the atmosphere of their wedding. Nevertheless, I kept from my own wedding preparations the conviction that a relationship of trust, communication and benevolence is essential to the good progress of a wedding photography service.
Each journey is different, and the photo services vary according to the character of the couple, their desires or their way of functioning, but there are imponderables for me in each accompaniment. I always try to make at least two appointments (physical, telephone, it is not fixed) with each couple. The first meeting allows me to define the desired service and to confirm that my approach can correspond to the expectations of the bride and groom, that they feel confident and serene at the idea of working with me (I believe this is the sine qua non condition for any collaboration) The second meeting takes place a few days before the wedding to confirm the planning, the schedules and all the logistic details.
As for the photo technique, I prefer the reportage approach which consists in spontaneous shots. I try to capture moments that defines each wedding: laughter, moments of emotion, surprise or even stress. I alternate moments where I make myself discreet so that my presence is forgotten, and moments where I will exchange with the bride and groom or the guests to help them feel more confident in front of the camera.
My first steps as a wedding photographer in Nantes, then in Saint-Herblain
I grew up near Nantes and I discovered photography during my adolescence. Naturally, my first steps as a photographer were in the places I knew and loved: the seaside of Pornic, the streets of Nantes and the Passage Pommeraye, or the Voie Verte which links Carquefou to Saint-Mars-la-Jaille. It was a hobby in parallel with my studies, then my professional life.
When I converted to this particular profession with the help of my wedding photographer, I did my training in Brittany. Afterwards, I came back to Loire-Atlantique for my very first wedding. This first event was the first of the weddings I have since photographied in my childhood region.
I rediscovered the Loire-Atlantique thanks to this job. I found places I knew as a child, like Saint-Herblain, Nantes and Pornic (yes I love Pornic) and I discovered others according to the events on which I have the chance to work. Today I travel throughout the Pays de la Loire region.
Getting married in Saint-Herblain
If you are originally from Saint-Herblain or the Loire-Atlantique region, and you wish to come back to your roots to get married, you will most probably look for a reception place in the area to celebrate this beautiful day. I myself did a thorough search for my wedding venue, after admitting that it was not possible to privatize the terrace of La Fraiseraie in Pornic to eat ice cream by the sea all day (the pear/chocolate sorbet alone was worth the detour).
I got married on the outskirts of Nantes, in Thouaré-sur-Loire, where I grew up. I made a long list of places in the area that I thought were beautiful: the Château de la Poterie, the Château de la Pigossière or the Gîte de la Filature d'Angreviers. I had also spotted the château du Vair and the château du Challain (as you can see, I was dreaming as a child). I had even visited the château de la Bretonnière which has, from memory, a magnificent driveway lined with rhododendron, and whose owner had told me a very funny story about a guest who was a little drunk and who had backed right into the lake (conclusion: who drinks too much ends up in the water).
I finally got married at the little Château de Thouaré-sur-Loire, 300m from my parents' house. My list of locations has been gathering dust for a while, but I'm taking it out again today and I'm happy to see that I'm coming back to some of them as part of my job as a wedding photographer!
A relationship of trust
Every contact with a couple starts with a meeting: at my home (which gives me an excuse to make cakes) or by telephone. These talks are essential for me to understand the wishes of the bride and groom, but above all to ensure that they feel confident with me. It is impossible to commit to such an important service without taking the time to check that we are all on the same wavelength!