Wedding Photographer
in Saint Nazaire
I grew up near Nantes, in Loire-Atlantique. As a little girl, I remember walking by the sea in Pornic to eat ice cream at La Fraiseraie. After several years away from the region, I am now back as a wedding photographer to accompany brides and grooms who choose to celebrate their special day in the region.
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The modalities of each photo service are adapted to the needs of the bride and groom during our various exchanges and the evolution of their desires (and their schedule). I always start by presenting my three main formulas of 6h, 9h and 12h of presence on the wedding day. Generally, one of these three formulas is appropriate, but it happens that the bride and groom have particular desires which require to think together about the elaboration of a custom-made estimate.
The photos are given to the bride and groom within two to three weeks after the event (that's the goal I set for myself, anyway!) I provide them with an online gallery of all the photos, and I send them a small box containing prints and the USB key of their reportage. On my side, I try to keep the wedding reportages as long as possible to give them back if needed.
Once the reportage is handed over, I systematically make sure that the bride and groom agree (and are satisfied, above all) before broadcasting photos of their wedding on my social networks or my website. I wish to be able to communicate on successful services, therefore services that have satisfied the bride and groom. I also think it is important to wait for their approval before posting pictures to ensure mutuel trust.
My approach to wedding photography
As a professional photographer, I am obviously very attentive to the technical quality of the photos, their coherence, and my objective is always to give the bride and groom a harmonious and qualitative report. But I kept from my own search for a photographer for my wedding the conviction that a relationship of trust and benevolence with his provider is essential to the smooth running of the day. To have a competent person at your side is good. To feel accompanied and supported in case of stress or questioning on the D-day is even better.
I communicate a lot with all the couples who trust me, and I multiply the exchanges according to their desires and their needs. Two appointments are essential: the first one corresponds to the first exchange which allows to limit the service and to assure us mutually of our capacity to work together in harmony (it is normal that, by my character a little... The second "obligatory" meeting takes place a few days/weeks before the wedding: it aims to validate the final planning, to get all the addresses, all the information I need for the D-day. My role is to accompany the bride and groom, not to solicit them for logistical questions that I can anticipate.
In terms of photo technique, I prefer the reportage approach, which consists in enhancing spontaneous shots. I generally alternate, depending on the time of day and the subjects I photograph, between a discreet approach to be seen as little as possible, and conversations with the guests to put them at ease and to desacralize the image that one can have of wedding photos. The overwhelming majority of my photos are in color, but I love black and white when the subject and the composition of the photo lend themselves to it (particular textures or chiaroscuro for example).
My first steps as a wedding photographer in Nantes, then in Saint-Nazaire
I grew up in the Nantes area, and I discovered photography there. For several years, photography remained a hobby that I practiced in parallel to my studies, then to my professional life. I photographed a lot the streets of Nantes or the Passage Pommeraye. When I left the region for my studies, I persisted in photography, until I decided to reconvert after my marriage.
The photographer who trained me in wedding photography being Breton, I had the chance to cover my first weddings for free as a second photographer in training. And having grown up in the Nantes region, it is in Loire-Atlantique that I covered my very first wedding as a professional photographer.
I rediscovered my region and the Loire-Atlantique in particular through my job as a photographer, which allows me to discover or rediscover places thanks to the brides and grooms I work for. Saint-Nazaire, which I did not know well before my reconversion, is now part of the cities where I regularly go for my photo services.
Getting married near Saint-Nazaire
If you are originally from Saint-Nazaire or the Loire-Atlantique region, and you wish to return to your roots to get married, you will most probably start looking for a reception place to celebrate this beautiful day. This is a search I did myself a few years ago, after admitting that getting married on the terrace of La Fraiseraie in Pornic and eating ice cream all day is not a reasonable wedding plan (I have simple ambitions, as you can see, walking by the sea/eating, the definition of a good day for Manon).
I was getting married, then, on the outskirts of Nantes, and I made a list of the places I liked the most in the area. In the end, I got married 300 meters from my parents' house, in the little castle on the edge of the village, so the places I religiously listed for weeks were of no use to me, but I'm happy to share it with you: it might come in handy four years late, you never know!
In the Loire-Atlantique region, I can mention the Château de la Poterie, the Château de la Pigossière or the Gîte de la Filature d'Angreviers. At the time of my wedding, 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 visited the château de la Bretonnière which has, from memory, a magnificent alley lined with rhododendron. I'm back on my list of wedding venues, and I hope to have the opportunity to visit them all as part of a wedding report!
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!