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What I am trying to convey, I find in film.
I could tell you that I love film because the results are beautiful, because the colours are soft, or because the grain creates a special atmosphere, but that would be simplistic.
I photograph weddings on film because this technique always brings me back to the essentials:
the light, the gestures, the silence, the raw emotions, but above all, the presence. I focus on what I see, and I shoot less frantically. When you have a 36-exposure roll of film, every shot counts.
Film brings me back to exactly where I started: to the feeling that photography is not just an image.
It's a moment I've captured for eternity.
My early years in film photography: the red light, the smell of developer
I learned to take photographs with a film camera when I was a teenager. It's a fairly typical story: my father had a Rolleiflex SL35 and he taught me how to use it because he could see that I was fascinated by the camera. My mother took all our holiday photos with her Olympus Mju, which was later stolen (really sad, haha).
I remember the surprise and excitement of picking up the developed photos. It was like a gift from my past self to my present self.
Later, I discovered the darkroom, the chemical trays, the enlarger... watching my images slowly appear. It was magic. Technical magic, certainly, but also deeply emotional.
I understood very early on that photography could be a space where time slows down. Like the urgency to hold on to those moments that are constantly slipping away, a way of not forgetting.
And even today, when I photograph a wedding, I rediscover those feelings: a mixture of concentration, gentleness... and that slight tension of waiting for the right moment. To relive it later, forever.
Film photography is part of my history. And I love that it is becoming part of yours.
The gear that I use
I tend to use these fairly classic films most often:
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Kodak Portra 160 and 400 for colour: they reveal skin tones with incomparable softness and enhance natural light.
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Ilford HP5 for black and white: a sensitive, elegant and slightly grainy film, perfect for intimate moments and strong emotions.
Each film tells a different story, and I adapt my choice to yours.
I now mainly shoot with my Canon EOS-1N, a sturdy, accurate, quiet and reliable professional film camera. And when the evening begins and the atmosphere becomes more joyful and vibrant, I also bring a small compact camera with a flash.
I also have a Polaroid camera, which allows me to capture a wide range of moods and effects. I admit that I don't limit myself; I always have a bunch of cameras with me.
For which weddings is film photography ideal?
For those where atmosphere matters as much as details.
For those where light tells a story.
For those who prefer subtlety to ostentation.
In France, in the Alps, around a Lake, in Paris, in Italy, in Portugal, in Provence or on the Côte d'Azur... film photography enhances landscapes, textures, colours and faces.
It's an approach that's perfect for couples looking for authentic, sensitive, artistic and timeless images, far removed from trends that change every year.
