why should we trust WeddingLight for the visuals of our wedding?
WeddingLight was created by photographer Olivier Lalin while he lived and worked in Sydney, Australia.There he started his carreer as a press and editorial photographer and photographed his first wedding overlooking the pacific ocean. 20 years later, WeddingLight is a Paris based destination wedding company. We specialize in modern and FUN wedding visuals for today's brides. You might call our style "wedding photojournalism" because we photograph your wedding day as though we were on assignment for a newspaper or magazine. We capture "real" moments as they happen, not choreographing preconceived "moments."
Our background in newspaper and magazine with 20 years of expertise is perfect for documenting weddings and capturing the "real" moments as they unfold. Regardless, there are times where the photographer takes the situation in charge and direct " in a gentle manner " a portrait of the bride and the groom for example. We produce classic, natural, stylish wedding imageries, away from cliche and stereotypes. We are a Team of three talented, internationally minded photographers and one videographer with a lot of experience, passion and one vision.
What about video ?
Our wedding documentary films invoke the same poetic sensibility as our still images. Each film is a fusion of media - Super 8, video, digital audio and stills- transcending a typical wedding video. Our goal is to produce a film that is a lovely alternative to the typical wedding video.
Ask us for a demo tape and rates if you are interested.
See Video Sample for details (
Link)
How far in advance do you recommend we book your service ?
Usually 9 to 10 months before the wedding day, sometimes a year and a half in advance and even a months before the day if we happen to be available
How do we reserve the date ?
You can call us but we need the contract sent back to us signed with a 50% deposit.
What is the standard length of time for photography coverage ?
This is very much up to you. I would say most weddings take place over an eight hour period. Let us know what your needs are in detail and we can customize a package.
How long will it take to get my pictures?
We take pride in filling print and album orders as fast as we can and post your wedding online in a timely fashion. We have a busy wedding schedule that take us out of town often, but we try my best to meet the below deadlines. On rare occasions we might be a bit slower than others depending on the workload at the time, but we are most of the time simply efficient...
Your wedding will be posted online within 2 weeks.
Album orders and DVDs will be filled within 60-90 days from the moment it goes to printing.
When do you begin shooting photos ?
The idea is to tell a visual narrative photographing of the whole wedding day so it is quite important to start the day with the bride as she is getting ready doing her hair and make up to the cutting of the cake and some crazy dancing.
How do we approach formal portraits ?
It is important to discuss in advance the way you want to have the formals photographed if any. We are very easy and here to please our bride. We feel that the most important is the way your photographer is going to make everyone feel at ease very quickly in front of the lens. Then anything can be achieved and the formals will be fun for all.
We would tend to photograph formals in a relax manner.
Do you want a check list of photos?
Those dreaded lists published in bridal magazines are for cookie-cutter traditional photographers. Photojournalism is all about creative spontaneity. Of course, we will photograph all the key moments in the wedding, we don't need a list. The best photos that we take are often the ones where everything come together in seconds totally unexpectedly. The only list we use is for the 30-minute posed photo session after the wedding ceremony. We organize with the bride to have a friend or someone close to family with the list to make sure that everyone is photographed. It makes the formal picture taking flow in a very easy manner.
Would you photograph rehearsal diner ?
This is a great way to begin recording the wedding festivities. Not only will your wedding weekend photographs tell the whole story with Rehearsal Dinner coverage, it allows the photographer to discover who the most important people are to you and your family.
What is the team coverage ?
Photographer "teams" are a perfect idea if your wedding is especially large (greater than 200 guests), the ceremony and reception locations are different or far apart, you would like pre-ceremony pictures of both the bride and groom at the same time or if you are interested in extensive formal shots. All photography teams will be quoted for you on an individual basis depending on your specific needs and requirements and the photographers.
Do you work with a second photographer?
It is all up to you. I would highly recommend a second shooter for larger size weddings. We have been working with good friends and great professionals for the past 10 year. We are a perfect combination for larger venues. It is always a good idea to book us 10 months in advance.
Destination weddings are usually more intimate and do not typically require a second photographer but if you are having a larger destination wedding we will give you a quote on a second photographer.
What do we receive after the wedding ?
We would have the selected images on line usually two to three weeks after the wedding with a minimum of 800 edited photos that you can edit down further, choose to make public and release to friends and family. Everyone can go to the web site and order prints directly in color, black and white or sepia. We would then send a series of prints usually 8/10 size with the high resolution files on a DVD. The images are the high resolution files with no watermark or restrictions and you can print from those if you wish. We spend extending time in post processing to ensure that the files are up to the best quality possible for printing via professional color cerrection.
Do you produce Albums ?
Again it is up to you. We will give you all the shooting materials after the wedding, including film unless you request that we get involved with the album making. Once we have your selection, we will come up with a Book Lay out within one month. We will then email a PDF with the result that you can view on your computer screen and make corrections if needs be. After you have approved the selection, we do send the lay out for printing and bookbinding.
The whole process would take around 4 months.
See Albums Sample for detail (
Link)
Film & Digital ?
We use the new Nikon D3s 12 megapixel digital camera. We sometimes shoot black and white film because We love the look- not better or worse, just different. We benefit from the pro's of black and white film, such as its greater latitude (shades of gray from black to white) and for the abundance of irregular grain. We might use fast film to get the cool grain that is tough to imitate digitally. Digital is great for color images: more saturated colors, less grain, cleaner images.
Digital cameras give the photographer instant feedback on his images while film images aren't seen for a week or so (the wedding day is long gone). This is a digital benefit and is important in testing new ideas, getting tough lighting to expose perfectly, checking composition, color, etc. It speeds up the learning process by giving this immediate feedback. Film handles tough lighting situations better (due to greater latitude) so good exposures are easier to come by. Digital cams are quick to adapt to changing lighting situations- without changing to a different film I can adjust the sensitivity (film speed) and color on the fly. I would use film for my rolleiflex 2/14 square camera
As well as my panoramics that do only take film.
What camera and lens do you use ?
We only use the latest Nikon lenses and camera body. We would usually carry a couple of D3s, an hasselblad panoramic camera as well as a 2 1/4 square format Rolleiflex for portraits. Basically a mixture of film and digital cameras as well as lenses going from large angle to zooms.
What about travel fee ?
A travel fee is charged outside of Paris. Our travel time rate varies depending upon the location of the event. This fee serves to compensate the photographer and assistant for time traveling that might otherwise have been committed locally.
Overnight accommodation ?
Overnight accommodations are required the night before an event when the photographer-assistant team must begin setting-up before noon on the day of the event and the location is more than two hours travel from Paris. Overnight accommodations are required on the evening of the event when the event ends after midnight and the event location is more than one hour travel from Paris.
