Photographing a Day That Will Not Wait

A wedding at the Domaine de la Roche Couloir, in the Vallée de Chevreuse: planning, colour, and the photographs that remain.

The forest at the Domaine de la Roche Couloir, dinner beneath the dome, then dancing inside the former hunting lodge: Thibault and Éléa’s wedding moved through settings with very different light and atmosphere.

I photographed their day on 12 September. It began with the civil ceremony at Montrouge town hall, before continuing at the estate, close to Saint-Lambert-des-Bois in the Vallée de Chevreuse.

Following the celebrations from place to place set a pace very different from my personal work. In that work, I can wait for someone to enter the frame, try another position, or leave without a photograph. At a wedding, my choices have to fit within the couple’s time, while I remain ready for moments that cannot be repeated.

Planning the Day

Thibault and Éléa had organised their day carefully, with time for the ceremony, their guests, dinner and the evening celebrations. As a photographer, I had to work within that rhythm.

At Montrouge town hall, the ceremony lasted no more than thirty minutes, with weddings following one another. That short window called for anticipation: knowing where to stand, following the ceremony and watching the reactions around the couple.

Later, the schedule included a brief portrait session in the forest at La Roche Couloir. Having time set aside for those photographs allowed me to work with the couple within the flow of the celebrations.

For photography, the planning needs to bring together timings, locations, journeys and responsibilities. It gives the photographer a framework within which to respond to what happens, while the couple enjoys the day with their guests.

From the Forest to the Lodge

The estate is surrounded by forest, which gave us a setting for the couple’s portraits. Photographing among the trees also meant working with the colour casts from the vegetation. I wanted to preserve the forest’s greens while keeping skin tones natural.

I used fill flash outdoors to bring light to the faces while preserving the atmosphere around them.

Dinner beneath the dome presented different conditions. The available light was good, but its tone was very warm. I used direct flash as fill, balancing the light on people’s faces with the warmth of the setting.

Later, the dancing took place inside the lodge itself, in a room with warm wood tones. Moving between these spaces meant reassessing the light throughout the day.

Choosing the Lens

At the town hall, I used the 24–70 mm f/2.8. During the ceremony, the zoom let me adjust the framing quickly as events unfolded.

For the rest of the day, I used the 50 mm f/1.2. It is a lens I naturally return to. Its angle of view feels familiar, and I like the relationship it allows me to establish with the person in front of the camera.

With a fixed focal length, position and distance become part of every composition. During a wedding, that means anticipating where I need to be while keeping track of what is happening around me.

Making Room for Colour

The photographs were to be delivered in colour. For someone whose personal work often gravitates towards black and white, that was an important part of the brief.

Colour preserves the clothes people have chosen, the character of the setting and the atmosphere of a room. I still looked at some images in black and white during the editing, out of habit. In some of them, removing the colour also removed something I wanted to keep. The image became simpler, yet less complete.

I did not want a light and airy treatment for this wedding. I wanted to retain the depth of the colours, the texture of the clothes and the presence of the surroundings.

Making the Photographs Belong Together

The most demanding part of the editing was white balance.

From one place to the next, skin tones could look natural in one photograph, then too warm or too green in the next.

White balance was corrected by location. I then reviewed the photographs together, paying attention to the transitions between sequences. Each setting needed its own adjustments; applying the same correction everywhere would not have produced a consistent result.

An image that looked convincing on its own could still feel out of place beside the others. Much of the work involved moving between those two views: the individual photograph and the series.

Skin tones needed continuity, while each place kept its character. I wanted the warmth of the dinner and the colours of the forest to remain, without unwanted casts changing the appearance of the people.

The couple would move through the gallery as a record of their day. The editing had to make that progression feel natural, despite the changes of place and light.

Photographs They Will Keep

Selection mattered as much as editing. A striking photograph might add little to the story, while a quieter one could preserve a person, a gesture or a connection that would otherwise be missing.

The caterer had also set up an open photo booth where guests could strike funny poses together. It invited people to play, and I photographed their expressions and interactions too.

In personal work, I can leave an image unresolved and return to it later. A wedding comes with an agreed delivery time. The series has to be selected, made coherent and carefully finished within that commitment.

As a professional photographer, I am responsible for the result the couple receives. For Thibault and Éléa, these are photographs they will keep throughout their lives, from a day that could not be repeated.

I want them to find their day again in the gallery: the people, the gestures, the atmosphere, and moments they may not have seen themselves. Every choice, from the planning to the final colour adjustments, contributes to that.

I only publish client photographs with their permission. For weddings, elopements or couple photography in Paris, you can visit my website. A complete private wedding gallery is also available to view on request, with downloads disabled.