Hugo Desessard Photographe

1. How did you get your start and why did you chose wedding photography as a career?

I started photography at an early age and wedding photography about 3-4 years ago. I was first fascinated by street photography during my many trips around the world and it is for me the photographic genre that comes closest to it. It's about capturing a scene without interfering with it. The subjects are human, and the idea is to reproduce as well as possible what is happening there, by trying to transcribe the emotions and the atmosphere.
When I say that street photography and wedding photography are alike. I talk about my way of photographing. It will be different for many other photographers.

2. How has your extensive experience in wedding photography helped you in difficult circumstances on a wedding day?

The many weddings I have done have taught me to know how to anticipate an event before it even happens. Wedding photography requires a lot of observation and anticipation. You have to know how to frame your photo before what is going to happen. You also have to know with which settings to shoot all these important moments.
I'm not even talking about having the equipment ready, don't forget your memory cards, your batteries or the batteries for your flash. Many things that make the profession of photographer a profession in its own right that requires you to devote all your time and energy to it.
I am convinced that being a wedding photographer is a very complex job that requires great knowledge in this field. The handing over of wedding rings, the exchange of vows, leaving the church, entering the wedding hall, etc. are moments not to be missed.

3. Tell us about some of the most unique weddings you've shot.

I believe that every wedding is unique and I take pleasure in photographing on all my services.
If I had to choose one, I would talk about the wedding I did in Saint-Tropez in 2023.
Not only Saint-Tropez is a city that I know very well because I spent many holidays there throughout my youth. It's a city that I know by heart, so what a joy to be able to take my photos of couples on the port, in the small streets, on the beach in this beautiful city in the south of France.
The specialty of this marriage was music. From the cocktail was present a DJ / saxophonist. It was just awesome. The mix of House music and sax sounded so good! The atmosphere was so festive and all the guests were having so much fun and it showed in every photo.
No games organized during the evening, just an extraordinary music group that started playing as soon as the meal started. 4 singer and very nice speech.
I leave you here the link to the photos which will surely speak to you much more than my words:
https://photographe-de-mariage-tours.fr/mariage-saint-tropez/

4. What are some of your favorite local venues?

The places I prefer in Tours are firstly the town hall of Tours. Whether inside or outside, it is for me the most beautiful town hall in France. In addition, the town hall offers the newlyweds the opportunity to do a short couple photo session in this beautiful jute building after the civil ceremony.
I also particularly like the Saint-Etienne church. Majestic and very bright (great for photos)
In terms of reception venues, they are all different and there are many that I find very beautiful. If I had to name a few, I would say the Château de la Bourdaisière, the Domaine des Bidaudières, the stronghold of the Cordeliers closer to Angers than Tours.
In the south of France there is also Villa Pointe Allegre with a view of Saint-Tropez.

5. What advice would you give a bride who is looking for a wedding photographer?

First I would tell him not to choose just any wedding photographer. Having memories of one of the most beautiful days of your life is rather important, isn't it?
You have to know if you are more into posed photos or candid photos. Are you comfortable posing in front of a camera? Do you want to play models on a day where you are supposed to make the most of your loved ones?
I also know it's not done a lot, but ask the photographer to send you a full wedding. I always send a complete wedding to my bride and groom. I think it's important to have an idea of the entirety of the work of your provider.
This also allows you to know more or less what you want to have taken in photos.
A good photographer, it costs a certain price, and there are not many, but I promise you that the difference will be enormous whether it is on the quantity of photos delivered, but also on the quality of the photos and on its capacity to be discreet and not to disturb you.

6. What's your favorite part of the wedding day to photograph?

I particularly like to photograph the preparations. It is a very calm moment when I have time to work out how to be creative. I see it more like a posed photo, although be careful I won't ask you to look at me! But this is the time when I can take the time, look for original framing.
Even if it doesn't go in the direction of my way of working, I take more and more pleasure in photographing photos of couples. This is also the time when we can get to know each other a little more. The moment when you two find yourself face to face. I have a lot of clients who are apprehensive about this couple photo shoot and each time they are super happy with it.
I love the town hall and the church because these are the times when I have to be the most discreet and that is my specialty. There I find all the pleasures of street photography.
In fact, I like to take pictures of all the moments of the day, even candid photos at the reception. I assure you that even during the reception, it is possible to take great photos.
I would say that my least favorite moment is the group photos. But like all photo-reporters I imagine! There is less creativity. Note that this is not child labor either. You have to know how to shoot in the right light. No full face light. Special mention to all the people who come to see me on the wedding day to tell me that I am against the light. At that moment I show a photo with full face sun and a photo against the light and I always have the same reaction!

7. What are your top tips for brides to help them get great photos on their wedding day?

It's a good question. My job is to photographically document your wedding day as best as possible while remaining discreet. So I would say that the best thing is to pretend I'm not there, to try to forget myself when I take pictures. Don't look at me. So of course we will have the opportunity to exchange and talk to each other, but when I take pictures, I am in my bubble and you are in one of the most beautiful days of your life so enjoy! And when I have an idea in mind, it can happen, I will ask you to pose. But I ask to pose only when I am sure that the photo will be very beautiful, and that it will look natural.

8. How important is it to hire an experienced wedding photographer?

So that's up to you. It would be a shame to have to pose in front of a camera all day long, to not have a memory of the most important moments or even worse to have no photos due to a hardware problem. We always tell ourselves that it will not happen but believe me, it does!
As I already said above, wedding photography is one of the most complicated areas of photography. Reporting is far from easy. It requires to be always attentive and observant. To know how to anticipate everything that happens during the day, and to have equipment that allows you to be efficient by having a good quality of images. Of course, you also have to know how to use your equipment, and know your photo settings throughout the day.
A good photographer must always have his camera on in his hand, be ready to shoot at any time. He must be creative, always observe, have a very open eye on what is happening.
He must also know his equipment, his focal lengths. This is also why I only work at fixed focal length. Even before taking my photo I know what it will look like without having to look at my camera.

9. What do you find is the biggest challenge in wedding photography?

Most important is that the guests is a complete documentary of their wedding day. You have to know how to adapt to each person to meet all the expectations of the customer. Succeeding in taking photos of each important moment of the day is the basis. But they have to be as beautiful as possible. For this I am a fan of daring framing. I like that there is a lot of information on my photo. I don't just want the kisses of the bride and groom after the ceremony. But I also want to have all the atmosphere behind it. The people, the reactions, the place, etc.
As I often repeat, for me wedding photography is not portraits of the bride and groom, it is the whole scene that happens. It is still much more meaningful and more authentic.

10. What do you do for fun when you're not shooting weddings?

My first passion was street photography. It is, with marriage, the two areas where I take the most pleasure. I love walking the streets with my camera and trying to take beautiful pictures of what's going on without interfering in the scenes. I like to talk about different cultures in pictures. Show unique moments of life. From the tageurs in the streets of London to the fish sellers in the streets of Morocco, I find the photos stronger than the words to transcribe the emotions at the moment T.
I also do real estate photography, studio photography and a little bit of portraits and landscapes.
I love all genres of photography but some more than others.

11. How would you describe your style of photography?

Authentic, artistic, lively, sometimes daring in my framing. I take risks when I can afford it. I like to learn, to try.

12. How would you describe the current state of the wedding photography industry, and where do you think wedding photography is headed in the years to come?

Today, and I realize this a lot during my weddings, a lot of people are interested and want to get into wedding photography. It is then difficult to stand out from the competition, especially since many photographers (who often have a job on the side) offer very advantageous prices with a result that does not follow. I have already explained above why it is important to take a good photographer who is particularly knowledgeable in wedding photography…

I would then like to talk about the workshops which are not a problem as such. But there are still a few things to know... For those who don't know what a workshop is, it's an event often organized by a photographer, which consists of staging a "fake wedding", with models and equipment made available (or not). But then where is the problem?
The problem is that the whole difficulty of wedding photography is precisely knowing how to anticipate what will happen. This is not a posed photo. It is a real event that is happening and you only have one chance to photograph it.

So would you trust a photographer who has a portfolio with photos that are posed, sometimes repeated several times.

13. What (or who) inspires you?
Many people have inspired me. I exchanged with many photographers, shared a lot of knowledge and today I offer my personal style of photography.
Street photography has also inspired me a lot in my way of shooting weddings.
Of course my parents also taught me a lot because they are also wedding photographers. But our styles are not quite the same. I invite you to look for yourself. It's still interesting to watch the work of the people who basically trained your wedding photographer in photography. See the differences despite their transcriptions of the knowledge of the photo.

14. Have you found any products, services, or seminars that have made a difference to your photography or your business?

The Sony a9 q was a real revelation for wedding photography especially. Its responsiveness, its speed of development but also its very pleasant small format during the long wedding days.
Also the transcription on the screen is very useful for me for the more daring framings (high angle and low angle). In addition, the electron trigger allows me not to make any trigger noise when shooting. It's very practical at church or at the town hall when you don't want to make noise and be as discreet as possible.
The 50 mm Zeiss made me go a level above for my photos of couples. I find his boquet absolutely extraordinary. Image quality too.
The 24 mm Sony GM is also a master class for evening photos but not only. I love the wide angle for the wedding because it allows you to add as much information as possible to your photos.

15. What's the best photography-related advice you've been given?

Stop using long focal lengths in marriage. The idea is to have as much information as possible on the photos. Doing portraits is cool but there are no emotions, no context. Of course it can sometimes be interesting to shoot with an 85 mm or even a 105 mm but these are special cases. Be observant, know how to question yourself.
You also have to be curious, to learn every day about your shooting but also about your photo equipment.

16. What would you say was the biggest reason for your success?

So that's also a pretty complicated question. I would like to answer tit for tat my passion for photography, especially wedding photography. Trying to improve myself at each wedding, questioning myself on my shots when I process my photos.
But the reality is different. To succeed in wedding photography you have to be able to make yourself known and for that you need beautiful photos. But above all, you need to have a good website. Work on this website to reference it as best as possible.
Be published on blog posts.
Get known on social media. Etc
In short, I'm not going to give you the magic recipe either!