Études : Ch. III, Partie I : Andréa La Rosa

Last year, I introduced my personal project to you. "Études", as the title suggests, is a study - a study of people. Working with many models, you sometimes have the impression that the results seem too artificial. There is too much processing, too much make up, too much extravagance in the poses. So I wanted something more stripped down to give the subject a chance to connect with the viewer on a deeper level and to reveal something more intimate. Spontaneity, improvisation and a good dose of good humour is what "Études" can be sum up to. And there is another word I consider to be very important and that must be added to describe those sessions: sincerity.

Today, I give you Andréa La Rosa. To be honest, I do not know much about her. I met her for the first time on the shooting day. I actually went to photograph her good friend Fiona whom I had spotted about a year ago. At the suggestion of Fiona, I shot a few pictures of Andréa and the result proved something I had not expected. It was very interesting to see how change occurs in front of the lens. So I shot her for the project alongside Fiona. She has such an interesting face and her charisma is definitely one of the most attractive things about her. 

Have a look at the study with Andréa:

Alina & Vladimir

Thanks to the World Cup matches, my sleep cycle has become erratic and so I have found time to catch up on my blog posts. Frankly, the thing I hate most about blogging is the fact that I have to resize pictures and frame them on white backgrounds like I love them to be. It's very time consuming but it does give me great satisfaction.

So today I wanted to share the wedding of Alina and Vladimir with you. It's been more than a month since I shot their wedding at the Anahita Four Seasons Resort. The couple had already celebrated their civil wedding back in Moscow, therefore the ceremony here on Ile Aux Cerfs was to be purely symbolic. 

The day of the wedding, the bride and the groom were welcomed by some strong winds off the coast on the Ile Aux Cerfs. As nervous as the bride might have been about not being a good poser, the session turned out to be very funny for Vladimir, Alina, Jeffree my assistant and myself. But the best anecdote I am going to retain for this wedding is that of the "I do" moment. As they were saying their vows, a very strong gust of wind shook the structures on which the flower bouquets were placed. Everything fell down. 

We laughed and the ceremony resumed. Thank goodness, it did not rain and we shot throughout the golden hour on the beach and on the golf course which was my favourite spot that day. Since the bride wanted to shoot at some other spots she saw in my portfolio, she also booked me for a session the next day. We went to the south of the island and had a wonderful time shooting on the beach underneath the cloudy weather. Sometimes, you need no sun, just some light and good moods to cheer ourselves up!

So here are the pictures from the wedding of Alina & Vladimir: