When did you discover your love for photography?
I guess the cliché answer would be as a child when my grandma gave me my first camera. More seriously, I fell in love with the art of photography during college, when a friend of mine got me hooked on the beautiful universe of landscape photography in Asheville, North Carolina. Today, our hearts and creative minds are set on portrait and luxury event photography, where the focus is on capturing people, believable connection, celebration, and context (including details and decor that reflect the vision of our couples).
What do you look for when shooting a travel couple?
99% of our couples come to us from outside of France, which means we typically work with so-called travel couples. We understand that they come to Paris for romance, fun, and of course photos against the backdrop of iconic landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre … to name a few. We also understand that most of our couples are people like you and me and may not have much experience in front of the lens … or may not instantly be comfortable displaying intimacy, playfulness, and connection in public or in front of the lens of a relative stranger. So what we ultimately look for in our travel couples is that confidently invest time in preparing for their photo shoot, demand more, and trust in the process and our ability to make them look and feel great. We also appreciate when our couples clearly communicate what occasion brings them to Paris and what they are looking for in their photography experience since it helps both sides manage expectations.
Explain your personal style of travel couple photography?
Our style is a blend of Candid + Editorial with an artistic twist. Above all our shoots are fun, real, and creative. We emphasize fun and flow … and believe in the “happiness advantage,” meaning that the photo will follow when couples show up to have a fun time celebrating their relationship in the City of Lights.
What do you enjoy most about couple photography?
We love that our couples tend to mostly not be models or actors, meaning that we have an opportunity to make a BIG difference as couple photographers if we can just get our clients to display chemistry and connection in front of our lens. It is truly perhaps the biggest difference between us at Kiss Me in Paris and other talented artists around town and the industry at large. We 100% emphasize connection and chemistry first … which means our couples actually come away from the shoot with precious memories of their time together in Paris … and of course amazing photos.
What do you enjoy least about couple photography?
Well, if there were a lot of things not to enjoy, we would not be so passionate about our jobs :-). We truly feel blessed to do what we do for a living and may actually have the greatest job in the world. That said, here’s what might rub us the wrong way 🙂 … do not come to us bargaining for a better rate (hey, we already provide a killer value!); don’t ask us for a higher quantity of photos (our favorite couples tend to emphasize quality over quantity and still always get abundant stunning photographs); don’t stress about factors you have no control over, such as rain (btw … here’s a little secret: some of the very best photographs in Paris happen on rain days since the sky tends to make for amazingly consistent light, there are fewer distracting people at the popular spots, and our couples tend to show more genuine emotions).
What is your dream photography destination?
We count ourselves very fortunate to travel across the globe with our clients. That said, we do love new destinations and would be happy to offer a few special rates on exotic locations such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, China, Iceland … in fact, many great places outside of Europe and North America.
What advice do you have for other photographers who want to shoot travel couple photography?
Any passionate peer is more than welcome to contact us and we will be happy to answer your questions. Keep in mind that you are running a business and not a hobby. We have enough starving artists already and do not need any more :-). You are dealing with real people who may not trust you initially, speak your language, or be stressed from travel. Make sure to put your couple at ease and get them to connect in front of your lens first … the photo will follow.
Get to Know the Photographers:
Fran Boloni & Cengiz Ozelsel: @kissinpariscom
Photography Blog: kissinparis.com
Facebook: fb.com/kissinparis
Fran Boloni: fb.com/franboloni
Cengiz Ozelsel: fb.com/cengiz.ozelsel
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