Paris, je t’aime

Paris is an amazingly gorgeous and charming city. And who says Parisians are a proud and snobbish lot? We had Parisians in a cafe who all stood up to give Steven & Charissa a standing ovation. We had Parisians in the metro who bowed to us in envy and admiration. We had a Parisian who bought a rose for Charissa. We even had a little girl who was so keen to have her photo taken with Charissa so much so that she hugged Charissa so tightly as if she was her long lost and found again teddy bear.

I wanted a very different approach to the normal genre of bridal photography, so I decided to blend a cross between street photography and bridal photography. One is gritty while the other is glamorous. The streets of Paris is perfectly suited for this unique mix of two contrasting genres. Those who have followed my work for quite a while would probably know that I’m a great fan of French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson’s works.

This shot at Avenue des Champs-Élysées was perhaps the hardest to execute due the fact that there were many things that I had to take note of while executing the shoot. First, I’ll need to think about how and where to place Steven & Charissa within the frame and I’ll also need to think about the Arc de Triomphe in the background. Then, there is the traffic and the crowd crossing the road. All these have to be taken into consideration while making the composition within a split second. For this, I’ll have to thank Steven & Charissa for their patience with me.

The series in the Paris Metro is my personal favorite. The Parisians were really shocked when we walked into the train. Europeans must be thinking that we Chinese are mad!

It’s not everyday you see a bride taking a train on the Paris Metro. I’ll bet that these people have never seen a bride taking the Paris Metro before. So that could not resist but to steal a shot with their cameras.

 As much I wanted to depart from the usual portrayal of the Eiffel tower but I guess I just can’t help it. After all, what is Paris without la tour Eiffel.

Steven & Charissa, if you’re reading this…you both are truly an amazing couple, I dare say as amazing as the beautiful city of Paris if not better. We gave the Parisians a shock didn’t we when we walked into to the Paris Metro train.

For brides-to-be who are reading this and wondering whether you can get shots like these too….the answer is you definitely can as I’m planning for another trip to Paris sometime next year (probably August). The next trip would be Florence and Venice sometime in either end March or end April 2009. A friend even suggested doing bridal shoots in my hometown Penang since Penang is now a UNESCO heritage town. So, meanwhile it’s au revoir Paris and ciao Italia!