Why This Price?

A wedding doesn't start on the day, not for me. There's the conversation with you beforehand to understand the schedule, the moments that matter, the family members I can't afford to miss. There's often a scouting visit to the venue, to know where the light will fall at 4pm in October and where I can stand during the ceremony without getting in anyone's way.

There's the equipment: two camera bodies, several lenses, flashes, batteries charged in duplicate, because a gear failure on your wedding day is not an option. And there's professional liability insurance and a registered business, which means the person in front of you is an accountable professional, not someone learning on the job at your expense.

Most of my weddings mean ten to twelve hours of continuous, solo coverage, from the first preparations to the first dance. Through all of that, I'm on my feet, focused, constantly moving, anticipating changing light, a glance between two people, a spilled glass of wine, rain that might be coming.

I have to be discreet enough not to become a burden on your day, and present enough not to miss the first look, your grandmother's tears, or the moment everyone finally dances without thinking about the camera. This isn't a two-hour studio session. It's one full day where mistakes don't get a second take.

By the end of the day, I usually have somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 photos on my memory cards. Editing starts there, and it takes time: I don't run an automatic filter, I look at every single image to build a selection that tells the story of your day, not just illustrates it.

Then comes the retouching, photo by photo, so the colour, light and mood stay true to what you actually experienced, without trendy effects that age badly. That stage takes several weeks, alongside the other weddings I still have to deliver. Your photos are then backed up across multiple locations for years, because they're memories, not disposable files.

A lower quote isn't necessarily dishonest, but it's worth understanding what it usually doesn't include: no backup gear if something fails, no insurance if something goes wrong, no real experience handling a wedding's unpredictability, and not always a contract that protects you.

I'm not saying I'm the only valid option in Perpignan or the Pyrénées-Orientales. I'm saying the price reflects a full-time profession, with the guarantees that come with it, and it's worth knowing what you're actually buying before comparing two numbers on a page.