Experts : Zosia Zacharia Photography

Looking for something a little different for your wedding photography? Today we are off to Meet another wedding expert Zosia Zacharia Photography, a destination wedding photographer who loves to shoot with film!

Zosia: “I haven’t always been a wedding photographer my career started with me studying fashion design and working as a designer in the fashion industry for many years.

I have always had a love for photography and grew up in the eighties pouring over magazines such as Vogue and Elle pulling out to keep the strong black and white iconic images from photographers such as Bruce Weber and Herb Ritts and in the nineties Peter Lindbergh, Richard Avedon and Mario Testino.

It was those images, particularly those grainy black and whites that really shaped my view of the creative world and still influence me to this day.

Now I’m a wedding photographer its second nature to me to be searching for just the right composition, light and colour and I sometimes feel quite obsessive about it, which is one of the reason why I shoot with film. For me film is the ultimate creative medium.

Although I now longer create clothes as a photographer you have also need to be a bit of a stylist as you are creating looks & dreams. As wedding photographer I do capture some of a wedding day in a ‘journalistic’ style, such as the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception.

But other parts of the day such as the bride getting ready and the bride and groom being photographed together I need to insert myself a little and give some direction to the happy couple.

Couples getting married are not professional models and need some direction, I would love to tell you otherwise. An engagement shoot really helps to give couples a chance to practice being in front of the camera and for them to get to know me and me them.

Many people ask me why I chose to shoot with film and somebody recently asked me which is better film or digital. I don’t think one is better than the other, but it’s a matter of personal taste. I personally love the look and feel of film, it has texture and the colour really flattens skin tones and yet makes bright colours really strong yet subtle.

The black and whites from film photography have a movie star quality to them and make any photograph timeless. Shooting with film allows me to live in the moment, I don’t just snap away, each photograph is considered before the shutter is pressed. I also use both 35mm and medium format cameras. Medium format is the size of camera that is traditionally used for editorial and advertising, giving that ‘bigger’ picture look.

After a wedding I have all my films processed and then have the images scanned so my clients can see their images on my client gallery and share them digitally.

I started my photography business while living in Hong Kong and I have been lucky to photograph weddings in some beautiful and exotic destinations. However Europe has a big pull for me, it has such a contrast to Asia with the light being whiter, brighter and longer days in the summer to capture beautiful weddings. France is steeped in history with some amazing churches and chateaus to be married at. Even the most modest chateau will have beautiful grassy grounds, wonderful food and lovely wines.

Despite traveling to Paris every year for almost the past 20 years it was only last year when I was living in Paris that I got to travel around France.

On one trip I drove from Paris to the South of France with my partner, it was an incredible journey soaking up the countryside while stopping off to experience everything that France has to offer. I have to admit I’m a tiny bit envious of couples choosing to marry in France but at the same time I’m over the moon when I’m invited to capture their special day in such an amazing country..”

If you would like to find out more about Zosia’s photography services for your wedding in France, please visit her website www.zosiazacharia.com and find more contact details below.