As I announced earlier this season, my tradition of offering photo shoots  in Europe for my American (and European) clients will continue this summer, over several Western European countries.

Whether it’s the need for adventure, the love for beautiful scenery and for the amazing food, the fascinating traditions, the temperamental volcanos or the plummeting Euro, it seems that Europe, more than ever, is the destination this year.

I will be offering photo shoots in London, Paris, the Provence region, Rome, Venice, Geneva and Barcelona, and I will also make myself available for special requests for other locations from June 19th to August 20th. I will also offer a few “Day in the Life” photo session if possible.

This is a very unique opportunity to get magnificent pictures against backgrounds that can only be dreamed of in the country. These pictures will be cherished forever as they will be the remembrance of one of the most special time in your life.

FOLLOWING ARE EXCERPTS FROM A COUPLE OF PHOTO SHOOTS I DID IN EUROPE LAST YEAR:

PARIS
When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them: “I look for beauty and I capture it”.  This was never so true as on this European tour.  Starting in Paris, where I was born and raised, the City of Lights really took my breath away.  Paris is a feast for the eyes, and as a photographer and lover of beauty, I feasted to a sin.

So when one of my very well known American clients asked me if I would do a shoot for his family in Paris, I was there in a heartbeat.  He had booked the penthouse suite of one of the most prestigious hotels in Paris.  Since shooting in a public place would certainly create a mob scene, we naturally decided to do the shoot in the hotel.  The suite was absolutely gorgeous, with its one of a kind beautifully arranged antique furniture, stupendous colors, fabrics and textures, luscious curtains and an attention to detail fit for a king.  These kinds of backgrounds and colors are so incredibly photogenic, that it makes it impossible to take anything other than gorgeous pictures.  The shoot lasted the greatest part of the afternoon as we took advantage of every square millimeter of this stunning location.  My clients had a stylist who brought one of the most beautiful wardrobes I had ever seen.   Sometimes in one’s professional life, regardless of the trade, everything goes absolutely perfectly. This was one of these times. Shooting indoors can sometimes be challenging, but in this case, in a location with such rich backgrounds, stunning costumes and natural lighting, it was the recipe for portraits so gorgeous & elegant that I know they will be handed down for generations.

All text and photos in this email are © 2009 Marie-Catherine Toulet/Marie-Catherine Photography and may not be copied, reproduced or duplicated in any form.

ROME
My second European shoot took place in Rome.  My clients were British nationals vacationing in Italy.  Rome is one of the most photogenic cities I have ever been to.  Finding backgrounds there is like finding sand on the beach.  There is so much beauty at every corner, almost anything will do.

This shoot was an all day shoot.  It started at the famed Fontana Di Trevi because my client wanted to replicate a portrait done there by her ancestors. The purpose of this shoot was to get a huge variety of pictures to fill an Heirloom Family Coffee Table Book.  She already had pictures from her parents and grand parents and also from previous shoots we did in the years past.  We came early to avoid crowds and attention, but it didn’t quite work out that way.  Things ended up being a bit challenging as the early rising tourists wanted to be there too.  My assistant, who didn’t speak a word of Italian, spent the entire hour keeping everybody at bay with large gestures and a most convincing smile. Using a long lens, I finally managed to get some gorgeous shots of my clients, with details of the fountain as my background so as not to look like a postcard.  Her ancestors would have been proud.

We then drove to an area of Rome that has quite a few ruins, which were perfect for my next shot.  My clients dressed their young daughters in beautiful French dresses, reminiscent of the thirties.  Kids in Europe seem to grow up knowing exactly how to take pictures in front of these beautiful backgrounds.  The sepia colored pictures of these two little girls, with their perfect stances and gorgeous dresses, against this background of aged antiques stones were an absolute masterpiece – if I may say so myself.  (Unfortunately, not all to my credit: the little girls were like pros and the location was made for dreams!)

The third part of the shoot took place in a genuine Italian villa.  I fell in love with Italy at that moment.  The house was very old and its history begged to be told with every single detail: the delicate vines that had been relentlessly climbing for the past few centuries all over the thick stone walls, the rooms inside the house that were filled with beautiful keepsakes and pictures panning dozens of generations who had taken residence throughout the centuries, the kitchen with its weathered pans hanging from rusted hooks on the walls and filled with the aromas of secret herbs used to make dishes so divine, the dining room with its imposing table and matching chairs, and its fine ornate chandelier and superb art on the walls, ready to host extended families for luscious meals to be shared and remembered for ages to come.  I felt that I had found my paradise.  This was truly the house of my dreams, history and all!

After following the family throughout the gardens, capturing tender stolen moments, and all the happiness seeping generously from them all, I took the little girls inside and sat them on the kitchen table. Their backs were to me as they faced a double door opening on a sun drenched roman garden filled with an assortment of colorful fragrant flowers.  The rotund cook, who must have regularly doubled as a nanny and a granny, watched with tenderness, her hands on her hips, while the girls giggled telling each other secret stories saved for these special occasions.  The sun’s rays coming from the garden caressed their silhouette and gave them the glow of angels, their blond locks shivering with each passing draft.  The little girls spoke Italian and English perfectly.

Again, we used as much of the villa and the gardens as we could.  The many changes of clothes and backgrounds were necessary to create the Heirloom Coffee Table Book my clients so wanted.  These books are in very high demand in Europe right now and I will make them fully available in the U.S. for the upcoming Holiday season.

I personally love these kinds of shoots as they are much more “editorial”, or “story-telling” than the typical shoot. The kinds of pictures that result are often exquisite as they capture moments and expressions that are rarely captured in the typical photo shoot.

The Rome shoot, even though quite different, was as wonderful as the one in Paris.  It is truly a gift to be able to shoot in such wonderfully photogenic locations, and to be able to have so much “material” to work with.

Because of their celebrity status and their need for privacy, my clients asked that their pictures not be displayed.

All text and photos in this email are © 2009 Marie-Catherine Toulet/Marie-Catherine Photography and may not be copied, reproduced or duplicated in any form.

For details about European photo shoots and to book one of these shoots with me, please email my assistant Anna at studio@mariecatherinephoto.com.

Hope to see you there!

Have a fabulous summer.

Marie-Catherine

For the first time ever, Marie-Catherine Photography will be conducting a drawing to find a few babies from newborns to 8 months old.

The purpose of this drawing is to get some gorgeous pictures to create a baby page on our website.

Three babies will be eligible for a free “At Home Petite” photo session, valued at $300 and will receive (1) 8×10 Deluxe portrait. A drawing will take place to pick the winners. That drawing will be videotaped and the winners will be announced on an online video viewable at mariecatherinephoto.com/musings.

To enter the drawing, just send us an email to studio@mariecatherinephoto.com with the name and email of the parents, name, age and gender of the baby.

The drawing will take place before Mother’s Day on Friday May 14th. All entries must be received by Wednesday May 12th.

Tell your friends!

Conditions:
• A limited self-promotional release will be required so that the pictures may be used on our website.
• Photo shoots need to take place by June 1st.
• Free 8×10 Deluxe picture must be claimed within 30 days of date of photo shoot.

When I started my photography business, many eons ago, I immediately specialized in black and white photos. Many of you discovered me during the time of beautiful silver prints. In those days (late 90’s) black and white pictures started popping up everywhere, not only in fashion magazines, but in news prints also. When Time Magazine and Newsweek started having one black & white cover after the next, all kinds of magazines followed suit. Black & white pictures lent themselves beautifully to the editorial style so reminiscent of the Kennedys pictures albums. Everybody wanted it.

Then in the early 2000s came the new digital photography era. That meant mostly color pictures and in my opinion a serious setback in black & white photography.  I resisted for several years, mainly because the output – meaning the way the pictures were printed and the end result– was a far cry from the superb quality I had grown accustomed to with fiber based prints.

However, in 2004, I reluctantly dipped my toes in the digital world by buying digital equipment, all the while hanging on dearly to my trusted Nikon F5 and my T-Max 400 to 3200 film rolls (which meant beautiful grainy pictures).  I offered both kinds of photography for a couple of years. Then, strangely, the trend swayed to color photography.  Color became hot again!

For the last several years, I have been shooting exclusively digitally with top of the line equipment. In a few shorts years, the equipment geared toward professional photographers made several quantum leaps, so much so that I wouldn’t go back to my cherished F5 for anything.  The creativity possible with digital photography today knows no bounds.

In the next few blogs, I would like to feature all kinds of beautiful processes once thought to belong to analog printing only. I hope this delights you and gives you other avenues to express how you want your family pictures made.

Graininess is great for editorial, or story-telling, shots …

It adds an air of mystery …

It makes a black & white picture very artsy …

And a color picture more tender and whimsical …

The new trend in black & white is to add more contrast …

And a little bit of warmth …

And thanks to digital photography, even the same picture can definitely not be created equal …

First, start with a cuddly stroll on the beach ...

Run into the wind and laugh a lot ...

Splash around in the waves and get all wet, new outfit and all ...

Write a heart in the sand for Mommy ...

Get sprinkled by a big wave ...

Roll around in the sand with Mommy ...

Give Mommy a cuddle ...

Give Mommy a smooch ...

Remember to laugh a lot ...

Be very happy ...

Tell Mommy a secret ...

Climb on a rock ...

And get ready for your close-up ...

Watch a dolphin go by ...

Pose for Daddy's Father's Day present ...

Watch the sun set ...

Climb on a high rock and pretend you're on top of the world!