Photographer Samuel Virginie

—Are you photogenic?

—Hahaha...Part of the team is;)
Try to find which one;)

—How did you get in the photography industry?

—One day, we have decided to leave our country, 7 years ago now and go to New Zealand : need some fresh air, need a "new beginning" (what's better than Aotearoa for that), find yourself into a perfect lost in translation atmosphere and be into the wild.Our fascination for landscapes and wildlife was so satisfied in that place and our life so different from what we had in France, we decided to take the risk to do what we love: Photos, as our full-time job!Life drove us then in Moorea, Tahiti and Bora Bora when we stayed for 4 years and where we win our first International Awards for wedding and honeymoon photography.Now, we are based in Victoria, in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The West Coast is incredible, wild and changes constantly. We serve destination and of course all our island.

—What are the most important components of a good photo in your opinion?

—Capture THE moment! The moment you can't create after, the real smile, real laugh, real tears, real emotion!:)
And to pass from a good photo to a beautiful photo we think the most important is the angle, the composition of the photo, find the original point of view, the nicer light or colors that's sort of things. We don't follow trends and Instagram new filters or buy new presets to be like others. We are first of all Artists, not businessman.

—Do you love traveling?

—Of course, who doesn't like that!
More than just traveling a week or two, we like experimenting new areas by living there for a while. For now, we used to live in 5 different countries and islands over 4 continents. It's really interesting to cross different people, religions, ways to live.

—What do you like most about your profession?

—Meet new people! We love ear about how the couple met, what's they want to do in the future, and we begin friends every time!:) It's so great to be the witness of their special event!We love our work cause every time it's different: different people with different background from different countries, different styles, it gives a lot of inspiration. We also love to create these images that come on our mind and launch a new concept by talking to each other (my husband and I as we work together). No way to propose always same poses etc... We have to create.

—What do you like least about your profession?

—Hours behind my computer to communicate (not with people but with updating, social media, submit work on blogs...) We prefer to email my customer or chat with them directly and think about our shoot, be behind our camera;)
We hate the fact that Photography is not nowadays a work but a hobby. It's a hard job which requests a lot of time to understand what is photography.

—What will be the future of photography?

—Hard to say! Nowadays, you can cover a wedding with a phone so...
For our part, we forget the idea to think about that and we focus on the present.

—What is special in the photography genre you specialise at?

—You can't miss the wedding and can't lose a piece of this event! That's a lot of pressure if you think like that, but it's that! We always think we want to offer to the bride and groom the perfect souvenir ever and some pieces they had not seen too. Wedding photos it's a lot of emotions too, you have to let your heart live the moment as well to provide emotional photos. Not thinking you are at work.

—How do you handle criticism?

—Criticism, if it's from people who care about photos, is always good and permit to grow up!

—Are there any trends in photography?

—Of course there are. Light, compo, specific moment, we can really see some difference from a year to another. It's nice to get inspired by that and it's also important to stay as you are without to copy or imitate someone.

—What should be the criteria for a customer to choose a photographer?

—Two things : the style of photography (bride and groom need to be in love with photos of the photographers, they need to feel something, they need to laugh, to say omgthat'sacrazyamazingphoto etc) and the feeling with the photographer during chat and meetings. Cause they will spend the most memorable day of their life with him/her.

—What things are to be avoided when shooting?

—To have "paparazzis" all around you, constantly. That's not good for bride and groom who feel on stress cause they realize their Photographer can't work properly.

—What details that usually pass unnoticed can a photographer notice?

—Light, color, beauty of simple things (a detail on the dress, the hands of grand ma, the smile of a kid, ...)
Anticipate the moment.
The camera angle, not to be afraid to be wet or dirty and go on the ground or on the top of something to find the best angle.
Understand people, immediately find who they are and what people have more beautiful, how they are photogenic cause everybody is!

—What influences the value of a photo? What are its elements?

—The authenticity (this includes emotion) and the composition (this include the part of Art)

—Who do you want to shoot?

—People in love, again and again, from all around the World.

—What do you worry about, and why?

—With new social media, we feel Photography begin to change a lot...

—What is the most impressive moment in your life?

—You speak about personal life or work?Personal : was to swim in the middle of 200 wild dolphins in New Zealand.Work : obtain Permanent Residency in Canada thanks to our work and recognization.

—Who inspires you in your life and why?

—People who live with the smile even if life is hard, people who don't need too much to be happy, people who don't envy nobody and nothing but just live their life. Artists who continue their passion even if it's hard.

—How do you define success? How do you measure it?

—The success is not necessarily to win lot of awards and be published in all magazines as this depends more of your communication ability than your skills but the success is to make all your customers happy and to comfort them on their choice! To received some news from them even after 2 or 3 years.

—What is the biggest mistake you have ever made at work?

—Said the truth about commission hotel asked for Photographer and fees entrance we have to pay to our clients...

—When you're going to travel, what do you take with you and why?

—Camera of course, a bag to hike, good shoes to walk, and travel as light as we can.

—How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?

—We try to watch as much as we can photography on magazines, books, photography website but also go on exhibition, see different kind of Arts like painting, dansing.... . I'm not a big fan of Photoshop, we work with Lightroom of course but we don't want to become more illustrator than photographer. We prefer to find the good way behind my camera than behind my computer, don't want to create rain for example, I want the real rain, if there is no rain, it's not to me to do that. So we try to experimente by ourself new effect, with material, angle etc...Also as we work in team we like criticism the work of the other and it's helpful:)

—Whose work has influenced you most as a photographer?

—I begin photos when I was 12 and more deeply when I was 16. It was not wedding photo and I worked alone. Nowadays, I can call friends some of the more famous Wedding Photographers of the World and they have an impact for sure on our way to see photography.

—What do you want to say with your photographs?

—We want people feel something.

—What motivates you to continue taking pictures?

—It's our passion, how can I stop my passion?I don't need other motivation to continue photos!

—If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?

—Begin photos as full time work before.

—What about life on other planets?

—I'm curious, why not?
But I'm more concern about life in our planet we are going to completely lost...I prefer government put their money to save our planet before to explore other places...We have to find solution to fix our mess.

—Who are your heroes?

—People who fight for a best world, against animal traffic, against starvation, against child abuse, sometimes alone...
Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey,Warris Diries...

—Who do you have no respect for?

—Racist, greed, extremist.

—What do you do in your spare time?

—Hiking, snorkeling, time with our dog – enjoy life with my husband!
And spending time with our friends. Laugh, eat and enjoy as much as we can.

—What's the side of you that the public never sees?

—"The dark side" Sorry, I can't resist!

—Do you believe in the traditional roles for men and women?

—Traditional where? That's the first question!
We think people are free to do what they want in their own life, we will never judge.

—Do you make friends easily?

—With humor I guess and our terrible French accent perhaps;)

—Where would you like to live?

—We are good where we are. We are Permanent Resident of Canada now. We have just to explore this amazing country and continent but we are good staying there.

—Is there life after marriage?

—Of course! It's just the beginning! And a good excuse to make anniversary! :)

—Do you have a favorite joke? Tell us.

—I need to mummer, it's about a camel.... :)

—Do you like dogs or cats?

—Ask to Matari our dog and our Duchesse (cat of course)

—The best thing in life is:

—The life.

—The most annoying thing in life is:

—The dark side of humans, fact they need always more...and maybe now social media.

—What would you like to change in the world?

—So many things....

—Can you give a few tips for photographers who are just starting out?

—Ask yourserlf why you want to do that?

—If aliens come to the Earth and you are the first person they meet, what will you tell them?

—First of all : Why are you here guys?:) I will show you how beautiful is our earth! Let me come into your flight thing I'm sure we can go from France to Japan in only 2mn that's so cool! Hep, let's me try your laser, just once! The blue one!

—If you are called to shoot a movie, what genre will it be?

—A kung fu movie.

—Tomorrow I will go and do...

—Be relax about the future