NAMES and REFERENCES

People often ask me who are the famous people I have photographed. I am always surprised by such a request but I guess this is part of the image we have of photographers. We eventually have to meet celebrities and work on their behalf but I am always very aware of their status and of the message they have to portray in the tabloids. So, it is never an easy task to find out what they, as private client, their PR or production company are after. It is always a delicate joggling where you have to compromise your personal creativity with their demands.

It is also a good opportunity now after more than a decade in London to flip through my folders and revisit those people. I do not like to use the term "famous" or "celebrity" because it always create that gap between you (the photographer) and the subject which is not the best way to approach a session. Anyway, you may find some names you heard of in the following random list I am putting together. I will put in bracket their "title" and you may visit Wikipedia to know more about them. They are quite a few missing...well...

So here follows people I have been asked to photographed who have some kind of celebrity status if you want. They are plenty of them I have met and photographed but that I will not mention as they were not the people I was commissioned to photograph. It wouldn't be fair to make some self-promotion just by circumstances.

P D JAMES(novelist) REBECCA LENKIEWICZ(playwright/screenwriter) JOE PENHALL(playwright/screenwriter) ALAN HOLLINGHURST(writer) JOHN KING(writer) STEPHEN FRY(comedian/tv presenter) CHRSITOPHER BIGGINS(actor) HENRY PORTER(writer) TOM McCARTHY(writer/artist) TONY HADLEY(singer/actor) HELEN CHADWICK(singer) MICHEL PICOLI(actor) PATRICE LECONTE(film director) IOAN GRUFFUDD(actor) PADDY CONSIDINE(actor/film director) OM PURI(actor) ALISON STEADMAN(actress) SUSAN LYNCH(actress) JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS(actor) EMMI ROSSUM(actress) RICHARD COYLE(actor) ROBERT PUGH(actor) JOHN HENSHAW(actor) PHILIPPA COUSINS(film director) JEAN-MARC PUISSANT(set designer) YAN-SHU(choreographer) LARS ELLING(artist) ALESSANDO RAHO(artist) PAUL FRYER(artist) POLLY MORGAN(artist) ANTHRAX(band) ZEBRAHEAD(band) THE QUEEN, THE BAD AND THE UGLY(band) HARD-FI(band)


Now, I think it is also important I mention my full name. Because sadly when it comes to weddings, and especially with the digital flooding, most people are sceptical about your professionalism( which is understandable). My full name is DAVID BOULOGNE, and I use the davidB for the commercial aspect of my work in order not to confuse people. I do quite a few things beside wedding photography. You could say I am an artist/photographer (it is always very complicated to find the right term but I thing this is the closest) and I am showing my works in various exhibitions. I have had the privilege in the last few years to present my work with some high profile names, which make me very proud indeed as it feels I am going in the right direction somehow. So here follows a list of people I have been sharing art with. Here again I will only mention a few:

Magnum in Motion (agency), William Eggleston, Hannah Starkey, Gregory Crewdson, Cindy Sherman, Martin Parr, Bruce Gilden, Elliott Erwitt, Simon Roberts, David Lynch, Wim Wenders, Stephen Gill, Nadav Kander, Peter Marlow, Simon Wheatley, Jean-Loup Sieff, Peter Lindbergh, Sarah Moon, Kate Barry, Anne Deniau, Thierry des Ouches, Wolfe Von Lenkiewicz, Peter Suchin, Justin Coombes, Shezad Dawood, David Birkin, Douglas White, Martin Sexton


So I hope this will answer the question and make it official. It is also a good way for me to remember. I hope this list will make a difference in people's perception about what I do and give them a new perspective. But to me a person is a person, no matter unknown or famous they are, my eye is interested in capturing your inner beauty. Beauty is everywhere and there is a lot of it in weddings. Even if digital make it sound easier it simply doesn't. Most photographers shoot too much nonsense. Quantity is the opposite to quality as we know but it becomes more relevant today with the new technology. And what I produce is QUALITY with QUANTITY, and I know that very few people can still today deliver such expectation.
Look, analyze, feel images. Images are simply not only pictures, they are EMOTIONS OF A REAL, SOMETHING PRICELESS. Choose carefully your wedding photographer.

Today they are more and more apparently GOOD or CHEAP DEALS thanks to the combination of recession/digital. The truth always comes after you have pre-paid. Those deals do not give you anything valuable. If you pay cheap it's because what you will get is cheap, that's as simple as that. Not only you will have lost your precious money but you will also be disappointed with the result. And therefore you will have to rebook someone else which is nonsense.
Sorry to remind you again but the most precious thing left after your wedding is pictures.
Do not rely on wedding magazines, they tell you what you want to hear. They only want to sell their gloss. That may sound a bit old fashion but it isn't. I hear so many sad stories and that upsets me. Photography is my life and to work my best out to capture beauty on your behalf is a real joy and delectable hard work. Good images don't come easy. It is a very long process of knowledge, experience and sensitivity. DO NOT RELY ON MOBILE PHONES, CHEAP SLR, AMATEURS OF ALL SORTS, ETC...

By investing in the right professional you will not only cherish your images for ever but you will also save money and generate positive energy.