Julien Laurent-Georges

For Julien Laurent-Georges, becoming a Canon Ambassador feels like reaching the summit of a mountain he never originally intended to climb.

Before establishing himself as an internationally recognised wedding photographer, Julien was a schoolteacher. Born in northern France, near Lille, and now based in Paris, he had been taking photographs since he was young, but it was a project with his 11-year-old pupils that first suggested photography might become more than a hobby.

Inspired by French photographer Robert Doisneau's photographs of schoolchildren, Julien began photographing his own students and eventually staged an exhibition. Friends, family and parents praised the work, but he remained unconvinced. Then a journalist visited.

"This was the first person who made me think that I could become a photographer, because he wasn't family or a friend," he recalls. The resulting article brought another surprise, when a couple contacted him and asked him to photograph their wedding.

Those more constructed photographs begin long before the event. Julien prepares mood boards, and discusses ideas and develops concepts with the couple, rather than simply dictating a pose. "It's our project," he says. "We build the photographs together."

That collaborative approach is part of a wider philosophy Julien sums up in two words: 'best friend'. He may spend hours talking to couples before their wedding, researching their lives and sending detailed questionnaires so that he understands something of the shared history their real friends already know. "For me, half of my work is the relationship," he says.

That relationship also explains why Julien is rarely an invisible presence at a wedding. He talks, directs, encourages and interacts with guests throughout the day, believing that emotional connection is as important to the final photograph as technique.

His photographic identity has also been shaped by other professionals. Through XP Photographers, the international wedding photography community he helped run, Julien regularly saw work submitted by leading photographers from around the world. Those images and conversations, he says, gradually became part of his own "photographer personality".

Yet maintaining his enthusiasm matters just as much as refining a recognisable style. Each wedding season he sets himself new creative challenges, experimenting with perspectives, lenses or ways of telling the story so that the work never becomes routine. "I play when I photograph a wedding," Julien says. "It's an amazing job. For me, it isn't just a job, it's a passion."

Becoming a Canon Ambassador now feels like the culmination of a journey that began in a classroom. "It's like climbing a big mountain and arriving at the summit," he says. "There is nothing higher."

What makes the difference between a beautiful wedding photograph and one that still matters many years later?

"I think there are several things. The first is the relationship between the photographer and the couple. The second is the couple's motivation to create the photograph. That's why I have long meetings with them before the wedding. We build the idea together, so it isn't only my photograph, it becomes their photograph too. The third thing is my own enthusiasm. Every year I need a new project or challenge so that I arrive at a wedding excited to make something different. And finally, the atmosphere around the photograph. You cannot always point to it, but you feel it. When all those things come together, the photograph becomes something exceptional."

When do you direct a photograph and when do you simply observe?

"I'm not often quiet! Talking is one of my strengths. For the editorial photographs, I explain the idea beforehand and we work as a team. The couple knows what we are trying to create, and they are motivated because they want the photograph too. For the documentary part of the day, I am looking all the time. I'm searching for the moment, the light and the composition. That part cannot be prepared in the same way. But even then, I am still creating a relationship with the couple and the guests. I don't want to be a stranger with a camera."

After photographing so many weddings, what can still genuinely surprise you?

"I'm always looking for the good and the beautiful, so what still surprises me is when somebody is unkind on a wedding day. For me, a wedding should be a beautiful moment. You are surrounded by the people you love, everybody has come to celebrate with you and it is the beginning of a new part of your life. Maybe because photography has trained me to search for beautiful things, I expect to find the good in people too. So when that isn't there, I'm still surprised."

What piece of Canon kit can you not live without, and why?

"The Canon RF 50mm F1.2L USM is my favourite lens. If I were a wedding photographer without that focal length, I would be very sad. I've tried other lenses and some are too heavy to carry all day. The 50mm feels natural to me. It's like an extension of my arm."

What else could we discover in your kitbag that helps you elevate your work?

"I like having different lenses available because changing the lens changes the way I look at the wedding. In a church, for example, if the priest asks me to remain at a distance, I might need a long lens. I also use more unusual lenses that allow me to change the plane of focus and create a different effect. Having those choices keeps the enthusiasm alive. I like to play when I'm making photographs."

"Photography changes the way you see the world. Before I became a photographer, I don't think I saw everything around me in the same way. Now my eyes are always searching for composition, light and beauty. It makes me more aware of the best things in life. A photographer is always looking through that window, even without a camera, and for me that is a very happy way to see the world."

Website: julienlaurentgeorges.com

Instagram: @julien_laurent_georges