NATIONAL POST feature
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A man and a woman embrace on a chaise longue at the edge of the ocean, an attendant fanning them with a palm branch.
Another couple meander along the seashore on horseback.
A pair of mesmerizing green eyes looks out over the top of an open magazine.
Four vertical panels display four different views of a woman's ensemble: the back of her dress; the back of her head, her chignon ringed with orchids; an ornate neckpiece; and her face reflected in a mirror.
Fashion models? No, these are real people photographed before and on their wedding days by Richard Emmanuel, the 34-year-old photographer top wedding planners are advising their clients to book 18 months to two years before their nuptials.
"A lot of people want to live like rock stars," says Emmanuel, pointing to a photo in his portfolio of a white, stretch limo outside one of Toronto's older churches. "This is their chance to do it for a day."
Many of Emmanuel's photographs are inspired by films. A photo on display in his Toronto studio shows modern-day counterparts of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity locked in a passionate kiss in the ocean, surf spraying around them. A horizontal of a groom and his buddies in tuxedos is reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs. A bride in a long white gown stands, arms outstretched, at the prow of a boat a la Kate Winslet in Titanic.
"Young couples love the idea of starring in their own movies," says events planner Katherine Parris, who runs Events by Parris in Toronto. "They want a lot more candids and fun pictures, fewer formal shots. Older couples have elderly parents, so they want a lot of family shots because some of these people won't be around much longer.
Sylvia Mantella, whose Toronto wedding Emmanuel photographed last July, says working with him is like being in a reality show. "Richard arrived at my house at 11:30 a.m. and took pictures while I was getting ready," she says. "His assistant photographed the house and my bridesmaids, and another photographer was at the Four Seasons Hotel with the groom and his party. Then he put all these points of view together to form a wonderful 'still' story."
Emmanuel has photographed Princess Anne, former French president Jacques Chirac, Pope John Paul II and former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell. With shots of royalty and politicians in his portfolio, why is his focus still on weddings?
"My brides are all princesses for a day," he says. "I help make their dreams come true."
And Princess Anne, who he photographed in 2003 when he covered the Atlantic Council of the United Kingdom's 49th General Assembly, is less likely to get back to him with her reactions to his photographs than a happy bride, he adds.
And, although they may not be real-life celebrities, Emmanuel's clients are happy to pay handsomely for his services. His wedding photos run from $5,000 to $10,000, and other features are "a la carte" - videos from $2,500 and leather-bound albums designed to look like glossy fashion magazines go from $3,000 to $5,000. Weddings held abroad make up about a quarter of his business, and "destination" packages cost from $4000 up to $9,500, not including airfare and hotels for Emmanuel and an assistant.
He's in the process of putting together a $25,000 deluxe destination package that includes photographs, a video, hairstyling and makeup, a disc jockey and a private wedding planner's services. "This is for people who want an 'organized experience,'" he says, "and don't want to rely on whatever local services are available."
He sees wedding photos as cornerstones in a family's history archive. "In Europe a few centuries ago, artists were commissioned to paint portraits of couples who were getting married," he says. "Weddings were an important family milestone and these portraits recorded them. Today, we hire wedding photographers.
"I love the idea that these pictures may be in a family for generations," he adds. "I help capture the milestone moments."
Like many other successful professionals, Emmanuel says knowing his clients is the key to his business. "I need to understand what makes these people tick, otherwise I might as well be photographing mannequins," he says.
"I find out what their hobbies are, what they read, the music they listen to, the movies they watch, the magazines they read, their favourite colours and their dream trip. I ask how they visualize themselves on their wedding day, and what they'll be doing. Then I start thinking about settings for them."
These conversations often spark themes for the entire wedding. "I've had movie buffs name the tables at their reception after movie stars," he says. "There was the Al Pacino table, the Robert De Niro table, and so on."
Richard Emmanuel Foltys's career began as a teenager, assisting his father, Milan Foltys, a Toronto wedding photographer. "I began by doing lighting," says Emmanuel, who is now known professionally by his first two given names.
A bachelor's degree in applied arts from Ryerson University rounded out his father's lessons, but Emmanuel says the early hands-on experience provided the groundwork for what he does today.
"Dad is a perfectionist," says. "He doesn't allow anything to distract him. From him, I learned to look for the 'sweet spots' - the tear on the father of the bride's cheek, a wide-eyed child peering over the top of a pew at the ceremony. There's a very small window of opportunity. A wedding isn't something you can redo."
Emmanuel always works in tandem with another photographer "for that important second angle and the reaction shots. That's why our clients keep coming back - for our experience."
And, while the saying goes that all brides are beautiful, Emmanuel has a few tricks to ensure that the less glamorous look their best in their wedding pictures. He works with light and shadow, and focuses on the bride's best features. "It may be her eyes, her hair, her smile or her dress. This is her day. She looks at herself in the mirror and she's beautiful. I have to crystallize that moment for her in the photos.
"And I try to show the couple's love for each other," he adds. "That's always very sexy."
He puts on his film director's hat to encourage playfulness for candid shots. He prefers working outdoors whenever possible, and says sea and sand are perfect props for destination wedding photos. His destination packages can include a day or two of candid photography, before or after the wedding day.
"I told them to play in the water," he says, standing in front of the photo of the couple embracing in the surf, "and I backed away - getting close to the action with my telephoto zoom lens without intruding on the scene. The result was a very candid picture. A couple in love, splashing around in the water: that's really erotic."
Emmanuel holds workshops to help amateur photographers leave their photographic mark. In February, he took students on a five-day photo shoot at the Venice Carnival where they practised photo techniques with models. He's planning another workshop in Costa Rica in the fall. Shorter sessions are held in Toronto.
"People have a responsibility to preserve their family histories by photographing their children as they grow up. These times won't return," he says.
"And they need to learn how to archive these images properly. My neighbour's computer crashed and, with it, the last five years of her children's lives."
But for milestone events - weddings and other important galas - always hire a professional photographer and videographer, he says. "You invest a lot of time and money in these events. You need a professional to ensure you get the photos you want."
Relying on a family member to take wedding photos, he says, will focus on one side of the family.
And video shouldn't be overlooked at a wedding, he adds. "You'll never hear those speeches again."
Richard Emmanuel Studios- 416-650-1868 or toll free at 1-866-650-1178.
www.richardemmanuel.com
posted by Richard_Emmanuel at Thursday, June 26, 2008
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