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Best wedding photographers in France

10 photographers chosen by five checks you can see on their pages, region by region. Nobody can pay to be here.

See the listHow it is made

Of the 19 photographers listed in France, 10 pass all five checks today. All of them are here.

“Best” is the word people search for. What we can honestly give you is a list with its rule on show: it tells you who has shown the work, not whose work you will love. That part is yours.

Only the civil wedding is legal in France, at the mairie, and no religious wedding may come before it. So a French couple’s day may hold two ceremonies: the mairie, then a church or a secular ceremony, not always in the same place as the party. Most couples from abroad sign the papers at home and celebrate here. A photographer’s day in France can run twelve hours or more, and the country is big: Paris to Provence is not a morning’s drive. This list starts from where someone has really photographed a whole wedding.

Two markets sit side by side. French couples book mostly through directories and local photographers; couples from abroad book people who work in English, often over more than one day. Both have excellent photographers. What a wedding photographer costs in France sets out what others publish, with sources and dates; the figures further down are only ours.

The list

10 photographers, region by region

In the order the rule below gives, which is not a ranking. Open a photographer for their whole weddings, their packages and their calendar.

All photographers in France

How this list is made

The five checks

Everyone on this page passes all five. The site reads them from its own data every few minutes, so someone who stops passing leaves the list by themselves.

  1. Approved by a personSomeone on our team looked through their portrait, their words, their whole weddings and their packages before they could appear on the site.
  2. At least 3 whole weddings on their pageWith at least 20 photos each: the day from getting ready to the party, not a reel of the best shots.
  3. Identity verifiedThrough Stripe’s check on their payout account, or an ID document our team compared with their name. It is the Verified badge on their card.
  4. At least 5 years of weddingsBy the year they give on their profile. This one is their own statement: we do not check it.
  5. At least one whole wedding shot in FranceIn a region where couples can book them, with a package and a price you can see. Someone who is only willing to travel here does not pass until they have shown a wedding here.

The order

We go round the regions, starting where the most photographers pass, and take one person a turn, until the list holds 12. In each turn, someone who adds a style the list does not have yet comes first; then the most whole weddings shot in that region; then the longest at it; then the alphabetical order of their page’s address. The same facts always give the same order.

What plays no part

Money: the plan a photographer pays for, a top place in a region and “photographer of the month” are not read at all. Taste: this is not a ranking, and the first on the list is not better than the last. Popularity and ratings: no check uses them. Someone who is not here may be just right for you: all the photographers are in the catalogue.

What it costs

What photographers here start at

From the packages live on this site today, across everyone listed in France, not only this list: each photographer’s cheapest package of that kind, photography only.

The median is the one in the middle: half start below it, half above. These are starting prices: a photographer’s longer packages cost more.

How to choose

How to choose in France

Count your ceremonies and the road between them

If the mairie is on the morning and the party in a château an hour away, the photographer’s hours start at the first and end at the last. Tell them both addresses before you compare packages.

Ask about kilometres

Most photographers include travel in their own area and charge beyond it, by the kilometre or at cost. From Paris, fast trains reach the Loire Valley in about an hour, Bordeaux in about two and Annecy in under four, so someone further away is not out of the question.

Read quotes from elsewhere for TTC or HT

French VAT, TVA, is 20%, but a micro-entrepreneur under the VAT threshold charges none and writes “TVA non applicable” on the invoice. On a quote from outside this site, check whether the price is TTC (tax included) or HT (before tax): compare like with like.

Mind the season

Lavender flowers in Provence from late June into July; in August France goes on holiday and the coasts fill up; the grape harvest and golden light come in September and October, which turns wetter. Ask how each would change your day there.

Look through one whole wedding

Everyone’s ten best photos look good. A whole wedding shows how they handle a dark church, a late speech or a change of plan. Take the one nearest to yours and go through it from start to end.

Decide how you want to spend the day

Documentary work waits for what happens; editorial and fine art arrange more, and ask more of you in front of the camera. Neither is better. The styles on a card are the photographer’s own words, so check them against the photos.

Compare what a price buys

Hours on the day, a second photographer, travel, how many photos, how many weeks until you have them. Two packages at the same price can be two different days.

Talk before you decide

You will spend the day with this person. Send a question through the site first: it costs nothing, and how they answer tells you a good deal.

Before you book

What to ask a photographer

  • Can you be at the mairie and at the party on the same day, and is that one package?
  • How many kilometres does your price include, and what do you charge beyond them?
  • Is a séance engagement or a day-after session included, or added?
  • Will you photograph our day yourself, and who takes over if you fall ill?
  • Can we see one whole wedding in a place like ours?
  • What time do you arrive and leave, and what happens if the party runs late?
  • How many photos do we get, and how many weeks until we have them?
  • Is travel included? If not, what will it add?
  • If it rains, what is your plan for the portraits?

Where

The regions

Each has its own page: the months, the kinds of places and everyone who shoots there.

Not sure yet?

Tell us about your wedding — we’ll find who is free

The place, the date, the guests, the photos you like. Our concierge checks who is free and fits, and comes back with photographers to choose from.

Tell the concierge