SHARPER FOCUS: PART 2 of our interview with Corrina Tough, delving deeper into the story behind the elegant, humanist and documentary style wedding photography.
From the origins of her love of black and white photography to who’s wedding from history would have been her dream job? We spent some more time getting to know the class act that is Corrina Tough.
Do remember that she has this brilliant offer for 2020 and 2021 brides running until the end of June.
Couples getting married in France will receive
no added travel and accommodation fees
10% off classic car and driver hire
a gift to use for first anniversary- 1 hour Saint Antonin Highlights tour with bonus photo shoot
Couples getting married in the UK
10% reduction in travel and accommodation fees
A gift to use for first anniversary- 1 hour Saint Antonin Highlights tour with bonus photo shoot in France- or upgrade to my half or full day tour with gourmet picnic and photo shoot and I will also take 10% reduction off the fees for that.
And she also is still running her offer on branding work for creative businesses.
So if you're using this time to get your About Page or Brand Pack ship shape and refreshed and rebooted Corrina is extending an offer to help you hone your images, with a great deal for the UK and French wedding crew. She is offering 50% off her branding photography package, as a way of giving back to and fostering this community who has been hit so badly financially and emotionally this year.
Right.. over to Corrina!
LET US KNOW A BIT ABOUT THE PATH THAT TOOK YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW
I was initially influenced by my parents who had a love of photography and my first memories were being pushed in a pram around black and white photography exhibitions in Sydney Australia (so I must have been under 2). My father was an amateur photographer and he had his own dark room in the house which I would watch and work alongside him as a young child.
THIS IS CORRINA!
I studied photography at school but was led into teaching- primary school aged kids, even though my passion was photography. So I did it on the side for years!– I’m self-taught but have also done courses over the last 20 years in technical aspects as well as being published (magazine or books) so I ‘see’ in magazine spread story lines when I photograph. I guess you would say I am reportage or editorial style photographer. I started photographing weddings 20 years ago and I still love it- actually more so today as my creativity and style has become more in demand, I have been able to express and capture peoples love stories in a way I absolutely adore- I can’t get enough! I decided to start my full-time photography business about 10 years ago and the last five have been spent in France where I now live.
Corrina x
I photograph all over the world but generally have a lot of weddings and shoots in France and Italy. My teaching skills have never gone to waste though- I now run photography workshops and retreats here in France in my season outside of weddings so I intersect all my skills and gifts and I can’t tell you how much I just love all of it!
WHAT SORT OF COUPLE DO YOU LOVE TO PHOTOGRAPH AND WHAT SORT OF COUPLE DO YOU FIND GRAVITATES TOWARDS YOU?
I love to photograph couples who truly value photography, my style and having an authentic record of the day– you can’t really put a price on history and documenting one of the most important moments and days of your life as a couple! Couples that are drawn to me really love my aesthetic – I am like a fly on the wall for most of the day and even though I will do whatever a couple would like my style is not to pose but capture an authentic account of the day as it unfolds. I have a knack for capturing joy, laughter, the in between moments, special details, and loving looks when no one is aware, so the result is truly emotive. For couple portraits after the ceremony I guess it is more orchestration rather than posing. It is like directing a movie!
One core value of my business is relationship- I build a close relationship with my couples over the time from booking to the wedding day via in person if local to me or video consultations so by the time I am photographing their day I have an intimate knowledge of their love story, their wedding style, dreams for their day and we are like friends so are very relaxed on the day together. Having couples that will work with me that way means they get the absolute best imagery of their day which is my goal! I want couples to relive their day every time they view the images.
WHO WOULD BE YOUR IDEAL COUPLE FROM HISTORY TO PHOTOGRAPH?
Wow what a question!!! Not sure if I can pick a couple but anyone getting married in Paris between the 1920s-1950s! I would have loved to photograph Audrey Hepburn! I have a bit of a girl crush on her elegance, class, style and beautiful heart. Maybe my other dream subject for weddings in that earlier era would be Josephine Baker! What a woman! I can only imagine how fantastic and maybe crazy cool her wedding would have been!
Josephine Baker marries Jo Bouillon in a chateau near St.Cyprien 1947
*note from editor - long rambling is it a question or not, type question incoming from Most Curious
YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY HEROES HAVE ALL PIONEERED THE CANDID, REPORTAGE STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND YOUR OWN WORK ALSO HAS THAT FEEL OF CAPTURING AN INSIGNIFICANT MOMENT, WATCHING AS A BYSTANDER, BUT SOMEHOW CAPTURING IT IN WAY THAT GIVES IT SO MUCH SIGNIFICANCE - HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE, IF I HAVEN’T ALREADY HAHA! YOU GIVE A REAL MIXTURE OF BLACK AND WHITE AND COLOUR , WHAT DO YOU FEEL B&W STYLE BRINGS TO WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY IN PARTICULAR?
I am so glad you have gotten that vibe from seeing my work because that’s exactly me on a plate! Timeless moments are important to me!
My photographic style brings together a contemporary aesthetic with an appreciation of the timeless and powerful elements of classic documentary art photography. With a timeless mood, I capture the beauty of fleeting natural moments with an artist’s eye and a storyteller’s passion. Influenced by some of the greats of documentary and humanist photography, my photography transcends trends to deliver heirloom imagery that will feel fresh yet stand the test of time. If you are looking for an intuitive natural wedding photographer with French joie de vivre, my natural photojournalistic style and visual story-telling approach will bring your vision to life.
I shoot a lot of black and white because I am drawn to the fact that sometimes it’s the absence of colour that tells a more detailed story! Some images just literally work better as black and white- your eye will hone in on a detail you may have missed in colour or the emotion of that particular moment looks amazing in black and white. Of course, I do a mix of color and B&W in my packages.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE WEDDING SO FAR?
Oooh wow that is a little bit like asking me who is my favourite child!
I have two that stand out- one was the wedding of Gemma and Dave in 2018 in South West France. An English couple who have links to France via Dave’s father and French stepmother who live here, the wedding took place at their French village house and garden as well as on the street out the front of the house. The setting reminded me of a scene in the movie ‘Chocolate’ . That couple ended up becoming my friends which was an indication of just how amazing working with them was! Their wedding exuded so much joy and love and had details really thought out for such a fun ‘French Village fete” style atmosphere with a Dixieland Jazz band. They just really wanted me to capture the day and I think nearly every image has laughter and love in it!
My other favourite was an Indian wedding I shot in a Chateau in the Dordogne last year. It was such a stunning event just beyond words so much beauty and colour. But actually, some of my favourite images of that day were actually black and white!
WHAT DOES YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICE INCLUDE?
My main destination Wedding packages are
8 hour package includes 2 video consults, meet and greet the day before, up to 400 images and an 8x10 inch lustre print
12 hour package includes 2 video consults, meet and greet day before, up to 600 images online gallery, luxe linen box with fifteen 8x10 inch prints matted ready to frame, a 10x12inch fine art giclee print, mobile phone app
My deluxe package is 16 hours split over three days (2 hours day before and after and 12 hours wedding day), 2 x video consults, meet and greet day before, 700+ images online gallery, luxe linen box with 15 8x10 inch prints matted ready to frame, Custom heirloom album 150 pages, Mobile Phone app
Also available as add ons- custom wedding album, classic car and driver hire for wedding day and classic car picnic and photo tours in my region, extra hours to customise the packages
Coming soon- 2-bedroom medieval house (luxe interiors) for rental for couples getting married in my region or for honeymoon etc
YOU ALSO PROVIDE A BRANDING SERVICE, WHICH YOU ARE OFFERING 50% OFF FOR FELLOW WEDDING BUSINESS BRANDS. HOW DO YOU APPROACH THIS SIDE OF YOUR BUSINESS?
For my branding clients there is an in-depth consultation process to really explore the different elements of the brand, who their ideal clients are and much more. We create a collaborative mood board and story map out the shoot (which is either for half or full day) which involves several outfit changes and use of various locations and or products (depending on the business). I approach the actual shoot much the way I do a wedding but with a little more vision and planning as the structure of our shoot because on a wedding day there are actual things happening.
However, I still photograph in a natural organic and authentic way so that the imagery is real, relevant and relatable. I think clientele can see right through posy kind of brand shoots. As a wedding supplier I know too well what Covid 19 has done to my business and I would like to give back to the wedding community with my skills and talents so they can really hit the ground running with a new, fresh and professional look. I also felt it a great way to build community spirit and because my business is based on relationships, I want to ‘pay it forward’ to my wedding colleagues. So that is why I am offering a 50% reduction in my full day branding package (2020) for any wedding suppliers. If you are based in the UK it would be fantastic if a minimum 5 businesses took me up on the offer and then split my travel and accommodation costs between. If you are based in France or want a French flair to your brand then come here to me!
