Who are you? Describe yourself in a few words.

Maria : I am an artisan, I never liked the word artist to describe myself.

Eric Rene : We are Eric René and Maria, French and Mexican photographers and Super 8 videographers, creating destination wedding stories from all over the world. We met during a photography workshop in Mexico. Maria was providing the accessories for the bridal couple that I was documenting during my class. It was back in January 2020, just before COVID. It was love at first sight, and since then, Maria has continued to create and curate unique jewelry pieces for all kinds of clients. I started my photography business back in July 2014, when I was living in Scotland. I was selected to be the best photographer in Europe in 2017 and one of the top 30 best photographers in the world in 2019. For a decade, my love for photography and documenting love stories never left my journey. They have been working together for the last three years. They complement each other; I am attached to cinematic vision and framing, non-intrusive and imperfect, while Maria uses her creative eye to focus on details and minimalist vision. I believe we are the perfect duo to create a variety of beautiful imagery with the most casual and beautiful simplicity.

Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work?

Maria : Of course, I believe you leave a bit of yourself when you truly take the time to create something new.

What in your personal life has influenced you to choose your career?

Maria : A dramatic life change and a personal crisis, but the outcome of that experience was far more beneficial than I could have ever imagined.

What is your inspiration? How has personal experience influenced your creativity?

Maria : Resourcefulness is creativity; unlike what most people think, creativity is something you have to work on and exercise. We all have the capability to be creative, and although some people are born more prone to being creative naturally, there are techniques to help you become more creative. I do consider myself creative; I think I was born with a natural resourcefulness, and I also believe I lack the discipline to cultivate it more.

Eric Rene: “My vision and inspiration come firstly from Cinematography”. He watches a lot of movies and music videos. “To me, love stories need a plot, a beginning, and an end, but they also need an intention, a narrative, and a gentle flow. There is always an indication of location and time, an introduction of the main character of their story, and a non-intrusive way for them to enjoy the day as it is.” His goal is to deliver a story with hundreds of images to create a story but also to give enough images to the couple for them to create their own version of their wedding. With the power of imperfect images, sound capture, video, and animated gifs, there are so many ways to express an intention.

If you had the chance to live during a different artistic movement other than now, which one would you choose?

Maria : I’m not sure it could be considered an artistic movement per se, but prehistoric cave painting has always fascinated me. I would love to live during that time when our conscience started, before everything else existed, and feel what our ancestors felt on a remote, vast, isolated earth.

What inspires you on a daily basis?

Maria : Nature and colors, animals, love, and beauty in many of its forms.

Eric Rene : Cinema is the key resource for my imagination, framing, light, and narrative intention. A sense of purpose and storytelling.

After these years of working on your craft, do you still feel the joy of doing what you do?

Eric Rene : With 240 weddings in the last decade, traveling the world, and living on two different continents (Sumer in Europe and Mexico during the winter), it still brings us joy and pride to document weddings, elopements, and intimate celebrations. We are happy to document all kinds of weddings, whether Christian, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Punjabi, Indian, or informal. Love has no limits. We love to meet you on the other side of the world and be in the moment with you.
We are trying to be unique in our approach by delivering a mix of cinematic, nostalgic, romantic, and narrative styles, and we love it very much.

Does your work convey a specific emotion or message?

Maria : I used to work a lot with flowers and perishable elements, and I always fretted about them dying, and getting damaged, so I guess I've always wanted to create strong, long-lasting works that can endure the passing of time, gracefully.

Is there a particular place where you feel most creative?

Eric Rene: Not really. As much as there is a love story or a family story to tell, we are happy to share our time with people, understand the stories, and create imagery with our couples.