Rangefinder online: Love on Fire, by Helena and Laurent [RF Wedding of the Week]

This wedding between couple Peter and Bronwen was “blessed with extremely beautiful light throughout the whole day,” says Laurent Martin of Helena and Laurent, a California-based wedding photography duo (and nominees this year for Rf‘s 30 Rising Stars).

All photos © Helena and Laurent

“The morning was almost magical as the fog rolled in over Cavallo Point [in Sausalito, CA], bringing visibility down to nothing,” he says. “And this sort of magic light continued to flow in through the beautiful old windows in the Headlands Center for the Arts, followed by a perfectly beautiful golden light sunset, and ending with just the right amount of candles and rope lights in the rustic arts center’s reception hall.”

The light got to be a little too much in one instance, which turned into a different type of dilemma (with, as it turned out, a quick-to-act solution).

“We had to face a particular ethical issue during this wedding that comes up specifically and more frequently in documentary work—this is an issue regarding when, as a photographer, we’re supposed to keep documenting and when we are suppose to jump in and help out,” Laurent says. “As it goes, they had lined the aisle with beautiful big candles, and as the ceremony started, the corner of Bronwen’s mom’s dress fell into the fire. It immediately caught fire. We ended up getting off one quick, barely distinguishable, shot of the fire starting [below], and then threw down our cameras and jumped in. In the past, we’ve taken pictures of dogs eating cake, kids throwing tantrums, weddings running late, etc., but when people are at risk of getting hurt or killed, there won’t be any photos—just stories about how the photographers jumped in to help.”

It was hardly an ordeal though—this group was committed to having a good time, Laurent says.

“And it all came together during our portrait session. We didn’t actually have a lot of time—as we ran out from dinner, the couple jumped in our car and we drove toward the sun, and we caught the very last of the golden light as the sun dipped into the Pacific. The couple was laughing and giggling the entire time. Afterwards, they told us it was their favorite part of the day and the whole experience was just really romantic and energizing.”

In fact, positive energy was running rampant, and the photographers weren’t shy to get in on it. “It was the type of wedding where we just wanted to stay and party the night with them,” Laurent says. “The couple stayed so true to their mission of bringing everyone together and didn’t bother with most of traditional wedding stuff (no cake, no bouquet toss). They had placed custom temporary tattoos of the couple’s faces at the table settings. We had so much fun and felt so comfortable in the group that one of the tattoos eventually made it to the center of my forehead. Not to mention the fact that our dance moves garnered so much attention that one of the guests demanded to use our camera to document the action—and the image [below] totally made it into the final collection.”

GEAR FOR THE DAY

Camera: Nikon D750
Lenses: NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S, 28mm f/1.8G AF-S, 35mm f/1.4G AF-S, 50mm f/1.4G AF-S, 50mm f/1.8G AF-S, 85mm f/1.4G IF AF-S, 85mm f/1.8G IF AF-S, 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, 135mm f/2D AF DC

Check out more Weddings of the Week, and email Libby Peterson or Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.

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